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AUTHOR: 


BISSET,  ANDREW 


TITLE: 


OMITTED  CHAPTERS  OF 

THE  HISTORY  OF  ... 

PLACE: 

LONDON 

DA  TE : 


1864 


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iers  of  +he  his 
dea+h   of 
+0  +he   baHle   of  Dunbar. 


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Columbia  ®[mfaers;itp 

in  tfje  Citp  of  ^eto  l^orfe 


LIBRARY 


V 


HISTORY    OF     ENGLAND 


FR03r    THE 


DEATH  OF  CHARLES  I.  TO  THE  BATTLE  OK  DCNBAR. 


t 


45 


OMITTED    CHAPTERS 


OF   THE 


HISTORY   OF   ENGLAND 


FROM    THE 


DEATH  OF  CHARLES  I.  TO  THE  BATTLE 


OF  DUNBAR. 


By  ANDEEW    BISSET. 


LONDON: 
JOHN    MURRAY,    ALBEMARLE    STREET. 

1864. 

[The  right  of  transition  is  reserved.  ] 


^  <Hm^'*S'\9LJm  iOtl»^ 


""% 


^ 


r^ 


ro 


<?C>J 


P  R  E  F  A  C  E 


0 


In  the  course  of  a  somewhat  minute  investigation,   con- 
tinued for  a  good  many  years,    of  the  records  of  English 
history  during  the  1  7th  century,  I  found  when  I  reached 
the  period  immediately  succeeding  the  death  of  Charles  I., 
that,  while  the  printed  sources  of  information  were  scanty, 
there  existed  in   the    State   Paper   Office  a   vast  number 
of  MSS.  relating  to  the  period  of  English  history  called,  in 
the  State  Paper  Office  classification,   "The  Interregnum/' 
Among  others  are  the    MS.   volumes  which    contain    the 
original  minutes  of  all  the  proceedings  of  the  Council  of 
State  as  long  as  the  government  called  the  Commonwealth 
lasted.     On  a  careful  perusal  of  some  of  the  volumes,  and 
a  more  cursory  examination  of  others,  I  resolved  to  attempt 
to    write,    by   their    aid,    a    history    of    England    during 
the  period  extending  from   the  death   of  Charles  I.    to  the 
restoration  of  Charles  II.      Of  this  history  I  now  offer  to 
the  public   the   first  volume,  bringing  the  narrative   down 
to  the  battle  of  Dunbar  towards  the   end  of  the   2nd  year 
of  the  Interregnum,   or  of   the  -Commonwealth,  accordino- 
to  the  prevalent,  and,  in  my  opinion,  inaccurate  designa- 
tion  of    the  government  of  England  after  the   death   of 
Charles  I. 


Library  of  David  King. 
Leavitt  &  Co.  May  21  1884 


'I 


i' 


CONTENTS. 


1! 


CHAPTER  I. 

Political  condition  of  England  on  the  deatli  of  Kins  Charles 

State  of  the  peerage  at  the  time  of  the  opening  of  ihe  Long  Parliament.' 

Effect  of  the  government  of  the  Stuarts  in  degi-ading  the  English  nobility 

Composition  of  the  House  of  Commons  at  the  beginning  of  the  Lon..  Par- 
liament       •         .         .         ,  o  ■^'^^ 

The  English  lawyers  did  not,  like  the  French,  constitut^  a  nobility'of  the 

gown  inferior  to  the  nobility  of  the  sword 
The  union  in  early  times  of  the  civil  with  the  militaiy' character  amon^ 

the  JSormans  exemplified  in  the  office  of  Senescallus  An-lise 
Efi-ectof  the  modern  military  despotisms  in  destroying  that  union  and 

also  in  changing  ''suzerain  "  into  »' sovereign  " 
The  English  nobility,  at  the  beginning  of  the  17th  centurv, 'though  new 

and  humble  in  their  origin,  displayed  the  insolence  of' a  conquering 



Great  change  in  their  demeanour  between  1604  and  1649 

The  Commons  vote  the  aboUtion  of  the  House  of  Peers  and  of  the  office 
of  king 

Causes  of  their  dislike  of  nobility  and  kingship    .'         '. 
Reasons  in  favour  of  a  limited  monarchy 
Errors  committed  by  the  Long  Parliament    .         .         .'         . 
Number  of  members  composing  the  Parliament  in  1649-1653 

Council  of  State 



A  new  Great  Seal 

The  Parliament  call  the  government  a  Commonwealth 
Their  reasons  for  not  dissolving  the  Parliament 

The  writing  drawn  up  by  the  officers  of  the  army  intituled  -An  Agree 
ment  of  the  People  of  England  "  ... 

Treatment  of,  by  the  Parliament 

•         •         •         . 

Form  of  Government 

Not  a  Commonwealth  in  the  sense  of  republic 


PAGE 
1 

2 
3 

4,5 

6,7 

8-12 

7,8 

13 
14 

15 
16-18 

19 
20-22 

23 

24 

25 

25 

26 


b  2 


27-30 

31,  32 

33 

34,  35 


itan«4'fri^iafy..<».-..j»-W8n-  Bt^j.-'a 


Vlll 


CONTENTS. 


Council  of  State         .... 

•         •••••• 

Cromwell  appointed  commander  in  chief  in  Ireland 

Difference  between  "Horse"  and  "Dragoons"      .... 

Milton  appointed  Secretary  for  Foreign  Tongues  to  the  Council  of  State 
Affairs  of  the  navy     .         .         .         .         .  ■       , 

Pressing  of  seamen     ......... 

Land  forces        ..... 

Pressure  of  taxation—Taxes  levied  by  parties  of  horse  . 

Errors  in  political  economy  of  the  Council  of  State 

New  regiments  raised  for  the  ser\dce  of  Ireland    .... 

Free  quarter  and  billeting— conduct  of  the  Council  of  State  . 

Conduct  of  the  government  of  Charles  I.  and  of  subsequent  governments 

Proportion  of  musketeers  to  pLkemen    ...... 

of  flintlocks  to  matchlocks    .... 


PAGE 

36-43 

44 

44-46 

47 

49-52 

53-59 

60 

61 

62 

63,  64 

64 

64-66 

66,  67 

68 


CHAPTER  II. 


Tyranny  of  the  Parliament  and  Council  of  State       .         .         .         . 
Lt.-Col.  John  Lilbume  committed  to  the  Tower  upon  suspicion  of  high 

treason,  for  being  the  author  of   a  book  intituled   "England's 

New  Chains  Discovered  " 

State  of  the  parliamentary  army 

Antinomians  and  Fifth  Monarchy  men 

Fanaticism  of  Cromwell  and  Vane    . 

Influence  of  pamphlets  on  the  soldiers  of  the  parliamentary  army 

Petition  in  behalf  of  Lilbume,  &c. ,  gave  offence  to  the  House 

The  Levellers,  origin  of  the  term 

The  Levellers'  war  crushed 

Component  parts  of  the  parliamentary  army 

Assassination  of  Dorislaus 

Relations  with  Spain       .... 

Holland    .... 

Pressing  of  Dutch  ships  for  the  transport  of  troops  to  Ireland 

The  government  not  strictly  parliamentary  government 

The  expedition  to  Ireland  hastened  . 

The  soldiers'  arrears  of  pay      .... 

Arms  and  ammunition     ..... 

CromweU  sets  out  for  Ireland  .... 

Cromwell's  pay  as  General  in  Ireland 

Reduction  of  garrisons  and  demolition  of  castles 

Business  of  the  Council  of  State,  their  secretaries  and  clerks 


69,  70 

71,72 
73-76 

77-80 

81,  82 

83,  84 

85-88 

89 

90-94 

95,96 

97 

99 

101,  102 

103 

105,  106 

107 
108,  109 
111 
113 
114 
115 
116,  117 


^■i^h^iadbHau 


CONTENTS. 


IX 


PAGE 


118-122 


123 


CHAPTER  III. 


Irish  affairs   . 

The  amy  of  Omond  defeated  by  Michael  Jones 
The  Irish  massacre  of  1641 
Storm  of  Drogheda 

Storm  of  Wexford  . 

•  •         • 

Death  of  Lieut. -Gen.  Michael  Jones 
Preparations  for  John  Lilbunie's  trial 

New  law  of  treason 

•  .         .         , 

Clarendon's  inaccurate  account  of  Lilbume 
''"l^il^-  ^'•^^'  ^""-^  -'  »'  ^■-'-th/the  Wife  of  John" 
Petition  for  a  new  parliament  .         .  '         '         '         * 

John  Lilburne's  letter  to  the  Si)eaker        '         *         *         '         ' 

'''"Ti::'cZ.f;  *™  -'  "'^  '^-"  "^  «-*e  and  that  of 
Busine^^of  the  Council  of  State  in  .«a.d  to  .ohhe.,  thieves,  and 

■«».  *  •  • 

The  late  king's  plate  converted  into  coin,  &c. 

The  government  their  own  news  writer  '       '     '         '         * 

Lodgings  in  Whitehall  for  membei^  of  the  Council  of  State 

Amount  of  the  excise  for  the  three  years  last  passed 

Estimate  of  the  charge  of  the  fleet  for  1650 

Grant  of  lands  by  the  Parliament  to  Cromwell 

Style  with  foreign  powers  "The  Parliament  of 
England  " 

•  •  , 

Election  of  Council  of  State  for  1650 

Puritan  Legislation,  consequences  of 

Twofold  character  of  the  Puritan  rebellion 

Reinforcements  for  Ireland 

I^ton  appoinWd  Cron^weU's  successor  in  I.eUnd  with  the  iitie  of  L„.^ 


'  •  , 

the  Commonwealth  of 


124 

125 

126-132 

135-138 

139 

140 

141,  142 

143,  144 

144,  145 

116,147 
148-153 
154,  155 
156-158 
159-162 


163 

164-168 
169 
170 
171 
173 
175 
176 

177 
178,  179 
180-182 
183,  184 
185-188 

189 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    TRIAL    OF   LIEUT.-COL.    JOUN   LILBURNE. 

Lilburne,  in  his  opening  speech,  says  that  he  was  one  of  those  who  first 
drew  their  swords  against  the  king's  party,  and  relates  how  he 
was  taken  prisoner  at  Brentford         ...... 

•  exposes  the  inconsistency  of  Bradshaw        .... 

charges  Haseh-ig  with  taking  his  estate  without  law    . 

objects  to  the  commission,  and  asks  to  be  allowed  counsel,  a 

copy  of  the  indictment,  and  reasonable  time  to  consult  with  his 
counsel    ........... 

Lilburne's  argument  in  regard  to  being  allowed  counsel,  &c. 

plea  to  the  indictment      ....... 

Question  of  the '' Agreement  of  the  People  "     .         .         .         .         . 

Passages  from  Lilburne's  writings     ....... 

Lilburne's  exception  to  Col.  Purefoy  as  a  witness        .... 

Lilburne  contends  that  there  were  not  two  witnesses  to  any  one  fact 
against  him 

The  Court  refuses  the  prisoner  time  ...... 

Lilburne  contends  that  the  juiy  are  not  only  judges  of  fact  but  of  law 

Subsequent  settlement  of  that  question     ...... 

Lilburne's  defence  .......... 

The  attorney -general's  misstatements  of  law  and  fact 

The  presiding  Judge  Keble's  misstatement  of  the  law 

Acquittal  of  Lilburne  received  by  the  people  with  extraordinary  accla- 
mations ........... 


PAGE 

191,  192 

193,  194 

195 

196-202 
203-208 
209 
211,  212 
213-220 
221,  222 

223 

224,  225 

227-230 
231-233 
234,  235 
236-243 
244-246 

247-251 


CHAPTER  V. 

State  of  affairs  in  Scotland       ........ 

The  Scottish  oligarchy's  sale  of  their  king  to  the  English  Parliament    . 
The  Scottish  Parliament   .  ....... 

The  |>ower  of  the  nobility  in  Scotland  was  the  cause  of  the  poverty 

and  democratical  form  of  the  Scottish  Presbyterian  church  . 
Difference  between  the  English  and  Scottish  feudal  aristocracies  . 
The  nobility  seized  the  whole  of  the  Church  property  in  Scotland 

Three  classes  of  the  Scottish  Presbyterians,  the  nobility,  the  clergy, 
and  the  people 

The  Scottish  Presbjrterian  clergy 

Distinction  between  the  Presbyterians  and  Independents  as  regarded 
military  efficiency 


252,  253 

254-256 

258 

259-262 

263,  264 

265 

266,  267 
268-271 

273 


CONTENTS. 

Honest  fanatics  are  not  necessarily  honest  men 

Characteristics  of  the  democratical  and  of  the  oligarchical  Scottish 

Presbyterians 

•  •         •         .         . 

The  Marquis  of  Montrose 

'         ■         •         •         • 

State  of  parties  in  Scotland      . 

•  •         •         •         . 

Prince  Charles  is  proclaimed  at  Edinburgh  King  of  Scotland 

The  Scots  commissioners  are  sent  home  by  land 

Montrose's  last  expedition 

His  defeat  and  capture    . 

His  cruelties  at  Aberdeen  in  1644 

His  character 

His  sentence  and  execution 

His  lenity  in  1639 

Cause  of  his  desertion  of  the  Covenanters,  the  rivalry  of  Argyle 

Arrival  of  Charles  in  Scotland,  June,  1650 

Assa^ination  of  Ascham,  the  English  Pariiament's  agent  in  Spain 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  English  Parliament  prepares  for  war  with  Scotland 

Fairfax  resigns  his  command  and  Cromwell  is  appointed  commander-' 
in-chief 

The  Scottish  levies— how  raised  and  how  composed 

Language  of  the  Presbyterians  and  Independents  to  each  other  . 

Cromwell  and  Monk 

■ 

Cromwell's   array  pa^es  through   Berwick    and   marches   across   the 

border 



Cromwell's  proclamation  to  his  soldiers  against  plundering,  and  his 

severity  towards  those  who  disobeyed 
The  Pass  called  Cockburn's  Path  -  mistakes  respecting  it,  and  the 

road  by  which  Cromwell's  army  marched 

Scottish  villages     .... 

The  command  of  the  Scottish  army  was  held  by  David  Leslie,  but  he 

was  controlled  by  the  Committee  of  Estates 
Leslie's  prudent  generalship 

Cromwell's  attempts  in  vain  to   bring  on  a  battle    on  advantageous 
ground     .... 

Retreat  of  the  English  army  to  Dunbar 

Its  weak  condition 

Cromwell's  character  as  a  general 


XI 

I'AGE 

274,  275 

276,  277 
278-280 
281,  282 
283 
285-288 
290,  291 
292 
293,  294 
295-299 
300-306 
307 
308 
310 
311,  312 


313 

314-318 
319-323 
324,  325 
326,  327 

328 

329,  330 

331-337 
339-341 

342 
343,  344 

345,  346 

347-349 

350 

351,  352 


/ 


xu 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

353 


Down  Hill,  near  Dunbar  ..... 

Broxburn        ......•• 

Relative  situation  of  Broxburn  and  Down  Hill 

Battle  of  Dunbar    .....•• 

Treatment  of  the  prisoners 

Surrender  of  Edinburgh  Castle        .... 

State  of  parties  in  Scotland     ..... 

Explanation  of  the  great  disproportion  between  the  loss  of  the  con- 
quered and  that  of  the  conquerors  at  Dunbar  and  at  Bannock- 
burn 389-392 


354 
355,  356 
356-377 

378-384 
385 
387 


ERRATA. 


/  V 


HISTORY    OF    ENGLAND. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  political  condition  of  England  upon  the  death  of 
King  Charles  presented  a  phenomenon  at  once  anonnlous 
and  co.plieat.d.  It  conse,ueatly  presented  to  thoT  til 
were  to  carry  on  the  English  government  a  practical  pro- 
blem proportionally  difficult  of  solution.  In  order  to 
furnish  even  an  approximation  to  an  accurate  view  of  the 
dements  that  entered  into  that  problem,  it  will  he  necessa^ 
to  place  before  us  the  p^-incipal  elements  of  the  English 
Government  in  the  early  part  of  the  1 7th  century 

The    power  of  the   ancient    English    kings    had    been 
hm,ted    not  merely  by  the  parchment  provisions  of    l" 

barns  a  It'  '''  '' ^'^  '''-''  ''  "'^  ^^^'^^^ 

thousand  barbed  horses ;  many  a  baron  five  or  six  h.mL 
barbed  horses;    whereas   now  (at  the    beginning  of      e 
17th   century)   very   few   of  them  can  furnish   Wenty  fi 
^  serve   the  ting.     The  force,   therefore,    by  wIS^^u 

In  the  hst  of  the  Peers  summoned  to  the  Long  Parlialt 

1        -TV.  .    .  ' 


'  r>iich's  edition  of  RaleigL'.  Work.s,  vol.  i.  p.  206. 


li 


HISTORY   OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


may  be  observed,  indeed,  a  few  names  of  families  which 
had  levied  war  against  the  Plantagenets.  But  the  names 
are  but  shadows — nominum  umhrce.  Besides  these,  there 
were  titles  in  that  list  that  sounded  like  those  which  had 
once  formed  the  Norman  war-cry  ;  but  they  were  only 
mock  titles  ;  bought  by  money,  or  earned  by  baseness  and 
indelible  infamy,  from  those  who  had  debased  both  nobility 
and  knighthood  in  England. 

A  glance  at  the  state  of  the  peerage  at  the  time  of  the 
meeting  of  the  Long   Parliament  is  nearly  as  suggestive  of 
the  effect    of   the   government    of   the    Stuarts  upon  the 
ancient   institutions   of  England,   as  the    cruellest  acts  of 
oppression   they    had   exercised    upon    the    humblest    and 
poorest  of  their  subjects.      The  list  of  the  peers  consists  of 
1  duke,  1  marquis,  63  earls,  5  viscounts,  and   54  barons; 
in  all  124.     Now,  the  list  of  peers  summoned  to  the  first 
Parliament  of  James,   consists   of  1    marquis,   1 9   earls,  1 
viscount,   and   21    barons  ;  in  all  42.     And  the  list  of  all 
the  peers  summoned  to  the  first  Parhament  of  Charles  the 
First,  consists  of  1  duke,  1  marquis,  37  earls,  11  viscounts, 
and  47  barons  ;  in  all  97.     And  the  Ust  of  all  the  peers  at 
the  opening  of  the  fifth  Parliament   of  Charles,  the  Long 
Parliament,  consisting  of  124  ;  while  the  number  of  peers 
created  or  advanced   in  peerage,   between   the   opening  of 
the  Long  Parliament  in  1  640,  and  the  battle  of  Naseby  in 
1645,  amounted  to  43  ;  it  appears  that  James  more   than 
doubled  the   number   of  peers  during  his    reign   of  some 
twenty  years  ;  and  that   Charles  in   the  space  of  twenty 
years,  again  nearly  doubled  them.^     Of  the  peers  made  by 
James,  It  may   be   said  with  truth,  in  the  words  of  Mrs. 
Hutchinson,  "  the  nobility  of  the  land  was  utterly  debased 

I  state  of  the  Peerage,  in  Pari.  Hist.,       Leeds  Journals,    Dugdale's  Baronage, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  591-597,  extracted  from  the       and  other  authorities. 


1640.J 


STATE   OF   THE   PEERAGE. 


by  setting  honours  to  public  sale,  and   confemng  them  on 
persons  that  had  neither  blood  nor  merit   fit  to   wear,  nor 
estates  to  bear  up  their    titles,   but  were  fain  to   invent 
projects  to  pillage  the  people,  and  pick  their  purses  for  the 
maintenance  of  vice  and  lewdness.''  ^     Even  the  peerage  of 
Francis  Bacon  was  conferred,  not  for  his  merits,  but  for  his 
demerits,  for  acts  of  servile  baseness  to  that  hideous  court 
that  have  left  behind  them  a  stain  as  immortal  as  his  name. 
"  My  seat,''  said  Queen  Elizabeth  on  her  deathbed,  « is 
the  seat  of  kings,  and  I  would  have  none  but  a   king  fill 
it  after  me."     If  the  spirit  of  the  great  queen  could  have 
beheld  what  these  Stuarts  had  been  doing  in  that  royal 
seat  of  hers  for  the  last  forty  years,  the  spectacle  would 
have  provoked  no  ordinary  amount  of  indignation,  as  well 
as  astonishment— the  spectacle  of  that  ancient  monarchy, 
which,  for  600  years,  had  been,  on   the  whole,  supported 
with  so  much  wisdom  and  valour,  fallen  into  such  a  depth 
of  decrepitude  and  dishonour.      In  all  history  there  could 
hardly  be  found  a  contrast  more  striking  than  that  between 
Queen  Elizabeth  and  her  immediate  successors. 

Of  the  English  peerage  at  the  opening  of  the  Long  Par- 
liament in  1640,  since  two- thirds  could  not  date  their 
nobility  farther  back  than  the  accession  of  James,  that  is, 
thirty-seven  years  ;  and,  of  the  remaining  third,  hardly  one- 
half  could  date  their  nobility  as  far  back  as  the  time  of  the 
Plantagenets,  the  English  nobility  must  certainly  be  con- 

»  Memoirs  of  Col.  Hutchinson,  p.  78,  they  say  it  is  the  most  noble  and  mag- 
Bohn's  edition,  London,  1854.  This  nanimous  assembly  that  ever  these 
statement  is  borne  out  fully  by  other  walls  contained.  And  I  heard  a  lord 
contemporary  evidence.  Thus,  in  a  intimate  they  were  able  to  buy  the 
letter  dated  March  21,  1628,  in  the  Upper  House  (his  Majesty  only  ex- 
Sloan  MSS.,  and  cited  in  Mr.  Forster's  cepted)  thrice  over,  notwithstanding 
Life  of  Sir  John  Eliot,  p.  57,  note,  the  there  be  of  lords  temporal  to  the  num- 
writer  says  :-"  The  House  of  Com-  ber  of  118.  And  what  lord  in  England 
mons  was,  both  yesterday  and  to-day,  would  be  followed  by  so  many  free- 
as  full  as  one  could  sit  by  another  ;  and  holders  as  some  of  these  are  1 " 

B    2 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


/I  I 

sidered  to  have  been  at   that  time  a  new  nobility.     But 
there   was  a  class   in  England,  known  by  the  name    of 
"gentry,"  and  composing  a  considerable    portion    of  the 
House  of  Commons,  wliich,  from   the   great  length  of  time 
that  many  of  their  members  had  held  their  lands,  by  free 
and  military  tenure,  must    be    considered    not    new,   but 
ancient  in   lineage,  as  well  as  in  rank  and   position.      This 
class,  besides  many  who   had  never  belonged   to  the  great 
barons  or  peerage,  but  had  held  their  lands,  if  not  so  long 
as  the  heralds  assert,  still,  a  very  long  time,  comprehended 
also  many  of  the  younger  branches  of  the   great  Norman 
families,  the  elder  branches  of  which  had  become   extinct. 
And  yet,  it  is  not  unimportant  to  remark  that  while  many 
members   of  this    class   might    represent    counties    in    the 
House  of  Commons,  and  were,  in  that  character,  denomi- 
nated knights  of  the  shire,  others  might  represent  boroughs, 
and  were,  in  that  capacity,  denominated  burgesses ;  though 
strictly,  the  burgess  for  any  town  was   understood   to  be 
one   of  the   burgesses  or  burghers   of  that  town,  sent  by 
them  as   their  representative  in  the   House    of  Commons. 
And  not  unfrequently  they  really  were  so,  being  men  who 
were,  or  had  been  engaged  in  trade  in  that   town.      Such 
men  might  still  be  connected  with,  or  descended  from,  the 
class   of    gentry    as    Oliver    Cromwell,    the    burgess    for 
Huntingdon,  was.      There  were,  also,  undoubtedly  many 
men  of  humble  birth,  and  who  had  been  of  humble  occupa- 
tion, among  the  eminent  officers  of  the  Parliament.     Denzil, 
Lord  Holies,  describes  them  as  being  "all   of  them  from 
the  general  (Sir  Thomas  Fairfax),  except  what  he  may  have 
in  expectation  after  his  father's  death,  to  the  meanest  sen- 
tinel, not  able  to  make  a  thousand  pound  a-year  lands,  most 
of  the    colonels    and    officers    mean    tradesmen,    brewers, 
tailors,   goldsmiths,   shoemakers   and    the  like;   a  notable 


>aaa;4.i 


1640.] 


ENGLISH  GENTRY. 


dunghill,  if  one  would  rake  into  it  to  find  out  their  several 
pedigrees/'  *     I  have  not  the  least  wish  to  prove  that  these 
men  were  not  what  Denzil  Holies  and  other   Presbyterian 
and  royalist  writers  have  represented  them  as   being ;  but 
I  wish  to  ascertain  the  truth,  if  possible,  whatever  it  may 
be ;  and  it  is  well  known  to  any  one  who  has  studied  this 
period  of  English  history,  that  to  find  out   the  truth  in 
these  matters  is  extremely  difficult,  if  not  altogether  impos- 
sible,  since  writers  that  have  been  cited  by  some  modern 
historians  as  good  or  sufficient  authorities,  such  as  Walker, 
Bates,  Noble,  and  the  author   or  authors  of  "  The  Mystery 
of  the  Good  Old  Cause,"  are  all  violent  royalist  or  Pres- 
byterian partizans.      And   I  believe  that  the  pedigi-ees  of 
many  of  the  Ironsides,  even   the   humblest   born  of  them, 
would  bear  "  raking  into  "  quite   as  well  as  those  of  the 
Stuart  peers.     The  pedigree  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  whom  Lord 
Holies  classes  among  "  mean  tradesmen,''  because  he  was  a 
brewer,  was  at  least  better,  though  OHver  cared  little  for 
such  things,  than  that  of  Lord  Holies,  whose  father's  nobility 
went  no  farther  back  than  James's  reign  of  infamy. 

It  is,  however,  beyond  a  doubt,  that  in  the  earlier 
stages  of  the  struggle  between  the  King  and  the  Parlia- 
ment, it  was  to  members  of  the  class  of  gentry,  such  as 
Hampden  and  Fairfax,^  that  the  nation  looked  with  con- 
fidence, as  the  men  best  fitted  to  lead  her  councils  and 
command  her  armies.     Such  men,  with  the  ancient  lineage, 

>  HoUes's    Memoirs,  p.  149.     Lon-  Yorkshire  ;  ajs  Lucius  Carey,  Viscount 

don,  1699.  Falkland,  also  a  Scotch  peer,  sat  for  the 

2  The  fact  of  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax's  borough  of  Newport— sat,  therefore,  in 

father  having,  in  1627,  been  created  a  Parliament  as  a  burgess,  and  in  that 

Scotch  peer  can  hardly  be  considered  as  character  was  strictly  included  in  the 

taking  the  Fairfaxes  out  of  the  class  designation  * 'Goodman  Burgess, "  which 

of  gentry  to  which  they  had  belonged  the  doorkeeper  of  the  House  of  Lords, 

for  so  many  ages.   Indeed,  Ferdinando,  to  be  mentioned  presently,  probably, 

Lord  Fairfax,  the  father  of  Sir  Thomas  however,  meant  to  apply  to  the  whole 

Fairfax,  sat  in  the  Long  Tarliament  for  House  of  Commons. 


6 


HISTORY   OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


1640.] 


ENGLISH    LAWYERS. 


inherited  also  a  large  portion  of  the  territorial  wealth,  the 
military  character,  and  the  high  spirit  of  that  old  Norman 
aristocracy,  which  had  so  often  resisted  the  encroachments 
of  their  kings,  and  had  once  filled  Europe  and  Asia  with 
their  victories  and  their  renown.  In  looking  over  the  list 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  at  the  opening  of  the  Long  Par- 
liament, we  are  struck  with  many  indications,  from  the 
names  of  the  members  in  connection  with  the  counties  or 
places  they  represent,  of  the  ancient  establishment  of  this 
class  in  England,  and  even  of  its  continuance  down  to  our 
own  times — for  some  of  the  places  are  represented  in  1860 
by  men  bearing  the  same  names  as  those  who  sat  for  them 
in  1  G40.  There  are  the  ancient  names  of  Hampden,  of 
Godolphin,  of  Trevanion,  of  Percy,  of  Montague,  of  Basset, 
of  Glanville,  of  Grenville,  associated  with  places  which 
had  known  them  for  twenty  generations. 

To  the  class  of  gentry  also  belonged  the  lawyers,  at 
least  the  members  of  the  Inns  of  Court ;  who,  in  Eng- 
land, did  not,  as  in  France,  constitute  a  nobility  of  the 
gown,  distinct  from,  and  inferior  to,  the  nobility  of  the 
sword,  but  were,  upon  all  fitting  occasions,  able  and  ready 
to  prove  themselves  men  of  the  sword  as  well  as  men  of 
the  gown ;  and  furnished,  indeed,  almost  all  the  best 
officers  of  the  Parliamentary  armies.  Ireton,  Lambert, 
Ludlow,  Michael  Jones,  ^  were  members  of  the  Inns  of 
Court  ;  and  though  Oliver  Cromwell's  name  is  certainly 
not  to  be  found  now  in  the  books  of  Lincoln's  Inn,  it 
appears  to  be  beyond  a  doubt  that  he  was  sent  up  to 
London  for  the  purpose  of  being  entered  as  a  member  ; 
and  that  whether  or  not  his  name  was  ever  actually 
entered  on  the  books  of  that  society,  he  occupied  chambers 

*  Whitelock's   speech   in  favour   of      liament,  in  Pari.  Hist.,  vol.  iii.p.l341. 
lawyers  being  elected  members  of  Par- 


in  Lincoln's  Inn  for  some  time.'  The  insolence  of  the 
modern  military  despotisms,  which  have,  throughout  Europe, 
risen  up  on  the  ruins  of  the  feudal  system,  changing  their 
old  title,  "  suzerain,''  into  "  sovereign,"  and  to  establish  a 
despotism  similar  to  which  in  England  was  the  aim  of  the 
Stuarts,^  has  attempted  to  affix  a  word  of  contempt  on 
all  men  who  are  not  soldiers  by  profession,  that  is,  soldati, 
and  with  that  object  they  have  used  the  word  robin,  and 
more  recently  pequin.  Among  nations  who  have  not 
been  trampled  under  the  heel  of  a  despot,  the  greatest 
men  are  those  who  graft  the  character  of  a  man  of  the 
sword  upon  that  of  a  man  of  the  gown.  Such  men  w^ere 
the  gi-eatest  Koman  generals,  including  Julius  Caesar  him- 
self; and  such  men  were  Cromwell  and  his  best  officers. 
Among  the  earlier  Norman  lawyers  and  judges  we  find  the 


*  It  is  possible  that  even  contempo- 
rary writers  may  have  been  mistaken; 
but  it  appears  impossible  that  the  oflBi- 
cial  inscription  over  the  bed  of  state 
after  his  death  should  have  described 
him  as  ' '  educated  in  Cambridge,  after- 
wards of  Lincoln's  Inn,"  if  he  had  not 
actually  lived  in  Lincoln's  Inn,  although 
he  had  not  entered  his  name  on  the 
books  :  since  there  were  many  persons 
living  at  the  time,  to  whom  the  fact 
was  distinctly  known,  and  who  would 
have  had  the  inscription  corrected  if  it 
was  inaccurate  in  that  particular.  The 
steward  of  Lincoln's  Inn,  in  showing 
me  the  entry  of  Richard  Cromwell  on 
the  books  of  the  Inn,  observed  that  if 
at  that  time  it  was  customary,  as  it  is 
now,  to  describe  a  member  as  the  son 
of  a  member,  provided  the  father  had 
been  a  member,  the  absence  of  such  de- 
scription in  the  case  of  Richard  Crom- 
well, who  is  only  described  as  "filius 
et  heres  apparens,  Oliv.  Cromwell  de 
Ely  de  insula  Ely  in  com.  Cantab.  Ar.," 
would  prove  that  Oliver  Cromwell  had 


not  been  a  member  of  the  society.  But 
we  found  that  this  proved  nothing,  as 
the  same  omission  occurs  in  the  case  of 
the  entry  of  the  son  of  Thurloe,  Crom- 
well's secretary,  who  was  undoubtedly 
a  member  of  Lincoln's  Inn. 

2  Every  one  who  knows  anything  of 
the  constitutional  laws  of  England 
knows  that  the  word  *'  sovereign  "  can- 
not be  constitutionally  or  correctly  ap- 
plied to  the  king  or  queen  of  England. 
In  the  debates  in  Parliament  on  the 
Petition  of  Right,  Lord  Chief  Justice 
Coke  used  these  memorable  words  : — 
"Magna  Chartas  is  such  a  fellow  that 
he  will  have  no  sovereign."  (Rush- 
worth,  vol.  i.  p.  568.  Pari.  Hist.  vol. 
ii.  p.  357.)  Those  persons  who  mislead 
constitutional  princes  by  teaching  them 
to  use  words  that  are  at  once  inaccurate 
and  dangerous  are  their  enemies.  The 
"sovereign"  of  England  consists  at 
present  of  the  queen,  lords,  and  com- 
mons. Each  of  these  separately  forms 
only  a  limb  of  the  .^sovereignty. 


8 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


LChap.  I. 


1640.] 


ENGLISH   LA)\TERS. 


9 


names  of  the  most  warlike  and  powerful  feudal  families. 
And  the  union  in  early  times  of  the  civil  with  the  military 
character  in  the  highest  judicial  functionary  is  particularly 
observable  among  the  Normans  and  Auglo-Normans. 

It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Chief  Justiciary  was 
an  officer  whose  functions  by  no  means  corresponded  with 
those  of  the  modern  Chief  Justice.  In  order  to  com- 
prehend the  functions  of  the  Chief  Justiciary,  it  is 
necessary  to  know  those  of  the  grand  seneschall,  or 
Senescallus  Anglian  ;  in  modern  language  the  Lord  High 
Steward.  This  officer  was  the  highest  in  the  State,  after 
the  King ;  executing  all  the  chief  offices  of  the  kingdom, 
as  the  king's  representative ;  and  being  thus  chief  ad- 
ministrator of  justice,  and  leader  of  the  armies  in  war. 
This  is  proved  to  have  been  the  case  in  France,  by 
Ducange  and  other  high  authorities,  as  well  as  by  the 
pubHc  records  of  the  kingdom  ;  ^  and  in  England  by  the 
Blalogus  de  Seaccavio,  written  in  the  time  of  Henry  II., 
and  published  by  Madox,  from  the  black  and  red  books 
of  the  Exchequer,^  and  likewise  by  certain  MSS. 
preserved    in     Sir     Eobert     Cotton's    collection    in     the 


*  Ducange,  Gloss,  ad  voc.  Dapifer 
et  Senescallus.  See  also  the  Grand 
Coustumier  de  Normandie,  c.  X.  "  So- 
lebat  autem  antiquitus  quidam  justi- 
ciarius  prsedictis  superior  per  Nor- 
maniam  discurrere  qui  senescallus  prin- 
cipis  vocabatur." 

^  Madox,  Hist.  Exchequer.  See  Co. 
Litt.  61a,  for  some  account  of  the  judi- 
cial i)art  of  the  office  of  seneschal  or 
steward,  and  some  attempt  at  the  ety- 
mology of  the  word,  not  much  more 
successful  than  such  attempts  usually 
are.  Madox  is  in  error  when  he  says 
(Hist.  Excheq.  p.  28)  that,  in  the 
reign  of  William  I.,  William  Fitz 
Osbern  was  the  King's  constable,  be- 
cause  he  is  called  mcujister  m'dilam  ; 


whereas  in  the  very  same  passage  (of 
Orderius  Yitalis)  he  is  called  Norman- 
nice  Dapifer,  in  virtue  of  which  office 
he  would  be  magister  militum  as  well 
as  capitalis  justiciarus.  The  con- 
stable was  not  originally  mar/ister  mi' 
litum,  but  was  an  officer  subordinate 
to  the  senescallus,  or  dapifer.  The 
feudal  system  was  the  same  in  its  ap- 
plication to  a  manor  and  to  a  kingdom. 
The  steward  of  every  manor  held  the 
lord  of  the  manor's  court,  and,  in  his 
absence,  led  his  vassals  to  battle,  as 
Scott  has  accurately  described  it,  in 
"Marraion  :" — 

*'  There  fight  thine  own  retainers  too, 
Beneath  De  Burg,  thy  steward  true." 


British  Museum,  particularly  an  old  MS.  intituled  "  Quis 
sit  Senescallus  Angliae,  et  quid  ejus  efficium.'^^  All 
these  concur  in  the  extensive  and  paramount  nature  of  the 
authority  originally  wielded  by  the  Lord  High  Steward, 
but  none  of  them  explain  the  anomaly  of  the  co-existence 
of  such  an  officer  as  the  High  or  Chief  Justiciary.  I  will 
shortly  state  here  the  substance  of  an  explanation  of  this, 
which  I  had  occasion  to  give  elsewhere. 

By  the  nature  of  the   feudal   system  everything   had  a 
tendency  to  be  given  in  fief     Among   other   tilings   the 
office    of   seneschal    was  given  in   fief,   too,    and    became 
hereditary    among    the    Franks,     Normans,     and    Anglo- 
Normans.      In    France,    under   the   Merovingian   dynasty, 
the  office  was  in  the  family  of  diaries  Martel,  from"^  whom 
sprung  the  Carlovingian  dynasty.      Afterwards  the  Plan- 
tagenets.   Counts  of  Anjou   were  hereditary  seneschals  of 
France.'      In   England   this  high   office  was   granted   by 
William  the  Conqueror  to'  the   Grantmesnils,   and   thence 
came   by  marriage   to  the  Earls  of  Leicester.       After   the 
attainder  of  the  family  of   Montfort,  Earls   of   Leicester, 
the  office  was  given  to  Edmund,  the  second  son    of    Kinc/ 
Henry  III.      It  then  remained  in  the  royal  family  till  its 
abolition ;     Thomas    Plantagenet,     second    son    of    Kino- 
Henry  lY.,  being  the  last   permanent  high   steward,^   and 
the  office  being  conferred  afterwards  only  pro  unicd  vice. 


1  Cotton  MSS.,  Vespasian,  b.  vii.  fo. 
99b.  It  will  also  be  found  in  the  Harl. 
MSS  305,  fo.  48,  transcribed  in  a  mo- 
dem hand  by  D'Ewes,  who  supposed  it 
to  be  of  the  age  of  Edwaixi  II.  See 
also  Cotton  MSS.,  Titus  C.  xtassim. 
There  is  also  ^  tract  intituled  "  Sum- 
mus  Angliae  Senescallus,"  in  Somei-s' 
Tracts,  vol.  viii.  Barrington  says  (Ob- 
servations on  the  Statutes,  i^.  28b*, 
note  b,   5th  edition,    Loudon,    1706}, 


*'  Mr.  Tetyt  hath  copied  a  treatise  upon 
the  office  of  the  High  Steward  of  Eng- 
land from  a  manuscript  in  the  Cotton 
Library  (Vespasian,  b.  vii.  fo.  99b), 
which  he  says  is  ^  danyerous  to  he 
printed.' ''  Pet.  MSS.  vol.  xix.  p.  293. 

2  The  eldest  son  of  Henry  II.  is  said 
to  have  actually  performed  the  duties 
of  the  office  to  the  French  king. 

3  For  a  list  of  the  High  Stewards, 
see  Harl.  MSS.  2194. 


10 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


In  France,  when    the   office    became  hereditary  in  the 
family  of  the   Counts  of  Anjou,  it  became  necessary  to 
have  another  seneschal  or   dapifer  besides  the   hereditary 
one ;  and  this  officer,  as  the  representative  of  the  heredi- 
tary seneschal,  still  took  precedence — as  appears  from  the 
charters  of  the  French  kings — of  all  the  other  great  officers 
of  state.      In  England,  also,  something  of  the  same  kind 
took    place,   but  with    this   difference :    that    the   various 
functions  of  the  original   grand  seneschal,  or  senescallics 
An^lice,  were   divided  into  two  parts,  and  committed  to 
two  distinct   officers   as  his  representatives ;    the   judicial 
functions  being   committed  to   an  officer  styled   the  chief 
justiciary ;  the  administrative  functions  to  an  officer  styled, 
not  the  seneschallus  or  dapifer  Anglice,  but  the  seneschallus 
or   dapifer  regis.      This  view  of  the  subject  would,  if  it 
needed  it,  be  corroborated  by  the  high  powers  of  the  officer 
created  in  later  times,  pro  hdc  vice,  to  preside  in  the  House 
of  Lords  at  state  trials,  which  officer  is  not  styled  "  high 
justiciary,"  but  "  lord  high  steward,"  that  is,  seneschallus 
Anglice.      This  explanation  also  removes  the  difficulty  of 
accounting  for  the  extraordinary  powers  of  the  lord  high 
steward's  court,  which  some  English  lawyers  have  attempted 
to   get  over  by  assuming  that  the  lord  high  steward  suc- 
ceeded to  some  of  the  powers  of  the  high  or  chief  justiciary, 
whereas  he  merely  exercises  powers  which  had  been  dele- 
gated to  the  high  justiciary.* 

The  chief  justiciary,  even  in  those  times  when  a  special 


*  Mr.  Amos,  in  a  disquisition  on  the 
office  of  Lord  High  Steward  in  Phil- 
lips's State  Trials,  Appendix,  vol.  ii., 
falls  into  the  usual  error  of  supposing 
that  the  judicial  authority  of  the  Lord 
High  Steward  grew  out  of  that  which 
appertained  to  the  chief  justiciary  at 
the   period   when  the  latter  office  was 


abolished.  Madox,  whom  Blackstone 
and  others,  both  lawyers  and  historians, 
follow  on  this  subject,  has  fallen  into 
strange  confusion,  although  even  the 
documentary  evidence  contained  in  his 
own  book  furnished  the  means  of  ex- 
tricating himself. 


1640.] 


ENGLISH   LAWYERS. 


11 


education  was  not  considered  absolutely  necessary  to  fit  a 
man    for  the  judicial  office,  was  usually  a  person  who  had 
given  particular  attention  to  the  study  of  jurisprudence. 
As  the  representative  of  the  judicial  portion  of  the  grand 
seneschal's  powers,  his  authority  extended  over  every  court 
m  the  kingdom,  except  the  court  of  the  lord  steward  of 
the    king's    household.      What    Blackstone    says^    of   the 
court  of    the  marshalsea,   that  is,   the  court   of   the  lord 
steward  of  the  king's  household,  having  never  been  subject 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  chief  justiciary,  and   no  writ  of 
error  lying  from  it  to  the  King's  Bench,  confirms  what 
has  been  said,  and  merely  amounts  to  this  :  that  the  court 
of  the  steward   was,   in  fact,   originally   the  court  of  the 
lord   high   steward,    and    in   that   court  that    one    of  his 
representatives,   who    was    caUed    the  lord  steward,    pre- 
sided.    That  the  functions  of  the  senescallus,  or  dapifer 
regis,  as  the  representative  of  the  administrative  portion 
of  the  grand  seneschal's  authority,  were  political,  and  not 
merely,  hke    those  of   the   present    lord    steward  of   the 
household,  confined  to  matters  connected  with  the  king's 
household,  is  proved   by  the   constant  appearance  of  his 
name  in  the  charters  and  other  important  public  documents 
of  the  time.     His  relative  position  with  regard  to  the  earl 
marshal  appears  from  the  following  passage  of  Britton  — 
';We  ordain  also  that  the  Earl  of  Norfolk  (marshal)  shall, 
either  by  himself  or  his  deputy  (being  a  knight),  be  atten- 
dant   upon  us  and  our  steward,  to  execute  our  commands 
and  the  attachments  and  executions  of  our  judgments,  and 
those  of  our  steward  throughout  the  verge  of  our  palace 
so  long  as  he  shall  hold  his  office  of  marshal."  ' 

The  chief  justiciary  not  only  presided  in  the  king's  court 
and  the  exchequer,  but  was,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  regent 


»  3  Bl.  Com.  76. 


2  Britton,  fo.  1.  b. 


12 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


of  the  kingdom   during  the  king's  absence  ;  and,  at  those 
times,  writs  ran  in  his  name  and  were  tested  by  him.^     In 
this   light  the  chief  justiciary  is  regarded  as  having  been 
the   greatest   subject   ui  England.     One  of  the   most  dis- 
tinguished of  those  who  held  this  high  office  was  Ranulph 
de  Glanville,  who  is  usually  regarded  as  the  author  of  the 
" Tradatus  de  Legibus  et  Gomuetudlnihus  AnglicBj'  the 
oldest  book  extant  on  English  law.^     The  last  who   held 
the  office  and  bore  the  title  of  cap  [talis  just  Itiarlus  A  ^iglice 
was  Philip  Basset,  the  third  of  his  family  who   held  that 
high  office — a  family  of  which   there  were  at  one  time  six 
barons  in    England ;    and    the    first    who    held   the  office 
of  capitalis  justiciarlus  ad  placita  coram  rege  tenenda^ 
i.  6.   chief  justice   of  the    King*s    Bench,    was    Eobert   de 
Bruis,    appointed  in  the  fifty-second   year  of  Henry  III.^ 
Sir  Edward   Coke   was   fond  of  indulging  his   vanity  by 
bestowing  the  same  title,  "  chief  justice  of  England,"  upon 
himself  whom    a    court    insect   such    as    Buckingham,  the 
minion    of   James    I.,    could    crush ;    and    on    the    grand 
justiciary,  the  capitalis  justitiarius  Anglice,  the  principal 
representative    of    the    high    functionary    who    had    been 
at  once  chief  administrator,  supreme  judge,  and   leader  of 
the  armies  of  England  and  Normandy.     This  proceeding 
on   the   part   of    Coke  was   noticed    by    Lord    Chancellor 
Ellesmere   in  his  address  to  Sir  Henry  Montague,  Coke's 
successor,    upon    his    being    sworn    chief  justice,    in  these 
words  : — "  Instead  of  containing  himself  within  the  words 
of  the  writ  to  be  the  chief  justice,  as  the  king  called  him 
'  ad  placita  coram  nobis  tenenda/  " 


*  Madox,  Hist,  of  the  Exchequer, 
p.  17. 

2  Madox,  p.  35.  Beames's  Glan- 
ville, Introd.  p.  12.  The  two  oflices  of 
Chief  Justiciary  and  Dapifer  seem  to 


have  been  sometimes  filled  by  the  same 
person  ;  Ranulph  de  Glanville  seems  to 
have  been  at  the  same  time  Chief  Justi- 
ciary and  Dapifer. 
»  Dugd.  Orig.  38. 


ft<Mai»^<teiriai!a,Ja>«Miira»a<8Kjf-vi!rT.i«iiiai;ff.^ 


1604.] 


ENGLISH   NOBILITY. 


13 


I  will  here  add  an  observation  which  will  make  apparent 
the  vast  power  anciently  attached  to  this  high  office  of 
seneschal,  dapifer,  or  steward.  To  two  of  the  most  illus- 
trious  royal  lines  of  modern  Europe,  the  Carlovingians  and 
Plantagenets,  it  served  as  a  stepping-stone  to  the  throne. 
It  was  for  fear  of  its  again  doing  the  same  thing  to  the 
house  of  Montfort,  earls  of  Leicester,  that  the  office  was 
first  taken  into  the  royal  family,  and  afterwards  abohshed 
in  England.  The  very  name  of  the  House  of  Stuart  came 
from  their  holding  the  office  of  steward  of  Scotland. 

The  English  nobility  of  that  time  (as  distinguished  from 
the  class  called  gentry),   though,   as   we  have  seen,   tlius 
new  and   thus  humble  in  their  origin,  to  use  no  stronger 
word,  had  displayed,  instead  of  humility,  all  the  insolence 
of  a  conquering   caste   in  their  demeanour  towards  their 
fellow-subjects.       Many  examples   might  be  given  of  this 
insolence  ;  but  one  which  rests  on  unimpeachable  authority 
will   be  sufficient.      One  day,  in  March,  IGOf,^  Sir  Her- 
bert Croft,   and  some   other    members   of   tlie    House    of 
Commons,  ofiering  to  enter  the  House  of  Lords,  a  yeoman 
of  His  Majesty's  guard,  keeping  one  of  the  doors  of  the 
Upper   House,  repulsed  them,  and  shut  the  door  in  their 
faces  with  these  w^ords,  "  Goodman  burgess,  you  come  not 
here.''2    The  demeanour  of  the  doorkeeper  may  be  assumed 
to  be  a  measure  by  no  means  inaccurate  of  the  estimate 
formed  by  those  within  the  Upper  House  of  the  power  and 
dignity  of  those   without  it.       But  between  March    160^ 
and  February,  I64f,  a  change   had  come   over  the  scene. 
"  Goodman    Burgess  "   had  shown  by  unmistakeable  sio-ns 
that  he  could  do  now  what  the  "  Upper  House  "  could  do 


^  It  is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind  that 
before  September,  1/52,  the  le<^l  year 
began  on  the  25th  of  March,  and  that 
according  to  that  reckoning  James  suc- 
cee<led  to  the  throne  of  England  on  the 


last  day  of  the  year  1G02,  namely,  the 
24th  of  March.     In  this  history  I  will 
write  all  the  dates  between  Jan.  1st  and 
Mar.  25th  thus— 24th  Mar.  160|. 
-  Cora.  Jour.  Lun?e,  Martii  19,  ieO|. 


ft. 


f 


14 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


no  loDger ;  that  lie  could  do  those  deeds  of  which  a  great 
authority  has  truly  said  that  they  ''  are  great  things,  for 
empires  lie  beyond  them/' 

The  men  who  did  these  things  proved  incontestably  that 
they  possessed  talent  for  efficient  action  of  the  hio-hest 
kind ;  but  they  unfortunately  did  not  show  that  they 
possessed  a  still  more  rare  and  valuable  quality  of  states- 
manship. They  proved  themselves  so  far  sure-footed,  but 
they  did  not  prove  themselves  far-sighted  statesmen.  They 
had  effectually  shown  that  they  knew  how  to  destroy  at  a 
time  when  the  work  of  destruction  seemed  the  work  impe- 
ratively demanded.  But  construction  must  follow  destruc- 
tion, and  in  their  work  of  construction  they  committed 
errors  leading  to  some  most  fatal  consequences. 

On   the   1st  of    February,    164f,  the  House  of  Lords 
met,  and  it  was  moved  to  take  into  consideration  the  set- 
tlement of  the  Government  of  England  and  Ireland  in  the 
present  conjunction  of   affairs   on  the   king's  death.       A 
committee  of  nine  Lords  was  appointed  to  join  with  a  pro- 
portionate  number  of  Commons,   and  a  message  to  that 
effect  was  sent  to  the  Commons'  House.     On  the  following 
day  the  messenger  sent  by  the  Lords  the  day  before  to  the 
Commons   acquainted   their  lordships   that   they  went  to 
that  House  and  waited  long,  but  were  not  admitted.     The 
Lords  thereupon  ordered  that  they  should  ctq  a^ain,  and 
desire  that  the  committee  of  both  Houses  might  meet  the 
next  morning,  at  the  same  hour  as  before  appointed.     Oa 
the  Srd  of  February,  the  Lords  being  informed  that  their 
messengers  to  the  House  of  Commons  were  not  yet  ad- 
mitted, expressed  not  the  least   resentment,    but    ordered 
them   to  go  again  that  day,  being  Saturday,    and  desire 
that    the    Committee    for    settling   the  Government  might 
meet  on   the  Monday  next.      But   on   Monday  the  Lords 
still  found  there  was   no  admittance   either  for  their  mes- 


1640.]  ABOLITION  OF  THE  OFFICE  OF  KING,  ETC.  15 

gangers  or  their  message  :  whereupon,  it  was  once  more 
ordered  to  send  another  message  for  a  meeting  next 
morning  ;  only  the  messengers  were  changed.' 

During  this  time,  in  the  Commons'  Ho^se  there  had  been 
a  long  and  sharp  debate  on  the  subject  of  the  Lords'  House. 
The  words  used  by  Whitelock,— who  was  present  and  took 
a  promment   part  in  the   debate—"  the  debate  wa^  long 
and    smart    concerning  the  Lords'  House,"  and,   "  after  a 
long  and  quick  debate,"  they  passed  the  vote  for 'abolishing 
the  office  of  king,^— show  that   there  were  several  Member 
of  the  House  of  Commons  of  sufficient  weight  to  command 
a  hearing  who  were   opposed  to  the  design  of  sweepin.. 
away  what  had  always  been  considered  as  essential  parts  o'f 
the   English   Constitution.     Yet    the    majority,  more    im- 
pressed  with  the  result  of  their  own  personal  experience 
than  with  those  of  records,  or  histories,  or  law-books,  had 
come  to  the  settled  conclusion  that  the  House  of  Peers  was 
"  useless  and  dangerous,"  and  that  "  the  office  of  a  king  in 
this  nation  was  unnecessary,  burthensome,  and  dangerous," 
and  they  voted  accordingly  the  abolition  of  the  House  of 
Peers  and  of  the  office  of  king.' 

Before  we  pronounce  judgment  on  the  judgment  these 
men  pronounced  on  these  two  parts  of  the  old  English 
Constitution,   we  ought  to    take    into   consideration  °the 
experience  they  had  had  of  them.     Lawyers  like  Coke  and 
Selden,  who  were  famihar  with  the  records  of  the  past 
could  remember  how  much,  in  the  times  of  the  Plantagenets^ 
the  great  barons  had  done,  in  securing  their  own  independ- 
ence,  for  the  security  of  the  independence  of  all  English 
freemen  ;  and,  even  without  entering  into  the  arguments 
philosophers   might   advance,   founded  on    the    corrupting 

im^'lLf'*'     '"''■    '"•    ^^'    ^^^^'  '    "n^hitelock's      Memorial,      im. 

Commons'  Journals,  Die  Mart.,  7  Feb. 


-  Whitelock's    Memorials,    p.    377. 
Folio.     London,  1732. 


164«.     Pari.  Hist.,  vol.  iii.  p.  1292. 


gftiJtte  <flMeg>ewf.ria.^jjatf.Tr.M..«^..a 


16 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[ClIAP.  I. 


influence  of  undivided  power,  would  be  apt  to  vote  against 
the  abolition  of  such  an  order  as  had  once  consisted  of 
those  brave  and  energetic  men.  But  men  who  looked  more 
to  the  present  than  to  the  past,  and  whose  experience 
of  royalty  and  nobility  was  such  as  theirs,  saw  no  good 
and  much  evil  in  a  king  such  as  James  or  Charles  Stuart ; 
and  saw,  if  no  danger,  at  least  no  use  in  a  House  of  Lords, 
which  contained  neither  great  statesmen,  great  soldiers,  nor 
great  lawyers.  For  it  is  impossible  to  obtain  any  approxi- 
mation to  an  adequate  conception  of  the  thoughts  and 
feelings  by  which  those  men  were  actuated  without  bearing 
in  mind  that  those  years  of  the  lives  of  all  of  them  in 
which  the  faculties  of  observation  and  reflection  are  most 
active  were  the  years,  or  a  part  of  them,  during  which  the 
Stuarts  had  occupied  the  throne  of  England  ;  that  during 
a  portion  of  those  years  they  had  seen  sitting  in  the  seat 
of  their  ancient  kings  a  king  who  had  carried  his  vices, 
his  misgovernment,  and  his  baseness  to  such  an  extent  that 
the  ambassadors  of  foreign  powers  resident  in  England 
repeatedly  expressed  their  astonishment  that  the  English 
nation  submitted  to  such  oppression  and  disgrace,  and  did 
not  rise  in  insurrection  and  depose  their  king  and  hang  his 
favourites,  as  the  English  barons  had  done  in  the  case 
of  Edward  II.,  and  Archibald  Bell-the-cat  in  the  case  of 
James  III.  of  Scotland, — calling  it  cowardice  in  the  Eng- 
lish people,  and  some  of  them  even  going  so  far  as  to  say 
that  there  were  "  no  men  in  England  :  "  ^  that,  when  this 
king  died,  his  son  who  succeeded  him,  instead  of  treating 
his  fixther's  favourite  as  Edward  III.  had  treated  the 
minions  of  Edward  II.,  actually  made  him  his  own  favour- 
ite,  and  gave  up  to  him  the  government  of  England  at 

*  The  Count  de  Gondemar,  the  Spa-  then  sat  on  the  English  throne,  pro- 

nish  Amhassador,  who  used  this  expres-  bably  thought   that   the  last  man  in 

sion,  and   to  whose  hostility   Raleigh  England  perished  with  Raleigh. 
was  sacrificed  by  the  base  cur  which 


1649.J 


CAUSES   OF   THAT  ABOLITION. 


17 


home  and  the  command  of  her  armies  in   the   discreditable 
wars  mto  which  he  drew  his  country ;    that   defeat   and 
dishonour  followed  wherever  this  minion  led,  till  England 
had  sunk  so  low  that  her  ambassadors  were  insulted  at 
foreign  courts,  her  merchant-ships  could  not  sail  the  sea  in 
safety,   and  her  very  coasts  were  ravaged  by  the  Barbary 
pirates,  who  plundered  the  villages  and  carried  off  many  of 
the  inhabitants  into  slavery ;  that,   therefore,   this   king^s 
attempts  to  govern  without  parhaments   and  without  laws 
had  not  about  them  anything  of  the  illusion  of  a  great  or 
splendid  tyranny,   which,   however  bitter  in  itself,  might 
have  presented  the  spectacle  of  a  coherent  system, '  carHed 
out  with  an  ability  and    courage  which,  were  its    object 
good   or  bad,   rendered   it  great  and  formidable ;  that,  in 
short,  aU  these  men  had  lived  for  a  considerable  portion  of 
their  lives  under  the  teasing,  exasperating  tyranny  of  a  man 
of  whose  mental  constitution  the  weakness  is  described  by 
those  who  knew  him  as  exceeding  all  imagination ; '  and 
that  the  patience  with  which  they  had  submitted  to  all  this 
can  hardly  be  conceived  without  the  evidence  of  their  own 
words. 

"  My  Lords,''  said  Sir  Henry  Martyn,  in  his  speech  at 
the  conference  with  the  Lords  against  the  addition  made 
by  the  Lords  to  the  Petition  of  Right  -"  My  Lords,  we  are 
not  ignorant  in  what  language  our  predecessors  were  wont 
to  express  themselves  upon  hghter  provocation  ;  and  in 
what  style  they  framed  their  petitions.      No   less  amends 

'  Count   Tillieres  to    the   King  of  tended  to  excuse  the  smallness  of  the 

France    August  28  and  31,   1625,  in  attendanceon  the  ambassador  by  In! 

Raumer's  H.story  of  the  16th  and  17th  that   ''his  Excellency  shTidd  nJtZk 

centuries,  vol   n.,   p.  294.-At  Paris,  it  strange  that  he  had  so  few  F  e^h 

Madnd,  and  the  Hague,  the  English  gentlemen  to  attend  on  this  service  and 

ambassadoi.  were  repeatedly  insulted.  t.  accompany  him  to  the  Court,  Lre 

When  Sir  Thomas  Edmunds  went  as  gard  there  were  so  many  kiUed  aTthe 

ambassador  to  France,  the  Frenchmen  Isle  of  Rhe."-i^o...Z/'..L J  p  210 

sent  to   meet  him  at  St.   Denis  pre-  8vo,  London,  1G78.  ^'        ' 

C 


18 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


could  serve  their  turn  than  severe  commissions  to  inquire 
upon  the  violation  of  their  liberties ;  banishment  of  some, 
execution  of  other  offenders  ;  more  liberties,  new  oaths  of 
magistrates,  judges,  and  officers  ;  with  many  other  provi- 
sions written  in  blood.  Yet  from  us  there  hath  been  heard 
no  angry  words  in  this  Petition  ;  no  man's  person  is  named  ; 
we  say  no  more  than  what  a  worm  trodden  upon  would  say 
(if  he  could  speak),  *  I  pray  tread  upon  me  no  more.' ''  ^ 

These  remarkable  words  in  the  speech  of  a  Member  of 
the  Commons  in  the  Parliament  of  Charles,  which  passed 
the  Petition  of  Right,  taken  together  with  the  not  less 
remarkable  language  used  by  the  French  ambassadors, 
prove  that  the  Lords  had  abdicated  their  office  of  being  a 
bulwark  of  protection  to  the  nation  against  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  Crown  ;  that  they  were  not  virtually,  as  they 
were  not  lineally,  the  representatives  of  the  warlike  and 
high-spirited  barons  who  had  set  their  seals  to  the  Great 
Charter,  but  truly,  as  well  as  lineally,  the  representatives  of 
the  creatures  of  the  Tudors — the  pettifoggers  to  make 
whom  gentlemen,^  to  borrow  the  words  of  Raleigh,  that 
enormous  mass  of  national  property  taken  from  the  Church 
by  Henry  YIII.,  about  one-third  of  the  land  of  England, 
was  diverted  from  its  legitimate  use ;  and  of  the  still 
baser  minions  of  the  Stuarts.  It  was  not  to  be  expected 
that,  when  the  trodden  worm  had  changed  into  the  deadly 
adder,  when  "  goodman  burgess "  had  started  up  into  an 
armed  man,  and  gone  forth  conquering  and  to  conquer, 
such  kings  and  such  Houses  of  Lords  should  appear 
either  very  useful  or  very  worshipful  institutions. 

There  were  still,  however,  some  members  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  mostly  constitutional  lawyers,  such  as  White- 


^  Pari.  Hist,  vol  ii.  p. 


2  Birch's  edition  of  Raleigh's  Works, 
vol.  i.  p.  227, 


1649.]        REASONS  IN  FAVOUR  OF  A  LIMITED  MONARCHY.  1  9 

lock  and  Widdrington,  two  of  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Great  Seal,  who  argued,  and  justly,  that  the  question  was 
not  what  Government  might  be  best  in  the  abstract,  but 
what  was  most  conformable  to  the  habits  and  feelings  of 
the  people,   and,  therefore,  likely  to  be  both  stable  and 
practicable  ;  that  monarchy  would  be  more  in  accordance 
with  the  general  sentiments  and  old  associations,  and  that 
the  election  of  a  king  from  one  of  the  late  king's  younger 
sons,  being  a  deviation   from   the   ordinary  rules  of  succes- 
sion, would  put  an  end  to  the  Divine-right  pretensions,  and 
stamp  him  and  his  successors  as  holding  their  place  by  Act 
of  Parliament,  and  not  by  Divine  right ;  while  the  con- 
tinucance  of  the  Crown  in  the   same   family,  under  certain 
limitations,  strictly  and  clearly  marked  out  and  settled  by 
the    national   will,    would  form  a   safeguard  against  the 
ambition  of  private  men. 

Some  even  named  King  Charles's  third  son,  the  Duke  of 
Gloucester;*    others   may    have  thought    of    the    Prince 
Elector,  the  king's  nephew,  who  remained  in  England  till 
March,  and  to  whom  the  House  paid  the  arrears  of  his 
pension  ;  ^  and  the  latter  scheme,  if  adopted  and  carried  out 
with  judgment  and  prudence,  might  have  been  attended  with 
many  advantages  to  the  nation,  might  have  saved  it  from 
many   evils,   from   much   suffering,   much   oppression,   and 
much  disgrace.     I  only  say  "  might  have  saved  it,''   for, 
when    we  consider  the   tenacity  with  which  not  only  the 
Stuarts   themselves,  but  many  other   persons  in  England, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland,  clung  to  the  notion  that  the  islands  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland  were  those  Stuarts'  private  pro- 
perty, in  the  disposal  of  which  the  inhabitants  had  no  voice 
whatever ;  and  that,  when  a  settlement  of  the  crown  on  a 


*  Wliitelock's  Memorials,    p.    364, 
Dec.  23,  1648,  folio,  London,  1732. 


Whitelock,  pp.  382,  386. 


c  2 


20 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


basis  somewhat  similar  to  that  mentioned  above  was  made 
forty  years  after,  even  then  nearly  sixty  years  more  elapsed 
before  the  Stuarts  finally  ceased  from  troubling,  it  would  be 
rash  to  pronounce  any  scheme  that  could  have  been  adopted 
perfectly  free  from  objections  and  difficulties. 

Nevertheless,  there  were  some  matters  of  detail,  in 
regard  to  which  I  think  it  can  be  shown  conclusively 
that  the  ruling  men  of  the  Long  Parliament  committed 
errors  of  the  most  deplorable,  if  not  fatal,  nature.  I  do 
not  mean,  however,  matters  of  administration,  for  their 
administrative  ability  was  very  conspicuous  on  most  occa- 
sions ;  but  matters  of  legislation.  At  the  same  time  many 
of  their  legislative  measures  were  undoubtedly  good,  and 
formed  the  basis  of  nearly  all  the  law  reforms  of  the  next 
generation.  But  while  the  parliaments  of  Charles  the 
Second  adopted  what  was  good  in  the  legislation  of  the 
Long  Parliament,  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  they 
would  shun  what  was  bad,  particularly  if  that  which  was 
bad  was  beneficial  to  the  majority  who  voted  for  it,  how- 
ever hurtful,  and  even  fatal,  it  might  be  to  the  English 
nation,  not  only  of  that,  but  of  all  succeeding  ages. 

During  the  first  thirty  years  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
the  English  Parliament  had  the  great  advantage  of  being 
led  by  two  or  three  of  the  greatest  constitutional  lawyers, 
such  as  Coke  and  Selden,  that  have  appeared  in  England. 
All  through  the  reign  of  James  I.  the  question  of  getting 
rid  of  the  oppressive  part  of  the  feudal  tenures  very  much 
occupied  the  attention  of  Parliament.  In  the  conference  in 
July,  1610,  with  the  Lords,  on  the  subject  of  the  abolition 
of  the  Court  of  Wards,  an  assurance  on  the  part  of  the 
Commons  was  placed  on  record,  that  in  raising  the  revenue 
to  be  substituted  for  the  revenue  arising  from  the  Court  of 
Wards,  and  the  feudal  dues,  "  nothing  shall  be  levied  upon 


1649.J 


ERRORS    OF   THE   LONG   PARLIAMENT. 


21 


the  people's   ordinary  victual;  videlicet,  bread,   beer,  and 
corn,  nor  upon  their   handy  labours  :  '*  and  on  the  part  of 
the  Lords  that  *'  the  manner  of  levying  it  should  be  in  such 
sort  as  may  be  secure  to  his  Majesty,  and  in  the  most  ease- 
ful and  contentful  sort  to  the  subject  that  by  both  Houses 
of  Parliament  can   be  devised."  ^     And  in  the  eighteenth 
year  of  the  reign  of  James,  a  motion  was  made  in  Parlia- 
ment for  commuting  the  feudal  payments  into  a  *'  compe- 
tent yearly  rent,  to  be  assured  to  his   Majesty,   his  heirs, 
and  successors.''^     The  amount  of  the  proposed  rent-charge 
was  equal  to   nearly  one-half  of  the  whole  revenue  of  the 
kingdom  at  that  time;^    and  as  the   value  of   the  land 
would   increase  with  the  wealth   of  the  kingdom,  the  pro- 
portion would  continue   the  same.      In  order,  however,  to 
make  this  rent-charge  correspond  in  beneficial  effect  with  the 
feudal  tenure,  it  must  have  been  so  constructed  as  to  rise 
in  time  of  war,  and  fall  in  time  of  peace,  thus  furnishing 
the  truly  and  only  efficient  check  which  the  old  English  Con- 
stitution had  placed  upon  unnecessary  and  expensive  wars. 
Unmindful  of  or  disregarding  all  these  most  important 
considerations,  the  Long  Parliament,  by  a  vote  or  ordinance 
passed  on  the  24th  of  February,  1646,*  had  abolished  the 
Court  of  Wards   and    Liveries,  and  all  tenures  by  knight 
service,  without  any  compensation  or  equivalent  whatever 
to  the  State.     This  ordinance  seems,  however,  not  to  have 
been  acted  upon  at  the  time.      The  dues  of  wardship,  and 
all  the  other  feudal  dues,  with  the  exception  of  purveyance, 
continued  to  be  rigorously  executed  till  1656,  when  one  of 
Cromwell's   Parliaments   passed  an  Act  "for  the   further 
establishing  and   confirming"   the   ordinance   above  men- 

1  Journals   of  the  House  of  Lords,       A  Inst.  202,  203. 

23rd  July,  1610.  3  Sinclair,  Hist.  Reven,,  vol.  i.  pp. 

2  To   this  motion  Coke  has  affixed      233,  244. 

the   stamp  of    his    approbation.     See  *  Pari.  Hist.,  vol.  iu.  p.  440. 


22 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 

tioned.  This  Act  was  in  substance  re-enacted  by  a  majority 

of  2  (the  number   being  149  against,  and  151   for  it)  in 

the  convention  parliament  in  1660,  and  the  excise,  in  direct 

contravention    of  the    assurance   of    the   Commons   stated 

above,  and  placed  on  record  on  the  Lords'  Journals,  was 

substituted  as  an  equivalent  for  the  revenue  arising  from 

the  Court  of  Wards.    After  a  debate,  in  which  one  member 

said  that  if  this  bill  was   carried,  every  man  who  earns  his 

bread  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow,  must  pay  excise  to  excuse  the 

Court  of  Wards,  which  would  be  a  greater  grievance  upon 

all,  than  the  Court   of  Wards  was  to  a  few ;  and  another, 

one  of  the  most  learned  of  English  lawyers,  spoke  strongly 

against  the  gross  injustice  of  making  those   who  had  no 

lands  pay  an  equivalent  for  the  rent-charge,  which  was  the 

condition  on  which  the  land  of  England  had  originally  been 

granted  to  be  held  as  private  property.^ 

As  the  House  of  Commons,  or  the  body  which  called 
itself  the  House  of  Commons,  was  now  the  sole  governino* 
power  in  England,  it  would  be  desirable  to  ascertain  the 
exact  number  of  members  composing  that  assembly  at  this 
time.  But  that,  I  apprehend,  is  impossible,  for  the  follow- 
ing reason.  Immediately  after  the  king's  execution  certain 
of  the  secluded  members  were  permitted,  on  certain  con- 
ditions, to  resume  their  seats  in  the  House.  But  while 
the  journals  contain  the  entries  of  the  orders  for  the  re-ad- 
mission of  six  of  those  secluded  members,  namely,  of 
Colonel  Bingham,  Mr.  Edward  Ashe,  and  Mr.  Armyne,  on 
the  2nd  of  February ;  of  Mr.  Gould,  and  Mr.  John  Ashe, 
on  the  3rd  of  February ;  and  of  Sir  William  Masham,  on 
the  8th  of  February  ;  there  is  ground  for  believing  that  at 
the  same  time  several  other  members  were  re-admitted,  and 
took   their  seats.     For   immediately  before   the  entries  of 

*  Commons'  Journals,  Nov.  21,  1660.     Pari.  Hist.,  vol.  iv.  pp.  148,  149. 


1649.J 


NUMBER   OF   MEMBERS   AFTER   1648. 


23 


the  orders  for  the  readmission  of  Colonel  and  Mr.  Edward 
Ashe,  there  are  two  entries  erased,  and  in  the  margin  is 
written  "Obliterated  by  order  of  Feb.  22,  1659."  And 
between  the  entries  of  the  order  for  the  readmission  of 
Mr.  Edward  Ashe  and  of  that  for  the  readmission  of 
Mr.  Armyne,  there  are  several  entries  erased.*  Again, 
immediately  before  the  order  for  the  admission  of  Mr. 
Gould,  there  are  three  entries  erased,  and  in  the  margin  is 
written  "  Nulled,  by  order  of  Feb.  22,  1659;"  and  imme- 
diately after  the  order  for  the  admission  of  Mr.  John  Ashe, 
there  is  also  an  entry  erased.^  There  are,  moreover,  in 
other  places,  several  entries  erased,  and  the  words  written 
in  the  margin  "Nulled,  by  order  of  Feb.  22,  1659.''' 

But  though,  for  this  reason,  the  number  of  members  cannot 
be  exactly  ascertained,  a  very  close  approximation  to  it 
may  be  obtained  in  this  way.  When  there  was  a  contest 
for  power  and  place,  the  number  of  members  present, 
which,  upon  other  occasions  when  the  business  of  the  nation 
only  was  to  be  done,  very  seldom  exceeded  50,  and  very 
often  fell  below  40,  amounted  to  more  than  100,  the 
highest  number  being  122.  This  contest  for  power  and 
place  was  the  greatest  when  the  annual  elections  of  a  new 
Council  of  State  took  place.  Thus,  at  the  election  of  a 
new  Council  of  State  in  February,  16|^§,  there  was  a 
House  of  98*  members;  at  the  same  election  in  165^ 
there  was  a  House  of  121  members;^  in  165^,  there 
was  a  House  of  120;^  in  165|-,  there  was  a  House  of 
122.^      We    may   therefore    conclude  that   3  22    was   the 


^  Commons'  Journals,  Die  Veneris, 

2  Feb.,  1G4|. 

^  Commons'  Journals,   Die  Sabbati, 

3  Feb.,  164§. 

3  Commons'  Journals,  Die  Lunse,  5 
Feb.,  164« ;  Die  Jovis,  8  Feb,  164|. 


*  Commons'  Journals,  Die  Mercurii, 
20°  Februarii,  IBig. 

^  Commons'  Journals,  7  Feb.,  165f. 
^  Commons' Journals,  24  Nov.,  1651. 
7  Commons'  Journals,  24  Nov.,  1652. 


24 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAKD. 


[Chap.  I. 


greatest  number  the  House  could  assemble ;  and  that  the 
ordinary  business  of  the  government  was  carried  on  by  a 
number  not  exceeding  50  on  an  average,  though  often 
falling  below  50.  It  is  evident  that  a  government  con- 
sisting  of  this  number  of  men,  who,  as  we  shall  see, 
shrunk  from  any  appeal  to  the  general  sense  of  the  nation, 
and  retained  their  power  by  means  of  an  army,  had  about 
the  same  title  to  call  itself  the  commonwealth  of  England, 
that  the  three  celebrated  tailors  of  Tooley  Street  had  to 
style  themselves  the  people  of  England. 

On  the  7th  of  February,  the  House  "  ordered  that  the 
Committee  of  Safety,  and  the  Committee  at  Derby  House, 
and  the  powers  to  them  and  either  of  them  given  by  any 
order  or  ordinance  of  Parliament,  be  absolutely  dissolved 
and  Uken  away."'  On  the  same  day  it  was  ordered, 
« that  there  be  a  Council  of  State  erected  to  act  and 
proceed  according  to  such  instructions  as  shall  be  given  to 
this  House."  2  At  the  same  time,  Mr.  Lisle,  Mr.  Holland, 
Mr.  Scott,  Colonel  Ludlow,  and  Mr.  Eobinson,  were  ap- 
pointed to  present  to  the  House  instructions  to  be  given  to 
the  Council  of  State;  and  likewise  the  names  of  such 
persons  as  they  conceived  fit  to  be  of  the  Council  of  State, 
not  exceeding  the  number  of  40  ;  and  power  was  given 
to  them  to  send  for  papers  and  writings  from  Derby 
House,  or  elsewhere. 

On  the  8th  of  February  Sir  Thomas  Widdrington  and 
Mr.  Whitelock,  two  of  the  commissioners  for  the  Great 
Seal,  brought  the  Great  Seal  into  the  House,  and  delivered 
it  into  the  hands  of  the  Speaker,  the  House  then  sitting. 
The  House  then  ordered  the  Great  Seal  to  be  broken  ;  and 
a  workman  was  brought  into  the  House  with  his  tools. 


*  Commons'  Journals,  Die  Mercurii, 
7°  Februarii,  164^. 


*  Ibid. 


1649.]  CALL  THE  GOVERNMENT  A  COMMONWEALTH.  25 

who,  in  the  face  of  the  House,  upon  the  floor,  broke  the 
seal  in  pieces.    The  House  then  ordered  the  several  pieces  of 
the  said  seal  thus  broken  and  the  purse  to  be  delivered  to  Sir 
Thomas  Widdrington  and  Mr.  Whitelock,  to  be  disposed  of 
at  their  pleasure.^     After  this,  the   House  passed  an  Act 
for  establishing  the  new  Great  Seal  to  be  the  Great  Seal  of 
England;    and   Whitelock,    Lisle,  and    Keeble    were   ap- 
pointed  Lords  Commissioners   of   the   Great   Seal.^      The 
Commons  also  published,   on   the  21st   of  March,  a  long 
elaborate    declaration,    in     English,    Latin,     French,    and 
Dutch,   stating  their    reasons    for    establishing  what  they 
called  a  republic  or  commonwealth.^     But  names  have  not 
the  power  of  changing  the  nature  of  things.    Nevertheless, 
the  bold  and  able  men  who  then  ruled  England  have  so  far 
succeeded  in  getting  their  names  accepted  for  realities  that 
histories  have  actually  been  written  of  their  doings  under 
the   title  of  histories   of   the  commonwealth  of    England, 
meaning  of  the  republic   of  England ;  for  commonwealth 
was    used    formerly    to    express    the    established    form    of 
government,  and  is  thus  used  by  Sir  Thomas  Smith,*  one 
of  the  principal  secretaries   of  state  to  King  Edward  VI. 
and  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  by  Queen  Elizabeth  herself  in 
her  speeches  to  her  parliaments.     However,  if  these  men 
imagined  that  by  abolishing  the  king  and  House  of  Lords, 
and  constituting  themselves  the  sole  governing  power  in 
England,  they  thereby  established  that  form  of  government 
which  the  Greeks  called  a  democracy,  and  the  Romans  a 
republic,  they  committed  a  great  error.       Whether,  if  they 
had  been  so  minded,  they  could  have  established  a  republic, 
is,   at  least,  very  doubtful ;  but  they  never  tried.     They 


'  Commons'  Journals,  Die  Jovis,    8 
Feb.,  164|.     Whitelock,  p.  378. 
2  Ibid. 


3  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  pp.  1292-1304. 
*  The   English    Commonwealth,    in 
three  books,  first  published  in  1584. 


26 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


perhaps   supposed  that  if,  in  accordance  with  the  requisi- 
tions  of    the   writing  intituled    "An    Agreement    of   the 
People  of  England  and  the  places  therewith  incorporated,"  * 
being,  in  fact,  a  draft  of  a  parliamentary  reform  bill  drawn 
up  chiefly  by  Ireton,  they  had  dissolved  themselves  on  the 
last  day  of  April,  1649,  to  make  room  for  the  election  of 
a  new  parliament,  and  that  if  every  reasonable  degree  of 
freedom  of  election  had  been  permitted,  all  that  they  had 
done  would  have  been   undone  at  once,  and   they  them- 
selves  hanged   for   doing    it.      But    this  could    not    have 
happened  while  the  victorious  army,  from   the   officers  of 
which  proceeded  the  petition  accompanying  "  The  Agree- 
ment of  the  People,"  existed.      It  might  be  said,  indeed, 
that    elections  made   under  the   protection  of   this   army 
could  not  be  reckoned  free  elections.     At  the  same  time, 
there    is,  undoubtedly,    a  great   show   of  fairness   in  the 
proposal  to  tender  the  agreement  to  the  people  throughout 
the  whole  country,    to  be  subscribed  by  those  who  should 
approve  of  it,  as  petitions  of  a  voluntary  nature  are  ;  and 
that  it  may  be  carried  into  effect  if,  upon  the  amount  of 
subscriptions,     to    be   returned    by    commissioners    to    be 
appointed  for  that   purpose   in   April  next,  there    should 
appear  a  general  reception  of  it  among  the  people,  or  the 
well-affected  of  them.     Now,  at  least  in  the  neglect  of  this 
fair  and   reasonable  proposal,  the  treatment  of  this   docu- 
ment by  the  Parliament  appears  not  quite  honest ;  and  if  it 
be   said,   in   defence  of  the  Parliament,  that  not  only  the 
principle  of  policy,  but  the  still  more  powerful  instinct  of 
self-preservation  dictated  imperatively  the  course  they  pur- 
sued, it  may  be  answered   that  they  would  have  taken  a 

^  Pari.    Hist.,    vol.  iii.    pp.    1267-  the  long  continuance  of  the  same  per- 

1277.    The  first  article  of  this  "  Agree-  sons  in  supreme  authority,  this  present 

ment,"i8  — "That  to  prevent  the  many  Parliament  end  and  dissolve  upon  the 

inconveniences  apparently  arising  from  last  day  of  April,  1649." 


1649.] 


**  AGREEMENT   OF  THE  PEOPLE." 


27 


more  sound  and  far-sighted  view  of  their  own  ultimate 
advantage  by  at  least  giving  the  above-mentioned  plan  a 
trial.  They  might  then  have  said  that  they  had,  at  least, 
attempted  to  establish  a  republic.  Whitelock  has  expressed 
their  view  of  the  matter  in  a  very  few  words,  saying,  "  It 
was  much  pressed  to  set  a  time  for  dissolving  this  Parlia- 
ment. Most  of  the  House  disliked  to  set  a  time,  as  dan- 
gerous ;  but  agreed  that  when  the  business  of  the  kingdom 
would  permit,  that  then  it  should  be  dissolved. ''  ^ 

It  is  needless  to  go  through  the  clauses  and  enter  into 
the  details  of  Ireton's  draft.       Some  of  its  leading  features 
may,   however,  be  shortly  stated.      It   proposed  that  the 
number  of  representatives  should  be  400,  to  be  elected  by 
men  above  twenty-one  years  of  age,  assessed  to  the  rehef 
of  the  poor,  not  servants  to,  and  receiving  wages  from,  any 
particular  person  ;  and  according  to  a  fair  and  equal  pro- 
portion of  numbers  throughout  England  and  Wales ;  that 
a  Parliament  should  be  chosen  once  every  two  years  ;  that 
the  persons  to  be  chosen  shall  be  men  of  courage,  fearing 
God,  and  hating  covetousness ;  and  in  case  any  lawyer  shall 
be  chosen  into  any  representative  or  Council  of  State,  that 
he  shall  be  incapable  of  practice  as  a  lawyer  during  that 
trust ;  and  that  150  members  at  least  be  always  present 
in  each  sitting  of  the  representative  at  the  passing  of  any 
law  or  doing   of  any   act  whereby  the  people  are  to  be 
bound,  but  that  sixty  may  make  a  house  for  debates  or 
resolutions  preparatory    thereunto.^     It  may,   I  think,   be 
truly  said  of  it  that  whatever  objections  this  draft  may  be 
open  to,  it  bears  all  the  marks  of  having  been  framed  with 
perfectly    honest    intentions.       The    clause    respecting  the 
exclusion  of  practising  lawyers  renders  Whitelock's  appa- 


*  Whitelock's    Memorials,    p     389, 
folio,  London,  1732. 


2  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  pp.  1267-1277. 


28 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


rently  candid  criticism  of  this  bill  of  Ireton's  sufficiently 
intelligible.  *'  The  frame  of  this  Agreement  of  the  People/' 
he  says,  ''  was  thought  to  be,  for  the  most  part,  made  by 
Commissary-General  Ireton,  a  man  full  of  invention  and 
industry,  who  had  a  little  knowledge  of  the  law,  which 
led  him  into  the  more  errors.''  ^  The  bill  is  evidently  the 
work  of  an  able  and  ingenious  man,  and  contains,  amid 
some  of  a  questionable  character,  many  provisions  of  the 
highest  practical  value.  There  were  undoubtedly  at  that 
time  certain  reforms  wanted  in  the  distribution  of  the 
representatives  of  the  people  in  Parliament.  For  instance, 
the  single  county  of  Cornwall  elected  forty-four  ;  while 
Essex  and  other  counties,  each  having  as  great  a  share  in 
the  payment  of  taxes,  sent  no  more  than  six  or  eight  each. 
In  some  instances,  moreover,  as  in  carrying  measures  with 
a  House  of  only  forty  members,  there  was  a  clear  departure 
from  the  fundamental  constitution  of  Parliament.  In  pro- 
posing to  reform  such  abuses  as  these,  the  framers  of  the 
draft  did  well.  And  as  statesmen-soldiers  they  occupied  the 
same  position,  and  had  acquired  the  same  experience,  as 


*  Whitelock's  Memorials,  p.  356. 
It  is  remarkable  that  Whitelock,  in  his 
speech  in  the  House  in  November,  1649, 
in  favour  of  lawyers  being  elected  mem- 
bers of  Parliament  in  answer  to  the 
argument  of  a  member  who  called  the 
lawyers  "gownmen,  who  had  not  un- 
dergone the  dangers  and  hardships 
that  martial  men  had  done,"  said  : — 
*'The  ancient  Romans  were  soldiers 
though  gownmen  ;  nor  doth  that  gown 
abate  either  a  man's  courage  or  his 
wisdom,  or  render  him  less  capable  of 
using  a  sword  when  the  laws  are  silent 
or  you  command  it.  You  all  know  this 
to  be  true  by  the  great  services  per- 
formed by  Lieut.  -Gen.  Jones,  Commis- 
sary Ireton,  and  many  other  lawyers ; 


who,  putting  off  their  gowns  when  you 
required  it,  have  served  you  stoutly 
and  manfully  as  soldiers,  and  under- 
gone almost  as  many  and  as  great 
dangers  and  hardships  as  the  gentle- 
man who  so  much  undervalues  all  of 
them."— Par^.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  p.  1341. 
But  then  it  will  be  observed  that  the 
cases  of  Jones,  Ireton,  and  others  did 
not  come  under  the  clause  proposed  in 
Ireton' s  draft,  which  only  objected  to 
lawyers  practising  while  they  were 
members  of  Parliament,  which  Ireton 
and  the  others  certainly  did  not  do. 
The  clause  is  the  more  remarkable  as 
coming  from  an  able  man  who  had  re- 
ceived the  education  of  a  lawyer. 


1649.] 


"AGREEMENT  OF  THE   PEOPLE." 


29 


that  great  statesman-soldier,  Simon  de  Montfort,  who  did 
so  much  towards  the  introduction  of  the  most  important 
discovery  ever  made  in  the  science  and  art  of  govern- 
ment. It  may  be  a  lesson  of  humility  to  the  pride  of  phi- 
losophy to  reflect  that  the  principle  of  representative 
government,  for  want  of  which  all  the  ancient  experiments 
in  government  were  failures,  after  eluding  the  search  of  the 
greatest  philosophers  and  legislators  of  antiquity,  was  dis- 
covered by  a  comparatively  unlettered  but  practically  saga- 
cious  baron  of  the  dark  ages  ;  and  that  the  Petition  of 
Right,  and  even  Magna  Charta  itself,  with  a  gi'eat  number 
of  other  most  important  constitutional  statutes,  were  but 
declaratory  and  in  affirmation  of  that  body  of  laws  and 
customs  which  had  sprung  from  the  healthy  mental  activity 
and  conscious  responsibility  of  free  men  managing  their 
own  affairs,  public  and  private,  and  surpassed,  in  the  prac- 
tical ingenuity  of  adapting  means  to  ends,  the  most  subtle 
devices  of  the  gi-eatest  philosophers. 

It  is  due  to  Ireton,  and  those  who  acted  with  him  in 
the  drawing  up  of  that  petition  and  agreement,  to  cite 
their  own  account  of  the  ends  they  set  before  themselves 
and  offered  to  their  fellow-countrymen.  The  petition  which 
accompanied  the  draft  of  a  constitution,  entitled  "An 
Agreement  of  the  people  of  England,"  was  couched  in 
terms  guardedly  respectful  and  courteous  : — ''  While  your 
time,''  say  the  armed  petitioners,  "  hath  been  taken  up  in 
other  matters  of  high  and  present  importance,  we  have  spent 
much  of  ours  in  preparing  and  perfecting  such  a  Draught 
of  Agreement,  and  in  all  things  so  circumstantiated,  as  to 
render  it  ripe  for  your  speedier  consideration,  and  the 
kingdom's  acceptance  and  practice  if  approved,  and  so  we 
do  herewith  humbly  present  it  to  you.  Now,  to  prevent 
misunderstanding  of   our  intentions  therein,  we  have  but 


30 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


this  to  say,  that  we  are  far  from  such  a  spirit,  as  positively 
to  impose  our  private  apprehensions  upon  the  judgments  of 
any  in  the  kingdom  that  have  not  forfeited  their  freedom, 
and  much  less  upon  yourselves :  neither  are  we  apt  in  any- 
wise to  insist  upon  circumstantial  things,  or  aught  that  is 
not  evidently  fundamental  to  that  public  interest  for  which 
you  and   we  have   declared    and    engaged;    but,  in   this 
tender  of  it,  we  humbly  desire  : — 1.   That,  whether  it  shall 
be  fully  approved  by  you  and  received  by  the  people,  as  it 
now  stands  or  not,  it  may  yet  remain  upon  record  before 
you,  a  perpetual  witness  of  our  real  intentions  and  utmost 
endeavours  for  a  sound  and  equal  settlement ;  and  as  a  tes- 
timony  whereby   all  men   may  be  assured   what  we  are 
willing  and   ready  to  acquiesce  in;    and   their   jealousies 
satisfied  or  mouths  stopt,  who  are  apt  to  think  or  say,  we 
have  no   bottom.      2.   That,  with  all  the  expedition  which 
the    immediate    and    pressing  great  affairs  will  admit,  it 
may  receive  your  most  mature  consideration  and  resolutions 
upon  it ;  not  that  we  desire  either  the  whole,  or  what  you 
shall  like  in  it,  should  be  by  your  authority  imposed  as  a 
law  upon  the  kingdom,  for  so  it  would  lose  the  intended 
nature  of  '  An  Agreement  of  the  People  ; '  but  that,  so  far  as 
it  concurs  with  your  own  judgments,  it  may  receive  your 
seal    of    approbation  only.       3.   That,    according    to    the 
method   propounded   therein,   it    may  be  tendered  to  the 
people  in  all   parts,  to  be   subscribed   by  those  that  are 
willing,  as  petitions  and  other  things  of  a  voluntary  nature 
are  ;  and  that,  in  the  meanwhile,  the  ascertaining  of  those 
circumstances  which   are  referred  to  commissioners  in  the 
several  counties,  may  be  proceeded  upon  in  a  way  preparatory 
to  the  practice  of  it :  and  if,  upon  the  account  of  subscrip- 
tions (to  be  returned  by  those  Commissioners  in  April  next) 
there  appears  a  general  or  common  reception  of  it  amono-st 


tJi^iiaiasaSdi 


1649.] 


"  AGREEMENT  OF  THE  PEOPLE. 


31 


the  people,  or  by  the  well- affected  of  them,  and  such  as 
are  not  obnoxious  for  delinquency,  it  may  then  take  place 
and  effect,  according  to  the  tenor  or  substance  of  it.''  ^ 

The  deputation,  consisting  of  Lieut. -Gen.  Hammond, 
Col.  Okey,  and  other  officers  appointed  by  the  general  and 
his  council  of  officers  to  present  the  petition,  having  with- 
drawn, the  Commons  ordered  the  petition  but  not  the 
agreement  to  be  read  ;  the  reason  of  which,  according  to 
Whitelock,  was  the  great  length  of  it.  The  Commons 
then  ordered  their  Speaker  to  return  their  thanks  to  the 
petitioners  ;    which  he  did  accordingly.* 

The  persons  who  now  called  themselves  the  Parliament 
of  England,  and  who  owed  not  only  all  their  present  power 
and  importance,  but  their  very  existence,  not  to  any  merit 
of  their  own,  or  to  anything  they  had  done,  but  solely  to 
the  great  deeds  of  the  men  who  had  drawn  up  and  pre- 
sented this  petition  and  agreement  to  their  consideration, 
do  not  appear  to  have  taken  any  further  notice  of  the 
"  Agreement  of  the  People,''  which  had  been  prepared  with 
so  much  pains,  and  so  respectfully  presented  to  them. 
Instead  of  putting  an  end  to  their  sitting  on  or  before  the 
last  day  of  April,  1  6  4;  9,  in  the  "  Agreement  "  proposed,  or 
taking  any  steps  towards  obtaining  the  opinion  of  the 
nation  on  the  subject,  they  continued  to  sit  till  April  20, 
1653,  when  Cromwell  turned  them  out  by  force. 

I  think  it  may  be  concluded  from  all  this,  that  what- 
ever they  might  say  of  the  dishonesty  of  Cromwell's  pro- 
ceedings their  own  conduct  was  at  least  questionable  :  we 
might  almost  say  not  that  of  honest  men,  were  there  not 
other  parts  of  their  proceedings  that  bear  strongly  the 
marks  of  honest  intentions.    If,  however,  the  turning  them 


*  Pari,    Hist.,    vol.    iii.    pp.    1265, 
1266,  1267. 


2  Pari.  Hist.,  vol.  iii.  p.  1277. 


32 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


out  by  force  was  a  necessary  step  towards  the  establish- 
ment of  a  really  constitutional  government,  the  best  thing 
under  the  circumstances  for  the  nation  at  that  time  would 
have  been  for  Fairfax  and  Ireton  to  have  turned  them  out, 
when  they  found  by  their  treatment  of  the  "  Agreement  of 
the  People,''  that  they  were  not  inclined  to  act  an  honest 
part. 

But  Fairfax  and  Ireton  were  men  of  the  strictest  and 
most  punctilious  honour.  It  was  from  this  ParHament,  at 
least  from  a  parliament  of  which  they  still  considered  this 
residue  as  the  representative,  that  they  had  received  their 
commissions,  and  they  knew  that  when  the  generals  of  an 
army  seek  to  corrupt  their  soldiers  and  to  win  their  favour 
in  order  to  use  them  against  those  to  whom  they  have 
sworn  allegiance,  they  become  degraded  to  the  condition  of 
robbers  or  pirates.  The  difference  between  them  and 
Cromwell  was  the  difference  between  the  Koman  generals 
while  Koman  generals  were  men  of  honour,  and  the  Roman 
generals  when  Rome  had  become  thoroughly  corrupt.  The 
former,  as  Plutarch  observes,^  were  men  of  kingly  souls, 
and  moderate  in  their  living,  and  satisfied  with  a  small 
fixed  expenditure,  and  they  thought  it  baser  to  attempt 
to  win  the  soldiers'  favour  than  to  fear  their  enemies. 
But  the  generals  in  the  time  of  Sulla  acted  the  dema- 
gogue, while  they  were  in  command,  for  their  own  aggran- 
dizement and  their  country's  ruin ;  and  by  purchasing  the 
services  of  the  soldiers  by  the  money  they  distributed 
among  them,  they  made  the  Roman  State  a  thing  for 
bargain  and  sale,  and  themselves  the  slaves  of  the  vilest 

wretches,  in  order  that  they  might  domineer  over  honest 
men. 

This  character  would   not  apply  to  the  English  army 

»  Life  of  Sulla,  c.  12. 


1649.J 


FORM  OF  GOVERNMENT. 


33 


under  Fairfax,  but  we  shall  see  as  we  proceed  how  Fairfax's 
successor  changed  the  character  of  that  army  by  weeding 
out  the  citizen  element  and  substituting  for  it  men  who 
fought  not  for  a  principle,  civil  or  religious,  but  simply  for 
pay. 

As  this  remnant  of  the  Long  Parliament  thus  declined 
even  to  take  the  sense  of  the  part  of  the  English  people 
who  were  well-affected  to  themselves  as  to  the  form  and 
nature  of  their  government,  the  government  of  England  at 
the    time    cannot,   according  to   any  intelligible  meaning 
attached  to  that  word,  be  called  a  republic,  democracy,  or 
commonwealth,  in  the  sense  in  which  that  last  word  was 
used  by  them.      What  form  of  government  wa^  it  then  ? 
It  is  easier  to  say  what  it  was  not,  than  what  it  was.      It 
was  not  a  monarchy,  and  it  was  not  a  democracy :  neither 
was    it    an    oligarchy,    nor    an    aristocracy    according    to 
Aristotle's  definition  of  those  forms  of  government.      But 
as  it  held  its  power  not  at  all  from  or  at  the  will  of  the 
nation,  but  from  and  at  the   will  of  a  victorious   army, 
composed  indeed  of  citizen  soldiers  and  not  of  mere  merce- 
naries,  it    may   be   described  as  a   close,  able,    and  well- 
obeyed  military  oligarchy,  or  rather  aristocracy,  which  by 
the  very  fact  of  caUing  itself  a  commonwealth  recognized 
popular  rights  and  wants,  and  kept  in  view  great  national 
objects  to  such  an  extent  as  was  consistent  with  its  own 
very    critical    and    difiicult    position,    and    which     might 
perhaps,  by  dexterous  management  and  undeviating  inte- 
grity and  single-mindedness  in  its  members,  have  developed 
itself  ultimately  into  an  actual  commonwealth  or  republic. 
But  the  conditions  necessary  for  such  a  result  are  so  rarely 
found   among  mankind  that  the  chances  of   its  ultimate 
failure,   either  from    external    or    internal    enemies,    were 
greater  than  the  chances  of  its  ultimate  success.       Besides, 


34 


HISTORY   OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


those  wlio  now  were  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  England 
had  already  taken  a  step  which,  although  some  of  them 
mio-ht  have  thought  it  conducive  to  their  safety,  was  one 
ultimately  leading  to  the  destruction  not  only  of  their 
republic  but  of  themselves. 

If  there   ever  existed  a  chance  for  those    who    really 
wished  to    establish  a  republic,    they  threw   that  chance 
away  when    they   determined    on    the  kings    execution. 
As    Charles    could    not    be    amenable     to    the    English 
law    of   treason,   his    execution   was     not   only    a    most 
unjust,  but  a   most  impolitic  act    on    the    part    of    the 
republican   party.       There   was   a  time  when  they  might 
perhaps  really  have  established  a  republic,  and  a  time  when, 
I  am  inclined  to  think,  even   Cromwell  would  have  co- 
operated heartily  in  the  work.      It  was,   I  think,  with  a 
view  to  defeat  the  views  of  the  more  violent  fanatics  in 
the  army  with  regard  to  bringing  Charles  to  a    violent 
death,   that  Cromwell    brought  about    the    king's   escape 
from    Hampton    Court.      I    think     that    he    meant    that 
Charles   should  make    his    escape    to    France.       Perhaps 
Cromwell    did    not  know  all  the    difficulties  in  the  way 
of  that.      However  the  plan  failed,  and  then  CromwelFs 
own  safety  might  compel  him  to  go  along  with  the  army 
fanatics.      But  probably    even    Cromwell,    with    all    his 
sagacity  and  foresight,  had  not  calculated  all  the  wonder- 
flil    effects    of    the  kings    trial    and    execution — of    the 
public  spectacle   of  a  king,  the  representative   of   a  long 
line    of    kings,    first     patiently    submitting    to    the    in- 
terruptions  and  to  the  sentence  of  his  judges,  and  then 
kneehng  at   the  block   like    a    comraon    malefactor,  and 
dying    quietly   and  bravely.      Charles    thus    obtained    by 
his   death  a  posthumous  reputation,  which    his  life  could 
never  have  obtained  for   him  ;    for  the    whole   course   of 


I 


1649.] 


NOT  A  REPUBLIC. 


35 


I 


that  hfe  had  exhibited  him  as  a  man  of  a  soft  head,  and  a 
hard  but  not  a  brave  heart,  forming  a  marked  contrast 
to  the  hard  head  and  soft  yet  brave  heart,  which,  "  de- 
spite some  passing  clouds  of  crime,"  formed  the  character 
of  Cromwell. 

If  Charles  had  escaped  to  France,  and  had  succeeded 
in  making  an  attempt  to  recover  his  power,  and  to  execute 
his  purpose  of  doing  for  England  what  his  wife's  brother 
had  done  for  France  by  the  help  of  a  French  army,  the 
parliamentary  army  of  England  might  have  estabhshed 
Cromwell's  family  firmly  on  the  throne,  or  set  up  a 
republican  government,  which  would  have  had  at  least 
some  chance  of  success.  But  the  day  of  that  execution 
in  front  of  Whitehall,  which  the  republican  party 
hailed  as  the  commencement  of  their  beloved  republic, 
was  instead  of  that  the  total  destruction  of  any  chance 
that  had  existed  for  the  establishment  of  a  real  republic. 
Henceforth  the  character  of  Charles  assumed  a  new  aspect, 
shaped  and  coloured  from  his  death,  and  not  from  his  life. 

It  appears  that  Ireton's  draft  embodying  his  honest, 
able,  and,  as  far  as  we  have  now  the  means  of  forming  a 
judgment,  practicable  scheme  for  reforming  and  settling 
the  representative  system  and  government  of  England, 
not  only  met  with  no  acceptance,  but  exposed  its 
author  to  the  ill-will  and  hostility  of  this  remnant  of  the 
Long  Parliament,  which  styled  itself  the  parliament 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  England.  This  hostility  was 
signally  manifested  in  the  debate  on  the  election  of 
members  of  the  Council  of  State,  when  the  name  of 
Ireton  was  rejected.  Besides  the  clause  excluding 
practising  lawyers  from  being  eleceed  as  members  of 
Parliament,  there  were  other  expressions  in  the  "  Agree- 

D  2 


N 


36 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


ment/'  of  which  the  consciences  of  many  members  would 
feel  the  force  and  justice,  and  which  on  that  very 
account  would  be  the  more  disagreeable  ;  "  and  we  desire 
and  recommend  it  to  all  men,  that,  in  all  times,  the  persons 
to  be  chosen  for  this  great  trust  may  be  men  of  courage, 
fearing  God,  and  hating  covetousness." 

On  the  13  th  of  February,  Mr.  Scott  reported  from 
the  committee,  appointed  to  nominate  a  Council  of  State, 
the  instructions  for  the  Council  of  State,  fourteen  in 
number,  which  were  read  and  assented  to.^  Whitelock  has 
stated  concisely  that  their  powers  were,  1st.  To  command 
and  settle  the  militia  of  England  and  Ireland.  2nd.  To 
set  forth  such  a  navy  as  they  should  think  fit.  3rd.  To 
appoint  and  dispose  magazines  and  stores.  4th.  To  sit 
and  execute  the  powers  given  them  for  a  year.^  Mr. 
Scott  also  reported  a  list  of  the  names  of  persons  to  be 
of  the  Council  of  State.  On  the  14th  of  February,  the 
House  took  up  the  debate  upon  the  names  of  persons  to 
be  of  the  Council  of  State.  They  first  passed  a  resolution 
that  some  of  the  officers  of  the  army  should  be  of  the 
Council  of  State.  The  names  proposed  were  then 
adopted  without  a  division,  except  in  the  case  of  Philip, 
Earl  of  Pembroke,  wlien  the  yeas  were  50,  and  the 
noes  25,  and  in  the  case  of  William,  Earl  of  Salisbury, 
when  the  yeas  were  23,  and  the  noes  20,  and  in  the  cases 
of  Ireton  and  Harrison  who  were  rejected.  The  two 
following  entries  in  their  own  journals  throw  more  light 
on  the  character  of  this  assembly  than  all  the  pamphlets 
written  against  them  by  their  most  deadly  enemies. 
"The    question    being    propounded,    that    Henry   Ireton, 

^  Commons'  Journals,   Die  Martis,  ^  Whitelock's    Memorials,    p.    381, 

13  Feb.,  164|.  foUo,  London,  1732. 


1649.] 


COUNCIL  OF   STATE. 


37 


Esquire,  be  one  of  the  Council  of  State ;  it  passed  with 
the  negative.  The  question  being  propounded,  that 
Colonel  Harrison  be  one  of  the  Council  of  State  ;  it 
passed  w^ith  the  negative.''  ^ 

The  House  then  proceeded  to  nominate  the  following 
lords  and  gentlemen  as  the  persons  who  were  to  constitute 
the  Council  of  State  ;  Basil,  Earl  of  Denbigh,  Edmund, 
Earl  of  Mulgrave,  Philip,  Earl  of  Pembroke,  William, 
Earl  of  Salisbury,  William,  Lord  Grey  of  Werke,  Henry 
RoUe,  lord  chief  justice  of  the  upper  bench,  Oliver  St. 
John,  lord  chief  justice  of  the  common  bench,  John 
Wylde,  lord  chief  baron  of  the  exchequer,  John  Bradshaw, 
Serjeant  at  law,  Thomas,  Lord  Fairfax,  Thomas,  Lord  Grey 
of  Groby,  Oliver  Cromwell,  Philip  Skippon,  Henry  Martin, 
Isaac  Pennington,  Sir  Gilbert  Pickering,  Rowland 
Wilson,  Anthony  Stapeley,  Sir  William  Masham,  William 
Heveningham,  Bulstrode  Whitelock,  Sir  Arthur  Haselricr, 
Sir  James  Harrington,  Robert  Wallop,  John  Hutchinson, 
Sir  Henry  Vane,  Jun.,  Dennis  Bond,  Philip,  Lord  Lisle, 
Alexander  Popham,  Sir  John  Danvers,  Sir  William 
Armyne,  Valentine  Wauton,  Sir  Henry  Mildraay, 
William  Purefoy,  Sir  William  Constable,  John  Jones, 
John  Lisle,  Edmund  Ludlow,  Thomas  Scott.  It  had 
been  before  ordered  that  the  number  of  persons  who 
were  to  compose  the  Council  of  State  should  not  exceed 
40.  On  the  15th  of  February,  it  was  ordered  that 
the  persons  to  be  of  the  Council  of  State  shall  not 
exceed  the  number  of  41.  It  was  then  resolved  that 
Cornelius  Holland,  Esquire,  be  one  of  the  Council  of 
State  ;  and  that  Luke  Robinson,  Esquire,  be  one  of  the 
Council    of    State.      These    two    added    to   those  before 


1  Commons'  Journals,  Die  Mercurii,  14  Feb.,  1641 


88 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


chosen  made  up  the  number  of  41.  It  was  then  re- 
solved *'  that  the  number  of  nine  of  those  persons,  who 
are  named  to  be  of  the  Council  of  State,  and  not  under, 
shall  constitute  the  said  Council  of  State ''^  The 
question  being  propounded  '*that  there  shall  be  a  Lord 
President  of  the  Council  of  State,  it  passed  in  the 
negative  by  22  against  16.^  The  Council  of  State 
accordingly  for  some  weeks  appointed  a  president  at  each 
meeting,  who  signed  warrants  and  other  papers  in  this  form  : 
"signed  in  the  name  and  by  order  of  the  Council  of 
State,  appointed  by  authority  of  Parhament/'  For 
instance,  on  the  22nd  of  February,  certain  warrants  are 
signed  in  this  form  with  the  name  of  Oliver  Cromwell, 
"preses  pro  tempore.''^  But  on  the  10th  of  March,  the 
Council  made  an  order  *' that  Mr.  Sergeant  Bradshaw, 
shall  be  the  president  of  this  Council,''  and  a  further 
order,  "  that  when  any  nine  of  the  Council  shall  meet  in  the 
place  of  the  Council,  though  the  president  be  not  there, 
yet  they  will  act  as  a  Council."*  On  the  l7th  of 
February,  the  House  made  an  order  for  the  Council  of 
State  to  sit,  and  the  members  that  desired  it  to  have 
lodgings  in  Whitehall.^  On  the  same  day,  the  Act, 
constituting  the  Council  of  State,  the  title  of  which  was^ 
"  An  Act  of  this  present  Parliament  for  constituting  a 
Council  of  State  for  the  commonwealth  of  England," 
was  read  and  agreed  to.  At  the  same  time  it  was 
ordered  that  the  Council  of  State  do  prepare  two  seals, 
a  greater  and  a  less,  for  the  use  of  the  Council,  each  of 

»  Commons  Journals,  Die  Jovis,  15  ^  Order    Book    of    the   Council    of 

Februarii,  164|.  State,  22  Feb.,  164|.  MS.  State  Paper 

'  Commons  Journals,  Die  Jovis,  15  Office. 

Februarii,   164|.      Here,  though  the  *  Jbid.,  10  March.   MS.  State  Paper 

question  was  important,   the  number  Office, 

who  voted  was  only  thirty- eight.  ^  Whitelock's  Memorials,  p.  382. 


1649.] 


COUNCIL   OF   STATE. 


39 


them  to  have  for  impression  the  arms  of  England  and 
Ireland ;  the  impression  to  be  "  the  seal  of  the  Council 
of  State,  appointed  by  the  Parliament  of  England.''  It 
was  also  ordered  that  Whitehall  be  prepared  for  the 
Council  of  State.  ^ 

Walter  Frost,  who  had  before  been  secretary  to  the 
committee  of  Derby  House,  was  appointed  secretary  to 
the  Council  of  State,^  and  his  appointment,  like  that  of  the 
members  of  the  Council,  was  for  one  year.  For  we  find 
him  re-elected  formally  for  another  year,  at  the  next  election 
of  the  Council  of  State.^ 

There  is  preserved  in  the  State  Paper  Office  a  vast  num- 
ber of  volumes  of  original  papers  relating  to  the  period  of 
English  history  called  in  the  State  Paper  Office  classifi- 
cation the  Interregnum.  Among  others  are  those  volumes 
which  contain  the  original  minutes  of  all  the  proceedings 
of  the  Council  of  State,  as  long  as  the  Government  called 
the  Commonwealth  lasted,  forming  a  historical  document 
of  such  value  that  I  doubt  whether  one  of  equal  value  and 
importance  could  be  found  in  the  archives  of  any  nation 
that  ever  existed.  It  is  fortunate  that  Hugh  Peters,  who 
proposed  the  burning  of  all  the  old  records  of  England,* 
did  not  lay  his  hands  on  these  minutes.  Of  most  of  the 
volumes  of  minutes  there  are,  besides  the  original  drafts, 
fair  copies  in  handwriting  of  the  same  period ;  for  the 
Council  of  State  have  shown  by  various  minutes  that  they 
were  very  far  from  being  of  the  opinion  of  Hugh  Peters, 
mentioned  above,  and  have,  on  the  contrary,  evinced  a 
most  anxious  care  for  the  preservation  in  good  order  and 


^  Commons'  Journals,  Die  Sabbati, 
17  Februarii,  164|. 

2  Commons*  Journals,  15  Feb.  164g. 

3  Commons'  Journals,  13  Feb.  16^§. 


*  Good  Work  for  a  Good  Magistrate, 
1651,  p.  96,  cited  by  Prynne  in  the 
Introduction  to  the  first  volume  of  his 
Parliamentary  Writs. 


I 
s 

-5 


40 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


1649.] 


COUNCIL  OF   STATE. 


41 


condifcion  of  all  the  papers  that  contained  a  record  of  their 
proceedings.  In  an  order  of  12th  October,  1649,  they 
direct  "  that  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  for  Whitehall 
to  take  care  that  the  Paper  Office  may  be  put  into  good 
repair,  that  the  papers  may  not  suffer,  and  that  they  take 
care  to  provide  some  other  convenient  room  or  rooms, 
wherein  some  other  papers  may  be  disposed  which  are  to 
be  put  into  order."  And  it  appears  from  another  order  that 
we  are  partly  indebted  for  the  good  condifcion  in  which 
those  valuable  papers  have  come  to  our  hands,  to  the  care 
of  John  Milton,  the  secretary  for  foreign  tongues  to  the 
Council  of  State.  I  think  the  Council  of  State  are  en- 
titled to  the  benefit  of  whatever  evidence  this  anxious  care 
for  the  preservation  of  the  exact  minutes  of  their  pro- 
ceedings may  be  considered  to  afford  of  the  honesty  of 
their  intentions. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Council  of  State  took  place  at 
Derby  House,  which  was  situated  in  Cannon  Eow,  between 
the  river  and  the  present  Parliament  Street,  which  did  not 
then  exist ;  King  Street  serving  the  purpose  of  a  thorough- 
fare between  Whitehall  and  Westminster  Abbey  and  Hall. 
I  transcribe  the  minutes  of  the  first  meeting  which,  it  will 
be  seen,  was  a  short  one. 


"  Derby  House,  Die  Saturni,  17   Februarii,    164f. 
the  Council  of  State,  present — 


At 


Lt.-Gen.  Cromwell. 
Sir  John  Danvers. 
Lord  Grey  of  Groby. 
Col.  Martyn. 
Col.  Wanton. 
Mr.  Kobinson. 
Mr.  Stapeley. 


Sir  Wm.  Constable. 
Sir  Wm.  Masham. 
Col.  Purefoy. 
Col.   Ludlow. 
Mr.  Scott. 
Mr.  Holland. 
Mr.  Heveningham. 


,« 


"  Ordered 

1.  "That  this  Council  do  meet  on  Monday  morn- 
ing next,  by  the  hour  of  nine,  at  Derby  House. 

2.  "  That  the  several  lords  and  gentlemen,  nominated 
by  the  Act  of  Parliament  to  be  of  the  Council,  be  desired 
to  meet  at  Derby  House  on  Monday  morning,  by  nine 
of  the  clock."  ^ 

On  the  13  th  of  February,  when  Mr.  Scott  had  brought 
up  from  the  Committee  the  instructions  for  the  Council  of 
State,  he  had  also  reported  the  form  of  an  obligation  or 
engagement  to  be  entered  into  by  such  persons  as  should  be 
of  the  Council  of  State.  This  engagement  was  read  and 
assented  to ;  and  a  resolution  was  passed,  *'  That  this  en- 
gagement shall  be  signed  and  subscribed  by  every  person 
appointed  to  be  of  the  Council  of  State,  before  he  sit 
therein."^  But  this  engagement  gave  rise  to  a  difficulty; 
for  although,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Council  on  Saturday 
evening,  1 3  out  of  the  J  4  members  present  subscribed,  and 
at  the  meeting  on  Monday  morning  six  more  subscribed, 
making  the  whole  number  who  subscribed  19,  one  of  the 
first  entries  on  the  minutes  at  the  meeting  on  Monday,  the 
J  9th  of  February,  consists  of  the  names  of  the  members 
who  declined  to  subscribe  the  engagement.  ^  And  it  is 
particularly  worthy  of  note  that  these  amounted  to  more 
than  half  of  the  whole  Council. 

The  answer  of  the  Earl  of  Denbigh  for  not  subscribing, 
appears  to  turn  chiefly  on  an  objection  to  the  retrospective 
effect  of  the  engagement,  which  would  make  those  sub- 
scribing it  express  approbation  of  all  that  had  been  done,  of 
the  death  of  the  King,  and  the  force  put  upon  the  Parlia- 


^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  17th  Feb.  164|.  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 

•^  Commons'   Journals,  Die  Martis, 


13th  Februarii,  164|. 

3  Order   Book   of    the 
State,    19    Feb.    164|. 
Paper  Office. 


Council   of 
MS.     State 


L'«ttftjStailf>CRI6ilM«V!B>j-.BaV«^ 


42 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


ment.     And  in  substance,  though  not  in  words,  the  Earl  of 
Denbigh's  true  reason  was  probably    much    the    same  as 
Whitelock's,  that  he  did  not  approve  of  all  that  had  been 
done,  and  particularly  «  excepts  the  court  of  justice.''  ^     But 
they  were  both  willing  to  accept  the  present  Government, 
without  a  King  or  House  of  Lords,  as  a  Government  de  facto. 
To  meet  this  difficulty,  the  original  engagement,  which  a 
majority  of  the  members  of  the  Council  of  State  refused 
to   subscribe    was  altered;  and    on  the   11th  of  October, 
1649,  a  resolution  was  made  by  the  House,   "That  every 
member  that  now  doth  or  shall  at  any  time  hereafter  sit 
in  this  House,  shall  subscribe  his  name  to  this  engagement, 
viz.,    "  I   do  declare  and  promise  that  I  will  be  true  and 
faithful  to  the  commonwealth  of  England,  as  the  same  is 
now  established,  without  a  King  or  House  of  Lords  "  :  and 
that  subscription  shall  begin  to-morrow  morning  :  and  that 
every  person  that  shall  be  chosen  to  sit  in  Parliament  shall 
subscribe  the  same  engagement,  before  he  be  admitted  to  sit 
in  the  House."  ^ 

On  the  23rd  of  February,  a  resolution  of  the  House  was 
passed,  "  That  this  House  do  begin  to  sit  on  Mondays, 
Wednesdays,  and  Fridays  only  in  every  week  :  and  that 
the  House  be  adjourned  and  do  not  sit  on  Tuesdays, 
Thursdays,  and  Saturdays  in  every  week."^  But  this 
resolution  does  not  seem  to  have  been  strictly  acted  on,  at 
least  for  some  time.  It  was  further  ordered  "that  the 
several  committees  of  the  members,  now  sitting  in  this 
House,  do  and  be  enjoined  to  sit,  notwithstanding  the 
said  adjournment,  upon  the  days  when  the  House  is 
adjourned.  "* 


*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Die  Lnnse,  19  Feb.  164|.  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 

^  Commons'  Journals,  Die  Jovis,  11° 


Octobris,  1649. 

^  Commons'  Journals,  Die  Veneris, 
23  Feb.  164«. 

*  Ibid. 


i 


1649.] 


COUNCIL  OF  STATE. 


43 


As  the  Council  of  State  consisted  of  forty-one  members, 
and  the  average  number  of  members  that  met  in  the 
House  of  Commons  now  was  not  above  fifty,  a  majority  of 
whom  were  also  members  of  the  Council  of  State,  it  might 
be  inferred  that  the  House  was  now  little  else  than  an 
instrument,  like  the  French  Parliament  before  the  revolu- 
tion, to  register  the  acts  of  the  Council  of  State ;  and  the 
form  of  many  of  the  orders  of  the  Council  of  State  would 
seem  to  support  such  an  inference.^  But,  again,  there  are 
other  orders  of  the  Council  of  State  w^hich  show  that  the 
Council  did  refer  matters  of  importance  to  the  House.  The 
following  order,  while  it  shows  this,  shows  also  the  great 
care  and  deliberation  with  which  both  the  Parliament  and 
the  Council  performed  their  work.  "  That  it  be  reported 
to  the  House  that,  in  pursuance  of  their  order  of  the  9th 
of  March,  concerning  the  modelling  of  the  forces  that  are 
to  go  into  Ireland,  they  have  conferred  with  the  lord-general 
about  it,  who  hath  since  consulted  with  his  council  of  war, 
and  returned  their  opinion  that  those  forces  would  best  be 
modelled  with  advantage  of  the  service  of  the  common- 
wealth if  the  commander-in-chief  for  those  forces  were  first 
named,  which  this  Council,  taking  into  serious  consideration 
and  finding  it  a  business  of  weight,  have  thought  fit  to 
represent  the  same  to  the  House,  to  desire  them  to  declare 
their  pleasure  concerning  the  nomination  of  the  commander- 
in-chief,  which  being  determined,  the  rest  of  the  work  will 
proceed  with  more  effect  and  expedition.''  ^  This  order 
was  made  on  the  13th  of  March.     On  the  15th  the  Council 


^  The  following  is  an  example : — 
**  That  it  be  reported  to  the  House 
that  there  may  be  an  Act  passed  for 
the  making  of  saltpetre,  the  ordinance 
being  out  the  25th  of  this  month  by 
which  it  was  made," — Order  Book  of 


the  Council  of  State^   6  March,  164|. 
MS.  State  Paper  Office. 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
a  Meridie,  13  March,  164«.  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 


44 


HISTOEY  OF  ENaLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


of  State,  having  received  the  answer  of  the  Parliament, 
made  the  following  order.  "That  Lieutenant-General 
Cromwell  shall  be  the  person  who  shall  command  in  chief 
the  twelve  tliousand  horse  and  foot  which  are  to  go  over 
into  Ireland  in  pursuance  of  an  order  of  the  Parliament 
of  the  14th  day  of  this  instant/'^ 

In  other  orders  of  the  Council  of  State,  as  well  as  in  the 
Commons'  Journals,  the  words  are  "  twelve  thousand  horse, 
foot,  and  dragoons  ;  "  words  which  are  used  to  this  day  in 
the  annual  Mutiny  Act.^  It  is  necessary  for  any  approach 
to  a  clear  understanding  of  the  military  operations  of  that 
period,  to  explain  the  meaning  attached  at  that  time  to  the 
term  "dragoon/'  When  the  musket,  or  portable  fire-arm, 
was  first  introduced  in  war,  it  was  usual  to  mount  muske- 
teers on  horseback,  for  the  purpose  of  being  speedily  con- 
veyed to  different  points,  and  then  acting  either  on  horse- 
back or  on  foot.  In  every  expedition  of  any  importance, 
a  body  of  dragoons  was  alwaj^s  considered  a  necessary 
adjunct  to  what  were  called  the  "  horse.''  Thus,  in  this 
expedition  to  Ireland,  to  the  ^yq  or  six  regiments  of  horse 
selected,  one  regiment  of  dragoons  was  added.  As  it  was 
not  essential  to  the  original  service  of  the  dragoons  that 
they  should  be  mounted  on  the  best  or  strongest  horses, 
their  horses  were  of  an  inferior  description  to  those  of  the 
"  horse  "  or  ''  cavalry."  One  of  their  uses  at  that  time  was 
to  perform  the  duty  of  outposts  and  detachments.  Another 
was  to  dismount  and  line  the  hedges,  or  thickets,  and  do 
the  "rough  and  ready  "  work  of  the  attack  on  a  difficult 
pass,   a  bridge,   or  any  stronghold    that  was   not    strong 


>  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
a  Meridie,  15  March,  164|.  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 

^  **  Resolved,  that  out  of  the  forces 
now  in  being  in  England  and  Wales, 


there  shall  be  added  to  the  establish- 
ment twelve  thousand  horse,  foot,  and 
dragoons,  to  be  forthwith  sent  into 
Ireland."  —  Commons'  Journals^  Die 
Martis,  6  Martii,  ]64|. 


1649.]      DIFFERENCE  BETWEEN  *'H0RSE"  AND  "DRAGOONS."     45 

enough  to  require  a  regular  and  protracted  siege  with  the 
use  of  heavy  artillery.  The  dragoons  at  that  time,  thouo-h 
very  useful  in  the  way  mentioned,  were  not  usually  troops 
of  equal  military  qualities  with  either  the  horse  or  pike- 
men.^  The  arms  of  the  dragoons,  both  offensive  and 
defensive,  were  totally  different  from  those  of  the  liorse. 
The  dragoons  wore  only  a  buff"  coat,  with  deep  skirts,  and 
an  open  head -piece,  with  cheeks  ;  whereas  the  horse  were 
armed  with  back,  breast,  and  head- piece,  or  pot,  as  it  was 
then  called.  These  are  sufficiently  proved  to  have  been  at 
that  time  the  defensive  arms  of  the  cavalry  by  the  following 
resolution  of  the  House  of  Commons,  of  12th  April,  1649  : 
— "  Eesolved,  that  such  backs,  breasts,  and  pots,  as  shall  be 
wanting,  shall  be  provided  for  every  trooper  that  shall  be 
employed  in  the  service  (in  Ireland)  :  and  these  to  be 
transported  to  such  places  as  the  commander-in-chief  shall 
direct."^  And  while  the  troopers'  weapons  were  a  good 
sword,^  "  stiff'-cutting  and  sharp-pointed,''  and  pistols,  the 
dragoons'  weapon  was  at  this  time  a  fire-arm  shorter  and 
lighter   than  the  musket.       This  shorter  piece  was  at  first 


*  It  is  remarkable  that  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  in  Old  Mortality,  constantly 
uses  the  term  "dragoon"  in  a  sense 
which  it  did  not  bear  at  the  time  of 
which  he  writes,  applying  it  to  the 
Scottish  Life  Guards,  who  would  have 
considered  it  an  affront  to  be  styled 
"dragoons."  Andyet  Claverhouse,  in 
his  dispatch  written  on  the  evening  of 
the  day  of  the  skirmish  of  Drumclog, 
to  the  Earl  of  Linlithgow,  commander- 
in-chief  of  Charles  II.  's  forces  in  Scot- 
land, distinguishes  the  dragoons  from 
his  own  regiment  of  horse  (the  Life 
Guards)  thus: — "I  saved  the  stan- 
darts,  but  lost  on  the  place  8  or  10 
men,  besides  wounded;    but  the  dra- 


goons lost  many  mor." 

'■^  Commons'  Journals,  Die  Mercurii, 
12  Aprilis,  1649. 

3  On  the  4th  of  July,  1649,  a  war- 
rant was  issued  by  the  Council  of 
State  "  to  try  all  swords  for  the 
service  of  Ireland  before  their  delivery 
into  the  public  stores," — Order  Booh 
of  the  Council  of  State,  4th  July, 
1649.  MS.  State  Paper  Office.  And 
on  the  5th  June,  there  is  an  order 
"that  Browne  of  Manchester  make 
good  the  600  musquets  that  proved 
unserviceable  that  were  delivered  to 
Colonel  Tothill's  regiment,  or  that 
otherwise  a  course  must  be  taken  against 
him." — Ibid.f  5  June,  1649. 


46 


HISTOBY  OP  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


called  "  the  dragon,"  from  which  the  French  troops  of  this 
description  had  originally  received  their  name.  In  the 
warrants  in  the  order  book  of  the  Council  of  State  "  drao-oon 
arms''  are  specified  separately;  and  "troop  saddles  with 
furniture  ''  are  distinguished  from  "dragoon  saddles/'  ^  As 
pistols  are  usually  mentioned  by  pairs,  as  thus,  "  fifty  pairs 
of  pistols  with  holsters,"  2  it  may  be  inferred  that  the 
Parliament's  troopers  were  each  provided  with  a  pair,  or, 
as  the  phrase  now  is,  a  brace  of  pistols. 

This  force  of  twelve  thousand  horse,  foot,  and  dragoons 
was  exclusive  of  certain  regiments  of  horse  and  foot, 
which  were  dispatched  beforehand  as  fast  as  they  could  be 
got  ready  to  the  assistance  of  the  English  forces  at  that 
time  in  Ireland,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Michael 
Jones,  Sir  Charles  Coote,  and  Colonel  Moncke.^ 

On  the  13th  of  March,  the  Council  of  State  also 
made  the  following  order :—"  That  Mr.  Whitelock,  Sir 
Henry  Yane,  Lord  Lisle,  the  Earl  of  Denbigh,  Mr.  Martyn, 
Mr.  Lisle,  or  any  two  of  them,  be  appointed  a  committee 
to  consider  what  alliances  this  Crown  hath  formerly  had 
with  foreign  States,  and  what  those  States  are,  and  whether 
it  will  be  fit  to  continue  those  alliances,  or  with  how  many 
of  the  said  States,  and  how  far  they  should  be  continued, 
and  upon  what  grounds,  and  in  what  manner,  applications 
and  addresses  shall  be  made  for  the  said  continuance.'"'* 

It  is  a  remarkable  and  interesting  coincidence  that  on 
the  same  two  days  on  which  the  orders  I  have  here  trans- 
cribed were  made,  orders  were  made  by  the  Council  of 
State  respecting  another  man  whose  name  has  also  become 

^  Order  Book  of  the  CouncU  of  State,       Book  of  the  Council  of  State. 

^^2  ^^^'  ^^^^'  '  ^^^^"^  ^^"^^  ^^  *^^  ^°"^^^1  ^^  State, 

3  ;r*^-  ^  Meridie,    13th  March,  164|.      MS. 

The  name  is  thus  spelt  in  the  Order      State  Paper  Office. 


1649.] 


MILTON  SECRETARY  FOR  FOREIGN  TONGUES. 


47 


famous  over  the  world.  "  That  it  be  referred  to  the  com- 
mittee for  foreign  alliances  to  speak  with  Mr.  Milton  to 
know  whether  he  will  be  employed  as  secretary  for  the 
foreign  tongues  and  to  report  to  the  Council."  *  And  on 
the  same  day  on  which  Oliver  Cromwell  was  appointed 
commander-in-chief  of  the  army  destined  for  Ireland,  John 
Milton,  was  appointed  secretary  for  foreign  tongues  to  the 
Council  of  State.  For  on  the  1 5th  of  March,  at  their  morn- 
ing meeting,  the  Council  made  the  following  order  : — "  That 
Mr.  John  Milton  be  employed  as  secretary  for  foreign 
tongues  to  this  Council,  and  that  he  have  the  same  salary 
which  Mr.  Werkherlyn  formerly  had  for  the  said  service."  ^ 

It  appears  from  the  order  book  that  Milton's  salary  as 
secretary  for  foreign  tongues  to  the  Council  of  State  was 
i?300  a-year.' 

On  the  5th  of  February  Whitelock  says  that  letters 
from  Scotland  mentioned  that  "  the  Parliament  and  priests 
there  were  at  variance  ;  that  the  latter  brought  all  to  the  stool 
of  repentance  that  were  in  the  last  invasion  of  England,  yet 
they  are  now  as  much  as  ever  enemies  to  the  proceedings  of 
the  House  and  of  the  High  Court  of  Justice ;  that  they 
talk  big  of  raising  an  army,  in  revenge  of  the  king's 
blood,  and  all  will  join  unanimously  against  the  sectaries  of 
England,  and  ground  themselves  upon  breach  of  the  cove- 
nant."* 

On  the  2nd  of  February  divers  members  of  the  Parlia- 
ment, of  the  army,  of  the  city,  and  private  gentlemen,  in 
all  to   the   number  of  sixty,  were   by   Act  of  Parliament 


*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
k  Meridie,  13th  March,  164|.  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
a  Meridie,  15th  March,  164g.  The  latter 
words  of  the  order  have  reference  to  the 
"Committee   of   both  Kingdoms,"  of 


which  the  Council  of  State  was  in  some 
sense  a  continuation. 

'  Milton's  salary,  when  he  had  an 
assistant,  was  £200  a-year. 

*  Whitelock's  Memorials,  p.  377, 
folio,  London,  1732. 


48 


HISTORY   OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


1G49.] 


THE   NAVY. 


made  a  High  Court  of  Justice  for  trial  of  Duke  Hamilton, 
the  Earl  of  Holland,  and  others.^ 

On  the  6th  of  March,  the  president  of  the  High  Court  of 
Justice,  Bradshaw,  "  in  his  scarlet  robes,  spoke  many  hours 
in  answer  to  the  pleas  of  the  prisoners,  the  Duke  of 
Hamilton,  the  Earls  of  Holland,  and  Norwich  (Goring), 
Lord  Capel,  and  Sir  John  Owen.''  ^ 

Hamilton  had  escaped  from  prison,  but  was  again  taken 
and  arraigned  as  Earl  of  Cambridge.  He  demurred  to  the 
jurisdiction  of  an  English  Court,  as  being  a  native  of 
Scotland,  arguing  that  the  title  of  Earl  of  Cambridcre  did 

o 

not  constitute  him  a  subject  of  England.  But  it  was  held 
that  as  he  had  sat  as  an  English  peer  in  the  House  of  Lords, 
and  claimed  and  exercised  all  the  privileges  of  a  peer  of 
England,  he  had  necessarily  subjected  himself  to  English 
jurisdiction  ;  and  his  plea  was  overruled.  Sentence  was 
given  against  them  all,  "  that  their  heads  should  be  severed 
from  their  bodies,  yet  with  relation  to  the  mercy  of  Parlia- 
ment.'' 3 

The  Parliament  by  vote  reprieved  Lord  Goring  and  Sir 
John  Owen  ;  but  Duke  Hamilton,  the  Earl  of  Holland, 
and  Lord  Capel,  were  beheaded.  The  executioner 
struck  off  each  of  their  heads  at  one  blow.  The 
Speaker's  single  vote  saved  the  life  of  Lord  Goring, 
and  he  said  he  did  it  because  he  had  formerly  received 
some  civilities  from  Lord  Goring.*  The  House  being  also 
equally  divided  in  the  case  of  the  Earl  of  Holland,  the 
Speaker's  vote  might  have  saved  him :  but,  as  the  same 
reason  for  voting  in  his  favour  did  not  exist,  the  vote  was 
given  against  him. 


*  Whitelock's  Memorials,    p. 
folio,  London,   1732. 
2  Wbitelock,  p.  386. 


377,  «  Whitelock,  p.  386. 

*  Whitelock,  pp.  386,  387. 


I 


i 


49 


I  have  nieDtioned  that  one  of  the  powers  and  instruc- 
tions of  the  Council  of  State  was  to  set  forth  such  a  navy 
as  they  should  tliiuk  fit.      In  accordance  with  this  instruc- 
tion they  appear  to   have   applied   themselves  with  inde- 
fatigable diligence  to  the  affairs  of  the  navy.      That  their 
labours  in  this  matter  were  not  fruitless  their  naval  vic- 
tories sufficiently  prove.      As  such  victories  are,  however, 
immediately  due  to  the  valour  of  the  men  by  whom   the 
ships  are  manned  and  fought  and  the  skill  of  their  com- 
manders,  it  is   often  difficult   to   determine   what  precise 
portion  of  the  result   belongs  to  those  who  selected  and 
sent  forth  the   conquerors.     Now,  in  this  ca.se  the  order 
books  preserved  in  the  State  Paper  Office  show  with  the 
most  minute  detail  with  what  unwearied  diligence,  and 
with    what    consummate    ability,    the    Council  "of    State 
executed  the  charge  committed  to  them,  of  setting  forth  an 
efficient  navy.      With  regard  to  the  amount  of  time  which 
the  Council  of  State  devoted  to  their  business,  their  order 
book  shows  that  they  usually  met  at  eight  o'  clock  in  the 
morning,  sometimes  at  seven,'  and  again  in  the  afternoon 
at  three. 

On  the  third  day  on  which  the  Council  of  State  met, 
namely,  the  20th  of  February,  an  order  was  made  "that  it 
be  reported  to  the  House  as  the  opinion  of  the  Council 
that  the  Ordinance  of  Parliament  constituting  the  Earl  of 
Warwick  Lord  High  Admiral  be  repealed." « 

'It  is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind  tLe  dotli  agree  with  the  Couneil  of  State 
hstmcfaon  between  the  Committee  of  a.,  to  the  repeal  of  the  ordinance  con- 
the  Navy  and  the  Commissioners  of  the      stituting  the   Earl  of  Warwick  Lo.-d 

y      J,  "  ""■"  **"*  '"'"■<='""       H'S""  ^''''"'•■>' ;"    ••»■"•    at  the    same 

ruhng  body,  consisting  of  members  of      time  it  was  ordered  "  that  the  Council 

»tl  oT- '         ,  "r  '   *"'  '"""  "^'"^       "'   '*''*«  ^'-"  >"'™  -d  «-rcise  all 
paid  oftcais,  subordinate  to  the  former.       such  power  and  authority  as  any  Lord 

20;h  Feb    m.     '';*'^""f'  °'  ''*'  ^'"»™'  "'  Commissioned  of  the  Ad- 
Office     n     f>  '•           !•    ^''*'   ^^P"  •"'"'''y  •'"^  '■•■'<»  "'  ""«"  to  have  had 
Office      On   the  same  day  it  was  re-  and  exercised. "-Co,«mo»»'  Journah 
solved  by  the  House  "  that  the  House  Die  Martis,  20th  Feb.  leTg.  ' 

E 


50 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


On  the  21st  of  February  it  was  resolved  by  the  House 
that  it  be  referred  to  the  Council  of  State  to  consider  of 
and  report  to  the  Parliament  some  reasonable  increase  of 
the  salaries  to  officers  in  the  fleet  whereby  they  may  be 
enabled  to  maintain  themselves  without  abuse  to  the  State 
in  wilful  embezzlement  of  the  stores  or  goods  committed  to 
them. 

On  the  24th  of  February  it  was  resolved  by  the  House 
that  the  commissioners  appointed  for  the  command  of  the 
fleet  shall  have  the  salary  of  £4<  per  diem  formerly  allowed 
to  the  general  of  the  fleet,  and  also  the  sum  of  £5  per  diem 
more  ;  in  regard  the  profits  belonging  to  the  place  of  High 
Admiral  are  reserved  from  them  for  other  uses  of  the  com- 
monwealth ;  both  the  said  sums  amounting  in  total  to  £9 
per  diem,  to  be  equally  divided  amongst  them  ;  and  that 
the  secretary  and  the  commissioners  appointed  for  the  com- 
mand of  the  fleet  have  the  sum  of  £^50  per  annum 
allowed  unto  him  for  his  salary.  "  And  this  House  doth 
declare  that  the  secretary  shall  take  no  fees  for  any  com- 
missions of  such  persons  as  had  commissions  granted  the 
last  summer/'  ^ 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  Council  of  State  was,  as  has 
been  seen,  to  supersede  the  Earl  of  Warwick  as  Lord  High 
Admiral.  On  the  26th  of  February,  164f,  the  Council 
of  State  ordered  "That  the  names  of  the  commissioners 
who  are  appointed  to  command  at  sea  shall  be  ranked  in 
this  order,  viz. — Colonel  Popham,  Colonel  Blake,  and 
Colonel  Ueane.^ 

On  the  24th  of  March  Colonel  Wauton  reported  to  the 
House  from  the  Council  of  State  a  table  of  the  rates 
of  the  increase  of  wages  of  the  various  officers  of  the  navy. 

»  Commons'  Journals,   Die  Sabbati,  2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 

24th  Feb.  1641.  26th  Feb.    164«.       MS.  State   Paper 

Office. 


1649.] 


THE  NAVY. 


51 


It  appears  from  this  table  that  the  difference  between  a 
naval  captain^s  and  lieutenant's  pay  was  at  that  time  very 
great.  In  this  table  it  is  proposed  to  raise  the  pay  of  a 
captain  of  a  first-rate  from  10s.  to  15s.  per  diem  and 
the  pay  of  a  lieutenant  of  a  first-rate  from  2s.  6d  to  Ss 
per  diem  :  and  a  like  proportion  prevails  through  all  the 
rates  from  a  first-rate  to  a  sixth-rate.^ 

Whatever  virtues  fasting  may  possess  or  produce  it 
will  be  difficult  to  prove  that  it  is  likely  to  make  men  either 
work  or  fight  better.  It  would  appear  that  although 
England  might  in  1649  be  said  to  have  been  a  Protestant 
country,  for  about  a  century,  the  fasting  prescribed  by  the 
Romish  ritual  had  been  up  to  this  time  kept  up  in  the 
English  navy,  at  least  as  regarded  serving  out  short  aUow- 
ances  to  the  men  on  certain  days,  and  in  Lent. 

On  the  20th  of  March,  the  Council  of  State  made  the 
following    minute,    which    shows    that    whatever    Vane's 
notions  might  be  respecting  the  quantity  and  quality  of 
food  meet  for   the   saints   over  whom  he  was  to  reign  a 
thousand  years,  he  did  not  imagine   that  English  seamen 
would   fight  better  on  half  rations.      "That  an   order  be 
given  to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy  that  the  observa- 
tion of  Lent  may  not   for   the   future   be  any  more  kept 
amongst    the    mariners    in   the    fleet   either  at   sea  or  in 
harbour— as  likewise  the  half-allowance  on  Friday  nights— 
and  that  in  both  the  said  cases  victuals  may  be  allowed 
unto  them  as  at  other  times.''  ^ 

Provision  is  also  made  in  the  Order  Book  with 
exact  minuteness  for  furnishing  every  ship  with  a 
sufficient  number   of  hatchets  and  pistols  for  the   better 


164f 


»  Commons'    Journals,    24    Martii, 
Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 


20th  March,  164|. 
Office. 


MS.  State  Paper 


E    2 


52 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


enabling  the  mariners  to  board  such   ships   as  they  shall 

attempt. 

The  Council  of  State  having  used  their  best  judgment 
in  the  selection  of  the  commanders  of  their  fleet,  wisely 
]eave  to  them   fche   selection  of  officers  who  are  to  serve 
under  them,  as  appears  from  the  following  minute  :   "  That 
an  order  be  sent  to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy,  to 
enter  such  officers  into  the  ships  as  shall  be  recommended  to 
them  by  the  generals  at  sea."  ^     ''  That  directions  be  given 
to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy  to  obey  such  orders  as 
the  generals  for  the  command  of  the  fleet  at  sea  shall  give 
them,  concerning  the  particulars  herewith  sent  unto  them 
for  the  setting  out  of  the  fleet  to  sea  appointed  for  the 
summer's  service.''  ^      The  powers  entrusted  to  the  com- 
manders   at    sea,    or   the    "  Commissioners ''    as    they   are 
sometimes  styled,  are  further  shown  by  such  minutes  as  the 
following :   "  Wliereas  the  commissioners  that  are  to  com- 
mand in  chief  at  sea   have  informed  the  Council  that  the 
THumph,  the  George,  and  the  Andrew  are  appointed  to 
go  to  sea  for  the  summer's  service,  it  is  ordered  that  the 
Committee  of  the  Navy  be  desired  to  give  orders  that  they 
may  be  fitted  out  with  all  possible  expedition." 

Their  care  for  the  protection  of  commerce  and  of  person 
and  property  generally  is  shown  by  many  minutes,  of 
which  the  following  are  examples:  "That  a  letter  be 
written  to  Vice-Admirai  Moulton  to  convoy  the  ships  that 
are  going  to  Newfoundland  to  fish, — off*  beyond  Ireland, 
till  they  shall  be  out  of  the  danger  of  pirates."  ^  "  That  a 
letter  be  written  to  Vice- Admiral  Moulton  to  let  him  know 
that  a  post  barque  was  lately  taken   by  the  Irish  rebels 

1  OrderBookof  theConncilof  State,  ^  Qrder    Book   of    the    Council   of 
k  Meridie,  26th  March,  1649.                      State,  a  Meridie,  24th  Feb.  164|.    MS. 

2  Order  Book   of    the    Council   of      State  Paper  Office. 
State,  5th  March,  164|,  t  Meridie. 


1649.] 


PRESSING  OF  SEAMEN. 


53 


passing  between  England  and  Ireland,  and  to  desire  him  that 
he  would  beat  up  and  down  upon  that  sea,  so  they  may  be 
kept  in  from  attempting  anything  upon  those  barques."  ^ 
"  That  a  letter  be  sent  to  Capt.  Moulton,  to  let  him  know 
that  the  merchants  who  are  owners  of  the  Eye,  bound  for 
Dublin,  do  not  conceive  the  ship  Satisfaction  to  be  a  suffi- 
cient convoy  for  their  ship,  to  desire  him  therefore  that  a 
strong  and  sufficient  convoy  be  appointed."  ^  "  That  a  letter 
be  written  to  Capt.  Moulton  to  send  about  into  the  Irish 
seas  such  ships  as  shall  he  necessary  for  the  convoying  over 
a  regiment  of  foot,  which  is  to  be  transported  from  Chester 
water  into  Ireland."^  "  Memorandum. — That  Mr.  Frost  is 
to  enquire  to  whom  a  letter  may  be  written  into  Turkey, 
who  may  be  as  an  agent  there  to  the  Grand  Seignior  in  the 
behalf  of  the  prisoners  at  Algiers."  *  The  prisoners  at 
Algiers,  however,  had  to  wait  for  a  more  eff*ective  mission 
in  their  behalf  than  a  letter,  a  mission  in  the  shape  of  that 
fleet  with  Blake  for  its  admiral,  which  made  the  name  of 
Enofland  "  famous  and  terrible  over  the  world." 

In  the  next  volume  of  this  history  I  shall  have  occasion 
to  enter  into  some  details  respecting  the  energetic  measures 
adopted  by  the  Council  of  State  for  the  manning  of  the 
navy.      But  I  would  here  take  the  opportunity  of  correct- 

*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  **  That  the  petition  of  the  prisoners  at 
State,  a  Miridie,  24th  Feb.,  164|.  Sallee  be  recommended  to  the  Com- 
MS.  State  Paper  Office.  mittee  of  the  Navy,  and  they  desired 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  to  take  into  their  consideration  to 
State,  ^  Meridie,  27th  Feb.  164|.  give  them  a  relief  as  speedily  as  they 
Present  —  Lt.-Gen.  [Fairfax],  Lieut.-  may."  —  Ihid.^  16th  May,  1649. 
Gen.  Cromwell,  &c.  MS.  State  Paper  "That  the  petition  of  the  prisoners  at 
Office.  Sallee  be  recommended  to  the  House, 

3  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  and  that  the  House  be  desired  to  ap- 
State,  k  Meridie,  6th  March,  164|.  point  a  collection  in  such  places  as 
MS.  State  Paper  Office.  they  shall  think  fit   for  the  redemp- 

*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  tion  of  these  poor  men  from  their 
State,  13th  April,  1649.  MS.  State  miserable  captivity,  and  that  it  be 
Paper  Office.  The  ravages  committed  reported  by  Col.  Wanton."  —  lUd, 
by    the  Barbary   pirates  are   further  23rd  May,  1649. 

shown    by   the    following    minute  :  — 


54 


HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


ing  a  grave  error,  which  has  been  adopted  by  historians  on 
the  authority  of  an  assertion  of  Roger  Coke,  that  the 
Long  Parliament  never  pressed  either  soldiers  or  seamen  in 
all  their  wars.^  In  pursuance  of  this  error,  some  modem 
writers  have  described  the  preamble  of  the  16  Car.  I., 
c.  28,  which  is  nothing  more  than  a  recital  or  declaration 
of  the  common  law  that,  "  none  of  his  Majesty's  subjects 
ought  to  be  impressed  or  compelled  to  go  out  of  his  county 
to  serve  as  a  soldier  in  the  wars,  except  in  case  of  necessity 
of  the  sudden  coming  in  of  strange  enemies  into  the  king- 
dom, or  except  they  be  otherwise  bound  by  the  tenure  of 
their  lands  or  possessions  "  (the  Act  being  '*  to  raise,  levy, 
and  impress  soldiers,  gunners,  and  chirurgions "'  on  the  oc- 
casion of  the  Irish  rebellion),  as  an  Act  passed  by  the 
Long  Parliament  against  impressment. 

The  above-cited  preamble  very  accurately  expresses  the 
state  of  the  case  with  regard  to  the  pressing  of  soldiers, 
when  it  declares  that  "  none  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  ought 
to  be  impressed  or  compelled  to  go  out  of  his  county  to 
serve  as  a  soldier,"  seeing  that  there  could  be  no  question  as 
to  the  existence  of  the  practice  of  impressment,  "  even  of 
soldiers  (whatever  the  common  law  might  be),  from  very 
early  times,"  which  if  it  be  to  be  considered  as  an  encroach- 
ment on  the  common  law,  must  be  admitted  to  be  an 
encroachment  of  long  continuance.  The  Honourable 
Daines  Barrington  in  his  "  Observations  on  the  More  Ancient 
Statutes," — a  work  not  only  of  the  most  profound  learning 
in  the  laws  of  England,  but  so  rich  in  the  learning  of  the 
laws,  the  literature,  and  the  philosophy  of  all  nations,  ages, 
and  tongues — states,  on  the  authority  of  the  Petyt  MSS.^ 
that,  in  the  47th  year  of  Henry  III.,  an  order   issued  to 


»  Detection  of  the  Court  and  State  2  Petyt  MSS.,  vol.  ix.  p.  157,  in  the 

of  England,  vol.  ii.  p.  30,  4th  edition,       library  of  the  Inner  Temple. 
London,  1719. 


1649.] 


PRESSING  OF   SEAMEN. 


5b 


the  sheriff  of  every  county,  that,  taking  to  his  assistance 
the  Gustos  Pads,  he  should  collect  out  of  every  township 
at  least  four  able-bodied  men,  who  were  to  repair  to  Lon- 
don on  a  particular  day/  And,  even  so  late  as  1596, 
Stowe  mentions  that  a  thousand  men  were  pressed  for  the 
land  service,  though  they  were  afterwards  discharged 
instead  of  being  sent  to  France,  as  intended.^  And  the 
last  clause  of  an  ordinance  of  the  22  nd  of  Feb.  164|-, 
intituled  "  for  encouragement  to  mariners  and  impresting  ^ 
seamen,"  shows  that  the  exemption  of  seamen  and  water- 
men from  land  service  was  then  deemed  a  privilege : — 
"And,  lastly,  for  the  better  encouragement  of  seamen  and 


*  Barrington  on  the  Statutes,  pp. 
337,  338,  5th  edition,  London,  1796. 

2  Stowe,  pp.  709,  769 ;  and  see 
Stat.  5  Eliz.  c.  5,  s.  41.  "If  one 
might  be  allowed,"  says  Barrington, 
*  *  to  cite  Shakespeare  on  a  point  of  law, 
it  may  be  supposed  that  in  the  time  of 
Queen  Elizabeth,  shipwrights  as  well 
as  seamen,  were  thus  forced  to  serve  : — 

*' Why  such  impress  of  seawrights  ?" 
Hamletj  Act  I.  sc.  i. 

If  it  be  said  that  the  scene  of 
this  play  lies  in  Denmark,  it  must  be 
recollected  that  Shakespeare  generally 
transfers  English  manners  and  customs 
to  every  part  of  the  globe  in  which  he 
chooses  his  characters  should  act.  Sir 
John  Falstaff,  in  the  first  part  of  Henry 
the  Fourth,  says,  '*  I  have  misused  the 
king's  i3rm'  damnably,"  speaking  of  it 
as  a  known  practice.  In  the  second 
part  of  this  play,  indeed,  when  Falstaff 
brings  his  recruits  before  Justice  Shal- 
low, it  should  seem  that  there  were 
sometimes  temporary  laws  for  raising 
men,  as  has  been  not  unusual  of  late 
years.  Rastel's  statutes,  however 
furnish  no  such  instance  during  the 
reign  of   Henry  the  Fourth."— Ofeser- 


rations  on  the  Statutes^  pp.  335,  338, 
notes,  5th  edition. 

3  "This    word,"    says    Barrington, 
"being  derived  from  the  French  em- 
prester,  seems  to  imply  a  contract  on  the 
part  of  the  seaman,   rather  than  his 
being  compelled  to  serve.     The  first  use 
that  I  have  happened  to  meet  .with  of 
the  term  pre^s,  as  applied  to  mariners, 
is    in    a    proclamation    of    the    29th 
March,  in  the  fourth  year  of  Philip  and 
Mary,  which  recites  that  "divers  ship- 
masters, mariners,  and  seafaring  men, 
lately  prested  and  reteyned  to  serve  her 
Majesty,    had    withdrawn  themselves 
from    the    said    service,"    &c. — Coll. 
Procl.t   vol.    ii.    p.    144,  Penes  Soc. 
Antiq.     The  penalty  by  this  proclama- 
tion is  death.      By  a  proclamation  of 
the    15th    of  May,   1625,    the   word 
prested  is  applied  to   soldiers   in   the 
king's   sei-vice ;    and    by    another    of 
the  18th  of  June,  1626,  the  expression 
is     ' '  every   mariner    receiving    press 
money  to  serve  the  king."     By  a  pro- 
clamation, likewise,  of  the  17th  Feb. 
1627,    pressed  seamen  are  ordered   to 
be   billeted    in   the   neighbourhood  of 
Limehouse,    Blackwall,    &c.  —  /6/c?., 
Observations  on  the  Statutes^   p.    334 
[m].     5th  edition. 


5(j 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


watermen  to  apply  themselves  the  more  willingly  to  this 
service,  it  is  further  enacted  and  ordained  that  all  mariners, 
sailors,  and  watermen,  who  have  served  an  apprentice- 
ship of  seven  years,  shall  hereby  be  exempted  and  freed 
from  being  pressed  to  serve  as  soldiers  in  any  land 
service/'  ^ 

With  regard  to  the  power  of  pressing  mariners.  Barring- 
ton  observes  that,  "  as  it  was  the  intention  of  the  Legisla- 
tm-e  to  circumscribe  the  admiral's  jurisdiction  by  the  5th 
chapter  of  the  statute  13  Eic.  II.,  the  total  silence  of  the 
preamble  wath  regard  to  the  warrants  for  pressing 
mariners,  seems  very  remarkable,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
judges  in  their  arguments  with  the  civilians,  before  James 
the  First  in  Council/'  lie  adds,  "I  do  not  mean  to 
intimate  that  the  pressing  of  maiiners  is  not  su])ported  by 
usage  and  precedents,  as  far  back  in  our  history  as  records 
can  be  found,  many  of  which  are  referred  to  in  the  case 
of  Alexander  Broadfoot,  who  was  indicted  for  murder  at 
the  gaol  delivery  for  the  city  of  Bristol  in  1743.  Mr. 
Justice  Foster,  who  at  that  time  was  Recorder  of  Bristol, 
has  published  a  very  elaborate  argument  on  this  head,  and 
has    supported    the    opinions    which     he    then    gave     by 

authorities    chiefly    from    Rymer's    most    valuable    collec- 
tion." ^ 

Nathaniel  Bacon,  in  his  chapter  on  the  Admiral's  Court, 
says  that  "  the  lord  admiral  hath  power  not  only  over  the 


^  Scobell's  Collection,  part  ii.  p.  4  ; 
and  see  Commons'  Journals,  20th  and 
22nd  Feb.  Uq.  I  give  the  following 
minute  from  the  Order  Book  in  illus- 
tration : —  ''That  the  militia  of  the 
hamlets  be  sent  unto  to  send  to  the 
Council  the  names  of  such  seamen, 
shipwrights,  and  chirurgians  as  plead 
exemption  from  bearing  and  finding  of 
arms,  together  with  what  they  plead 
for  it." — Order  Book  of  the  Council 


of  State,  DleLunce,  20  Augusti,  1640. 
MS.  State  Paper  Office. 

2  Observations  on  the  Statutes,  p, 
335,  5th  edition.  Barrington  says 
that  he  has  happened  to  meet  with 
some  authorities  relative  to  the  power 
of  pressing,  which  have  escaped  the 
learned  judge,  and  adds,  in  a  note,  that 
the  most  general  pressing  warrant 
which  he  has  met  with  is  in  Carte's 
Rolles  Gascognes,  torn.  ii.  p.  151. 


I 


1649.] 


PRESSING  OF  SEAMEN. 


57 


seamen  sei'ving  in  the  ships  of  the  State,  but  over  all  other 
seamen,  to  arrest  them  for  the  service  of  the  State."  *  On 
the  other  hand  Kushworth  gives  the  follow^ing  account 
of  the  resolution  of  the  House  of  Commons  with 
reference  to  the  temporary  acts  ^  of  Charles  I.,  for  the 
purpose  of  manning  the  fleet.  "  The  House  being 
informed  that  ships  were  ready  to  be  put  to  sea,  but 
that  mariners  could  not  be  got,  it  was  the  same  day  (May 
8,104)1)  resolved  that  a  Bill  should  be  drawn  to  enable 
the  pressing  of  mariners  for  a  certain  time,  the  House 
being  very  tender  of  bringing  the  way  of  pressing  into 
example.''^  As  already  mentioned,  the  Long  Parliament, 
after  the  execution  of  the  king,  and  the  abolition  of  the 
House  of  Lords,  passed  an  ordinance  for  pressing  seamen, 
on  the  22nd  of  February  164^.  This  ordinance  was 
continued  by  subsequent  acts  or  ordinances,  which  are 
printed  in  Scobell's  Collection.*  And  when  Cromwell  had 
usurped  the  power  of  the  Parliament,  and  an  order  of  his 


*  Historical  Discourse  of  the  Uni- 
foi-mity  of  the  Government  of  Eng- 
land, part  ii.  p.  44,  by  Nath.  Bacon,  of 
Gray's  Inn,  Esq.  The  First  Part,  from 
the  first  times  till  the  reign  of  Edward 
III.,  London,  1647;  the  Second  Part 
or  continuation  until  the  end  of  the 
reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  London, 
1651.  It  has  been  said,  on  the  autho- 
rity of  Lord  Chief  Justice  Yaughan, 
one  of  Selden's  executors,  that  "the 
grounds  of  this  book  were  laid  by  that 
eminent  person."  A  fifth  edition  of 
this  book  was  published  in  1760. 

2  16  Car.  L  ss.  5,  23,  26.  These 
acts,  empowering  the  Lord  Admiral 
to  impress  seamen,  make  no  mention  of 
the  Is  press-money,  ordered  afterwards 
by  the  Council  of  State,  but  all  of 
them  allow  conduct-money,  at  the  rate 
of  Id.  per  mile,  from  the  place  where 


the  man  shall  be  impressed  to  the 
ship  or  place  to  which  he  shall  be  ap- 
pointed to  make  his  repair,  and  the 
like  sum  from  the  place  of  his  dis- 
charge to  the  place  of  his  abode. 

^  Rushworth,  vol.  iv.  p.  261. 

*  Scobell's  Collection,  part  ii.  p.  4. 
The  following  entries  in  the  Commons' 
Journals  refer  to  this  Act:  — "Die 
Martis,  20  Feb.  164|.  Commissary- 
General  Ireton  reports  some  amend- 
ments to  an  Act  for  impressing  of  sea- 
men and  mariners  for  the  next  sum- 
mer's fleet,  which  were  twice  read, 
and,  upon  the  question,  committed." 
"Die  Jovis,  22  Feb.  164|.  —  An  Act 
for  the  encouragement  of  officers  and 
mariners  and  impressing  seamen  was 
this  day  read  the  third  time,  and,  upon 
the  question,  passed." 


58 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Ohap.  I. 


Council  of  State  had  become  equivalent  to  an  act  of 
Parliament,  I  find  under  date  March  15,  1654,  in  the 
"  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,"  preserved  in  the 
State  Paper  Office,  an  order  that  the  "  Act  for  impressing 
be  continued/'^ 

The  same  valuable  and  curious  record,  while  it  was  the 
Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  and  not  merely  of 
Oliver  CromweU's  Council  of  State,  contains  various 
warrants  for  impressing  seamen,  as  well  as  commissions 
for  the  same  purpose  to  the  vice-admirals  of  the 
maritime  counties  of  England,  particularly  at  the  time 
wlien  the  Dutch  war  presented  the  most  formidable  aspect, 
and  the  Parliament  of  England  was  fighting  for  its  very 
existence  against  the  greatest  naval  power  at  that  time  in 
the  world.  It  certainly  was  then  no  time  for  a  govern- 
ment, however  devoted  it  might  be  to  abstract  justice,  to 
discuss  the  question  of  the  legality  or  illegality  of  press 
warrants.  Accordingly  warrants  were  issued  for  im- 
pressing seamen  "  that  are  outward  bound  as  well  as 
inward,  so  as  you  do  not  take  out  of  each  ship  above  the 
fourth  part  of  the  number  of  seamen  in  the  ship.''  ^  And 
commissions  were  issued  on  the  24th  of  May,  1652,  in  the 
height  of  the  Dutch  war,  to  the  vice-admirals  of  Essex, 
Norfolk,  Sufiblk,  Kent,  Sussex,  Hants,  ''to  summon 
before  them  all  the  seamen  and  mariners  in  their  counties, 
from  15  to  50  years  of  age,  and  to  acquaint  them  with 
the  State's  emergence  of  service,  and  the  want  of  seamen 
to  man  a  fleet,  and  withal  to  press  for  the  service  so 
many  able  seamen  as  they  can  possibly  get,"  with  an 
allowance  of  one  shilling  press  money,  and  one  penny  per 

>  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  May  19,  1652.      See    also,    Dec.    3, 

15th  March,  1654.     MS.   State  Paper  1652,   January  11,   1653.     MS.  State 

Office.  Paper  Office. 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 


1649.] 


LAND   FORCES. 


59 


mile    from    the    place    where   they  shall  be   impressed   to 
Deptford,  in  Kent.^ 

It  is  to  be  carefully  noted  here,  that  although  the 
**  State's  emergence  of  service  "  compelled  them  to  have 
recoui*se  to  impressment,  they  nevertheless  direct  the 
vice-admirals,  to  whom  the  commissions  are  issued,  to 
make  an  appeal  to  the  seamen  and  mariners,  as  to  free  men 
about  to  fight  for  their  honour,  their  freedom,  and  place 
among  the  nations.  The  anxiety  of  the  Parliament,  which 
was  manifested  in  all  these  wars,  to  obtain  troops  of 
superior  quality  both  as  to  character  and  intelligence,  is 
strikingly  confirmed  and  illustrated  by  the  follow^ing 
order  of  the  Council  of  State,  under  date  14th  April, 
1649  :  "That  a  letter  be  written  to  Dr.  Hill,  Master  of 
Trinity  College,  in  Cambridge,  that  such  students  of  that 
society  as  are  wilhng  to  go  to  sea  in  this  summer's  fleet, 
may  not  be  prejudiced  in  their  elections  to  fellowships 
which  are  to  be  made  about  Michaelmas." ' 

On  the  5  th  of  March  the  Council  of  State  ordered 
"  that  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy, 
to  make  haste  out  with  the  fleet  appointed  for  this 
summer's  service,  in  regard  of  many  advertisements 
they  have  received  f  ^  and  on  the  20  th  of  March,  "  that 
Sir  Henry  Vane  be  desired  to  report  to  this  Council 
from  the  Committee    of  this    Council,   appointed   for   the 


^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
24th  May,  1652.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office.  The  assertion  that  they  never 
pressed  men  is  stiU  further  disproved 
by  the  fact  of  their  seamen  sometimes 
deserting,  as  appears  by  such  minutes 
as  the  following  : — "That  it  be  recom- 
mended to  the  Committee  of  the  Ad- 
miralty to  take  into  consideration  what 
punishment  may  be  inflicted  upon  such 
seamen  as  run  away  from  the  service  of 


the  navy,  and  that  those  men  appre- 
hended by  some  of  Col.  Berksted's 
regiment  be  secured  until  further 
order."  -Ibid,  30th  April,  1649.  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 

^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
14th  April,  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
5th  March,  164^,  a  Meridie. 


60 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


affiiirs  of  the  navy,  in  what  readiness  the  fleet  is  to  go 
out  to  sea." ' 

On  the  8th  of  May,  the  Council  ordered  "that  one 
thousand  pounds  out  of  the  tenths  of  the  Admiralty  be  laid 
up  for  making  chains  and  medals,  for  rewards  of  officers 
and  mariners,  that  should  do  eminent  service  at  sea."  ^ 

While  the  Council  of  State  thus  applied  themselves  to 
the  affairs  of  the  navy,  they  by  no  means  neglected  the 
land  forces.  On  the  same  day  on  which  the  last-men- 
tioned order  was  made,  namely,  the  5  th  of  March,  the 
Council  made  the  following  minute  : 

"  That  it  be  reported  to  the  House  that  the  Council  of 
State  hath  taken  their  order  for  the  2nd  of  March  into 
considei-ation  concerning  the  forces  of  the  nation,  and  they 
find  that  there  are  in  beinjr  of 

Horse  and  foot 44,373 

Besides  those  fit  to  be  presently  disbanded        .        2,500/' 

"  That  it  is  necessary  to  have  so  many  kept  up  for  the 
service  of  England  and  Ireland.'' 

"That  of  this  number  12,000  horse  and  foot  to  be  sent 
to  Ireland." 

"That  for  the  maintenance  of  these  forces,  viz.  the 
44,373  there  must  be  the  monthly  sum  of 

dP8 1,633  per  mensem. 
And  for  general  officers  the  train 

and  incidencies       .  .  .         18,367 


In  all  .    ^100,000 

For  the  relief  of  the  forces  already 

in  Ireland    ....  20,000 


In  all  .    ^120,000 


M 


f> 


f> 


i> 


>  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State 

20th  March,  16tl|.  8th  May,  1649. 


1649.] 


PRESSURE  OF  TAXATION. 


61 


"  That  it  be  offered  to  the  House  for  the  raising  of  this 
money  that  the  c^'eOjOOO  per  mensem  by  tax  be  continued 
as  now  it  is,  for  the  army  of  England,  and  the  i?20,000 
per  mensem  for  Ireland. 

"  That  for  the  other  o£^40,000  per  mensem,  it  be  raised 
out  of  the  revenue  of  the  Crown  by  sale,  lease,  or  other 
disposing  of  it,  as  it  shall  seem  good  to  the  House  ;  and 
by  the  sale  or  otherwise  disposing  of  the  lands  that  are 
now  by  ordinance  of  Parliament  at  the  disposing  of  the 
Commissioners  at  the  Star  Chamber,  which  lands  are  now 
for  security  for  raising  of  i^50,000  for  Ireland. 

"  That  there  be  a  course  taken  by  the  House  to  charge 
the  anticipations  of  the  receipts  at  Goldsmiths'  Hall  upon 
some  other  visible  security  that  the  payments  there  may 
be  made  use  of  for  carrying  on  of  the  public  service."  * 

In  accordance  with  this  minute,  the  Parliament  having 
resolved  that  ^£^1  20,000  per  mensem  be  provided  for  six 
months  for  maintaining  the  forces  in  England  and  Ireland, 
to  the  end  free  quarter  might  be  taken  off;  and  that, 
towards  raising  this  sum,  a  tax  of  i?9 0,000  per  mensem, 
to  bec^in  from  the  25th  of  March  instant,  be  levied  upon 
lands  and  goods,  passed  an  Act  for  that  purpose :  and  this 
beino-  the  first  instance  of  a  tax  laid  upon  the  subjects  of 
England,  by  authority  of  the  Commons  only,  the  Speaker 
was  ordered  to  write  a  circular  letter  to  the  Commissioners 
appointed  in  every  county  for  levying  the  tax.^  Notwith- 
standing the  Speaker's  circular  this  weight  of  taxation  was 


1  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
5th  March,  164|,  a  Meridie.  MS. 
State  Paper  Office.  On  the  same  day 
is  this  minute  : — "  That  the  House  will 
be  pleased  to  set  rules  for  the  Committee 
at  Goldsmiths'  Hall  to  proceed  upon  for 
the  composition  with  such  delinquents 
the  last  year's  war." 
number     of    MS. 


as    were    in 
There    is    a 


volumes  in  the  State  Paper  Office  filled 
with  the  proceedings  of  this  committee 
at  Goldsmiths'  Hall  respecting  these 
compositions  in  regard  to  delinquents' 

estates. 

2  Commons'  Journals,  Die  Jovis,  8 
Martii,  164|.  Pari.  Hist.,  vol.  iii. 
p.  1304. 


large 


62 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


found  to  be  very  oppressive  by  the  country  at  large,  and 
the  tax  was  levied  with  difficulty.  Nothing  could  more 
strikingly  show  that,  though  England  had  got  rid  for  a 
time  of  the  ignoble  tyranny  of  the  Stuarts,  it  had  to  pay 
somewhat  dear  for  the  privilege  of  calling  itself  a  common- 
wealth, than  the  following  order  of  the  Council  of  State  of 
16th  June,  1649  :— "  That  the  lord  general  be  desired  to 
appoint  parties  of  horse  to  be  aiding  and  assisting  with 
the  agents  and  collectors  of  the  money  upon  the  ordinance 
of  ^^20,000  per  mensem  for  Ireland  in  the  several  counties 
of  England  and  Wales."  ' 

It  is  no  discredit  to  those  clear-headed  and  strong-willed 
statesmen,  that  they  were  ignorant  of  a  science  which  had 
not  then   dawned   upon  the   world  ;    but   it   may  be  not 
uninstructive  to  mark  some  of  the  errors  they  committed 
from  ignorance  of  the  natural  laws  that  regulate  trade,  and 
winch  no  statesman  can  violate  with  impunity.      Imme- 
diately after  the  last-quoted  minute,  they  make  the  following 
order  : — "  That  for  the  more  ready  sale  of  such  lands  as 
are  to  be  sold  for  the  use  of  the  commonwealth,  the  inte- 
rest of  money  may  be  brought  to  six  pounds  per  cent.''  ^ 
In  accordance  with   this  order,    it   was,   on  the    12th   of 
March,  resolved  by  the  House  that  the  interest  of  money 
should     be     brought    down    from    eight    per    centum    to 
six   per  centum  from  and   after   the    29th   of   September 
next ;  and  an  Act   was  ordered  to  be  brought  in  for  that 
purpose.^      The  following  minute  further  shows  their  igno- 
rance of  those  natural  laws  of  trade  which,  in  the  time  of 
a  dearth  or  scarcity  of  corn,  by  raising  the  price  enforce  a 
more  economical  consumption,  and   which   can  only  come 


>  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
16th  June,  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 


5th   March,    164^,   a   Meridie.      MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 

^  Commons'  Journals,  Die  Lunse,  12 
Martii,  164|. 


1649.] 


NEW  REGIMENTS  FOR  IRELAND. 


63 


into  full  operation  under  a  complete  freedom  of  the  corn- 
trade — "  the  only  effective  preventive  of  a  famine,  as  it  is 
the  best  palliative  of  the  inconveniences  of  a  dearth  :  "  ^ 
"  That  the  Ipswich  petition  against  Robert  Green,  merchant, 
for  engrossing  of  corn,  be  recommended  to  Mr.  Attorney, 
to  prosecute  him  according  to  law,  and  to  take  information 
from  \Vm.  Hanby,  attorney  for  that  town,  to  proceed 
against  the  said  Green,  to  the  end  the  poor  people  may  see 
that  care  is  taken  of  them  in  the  time  of  dearth."  ^  And 
on  the  5  th  of  April  an  Act  for  abating  the  price  of 
victuals  and  corn  was  read  the  first  and  second  time,  and 
committed.^ 

Lieutenant-General  Cromwell  having  been  appointed,  as 
has  been  before  mentioned,  to  the  command  in  chief  of  the 
forces  destined  for  Ireland,  the  Council  of  State  proceeded 
to  hasten  as  much  as  possible  the  dispatch  of  that  important 

business. 

Some  new  regiments  were  raised  about  this  time  for  the 
service  of  Ireland.  The  case  of  one  regiment  may  be 
selected  to  show  the  Council  of  State's  mode  of  proceed- 
ing. On  the  6th  of  March  there  is  a  minute  for  the 
payment  of  <^400  to  Colonel  Tothill  for  a  regiment  of 
foot  for  Ireland  now  fully  ready,  near  Chester,  according 
to  contract  with  the  late  committee  at  Derby  House. 
Colonel  Tothill  was  to  receive  the  rest  of  his  money  for  the 
said  regiment  upon  the  transporting  of  them,  out  of  the 
c£>50,000  for  Ireland  out  of  the  lands  of  delinquents. 
*'The  late  committee  being  dissolved,  that  the  House  be 
moved  to  give  power  for  the  disposing  of  the  said  money, 
whereby  the  contract  by  which  a  very  good  regiment  is 
actually  ready  for  the    service  of  Ireland  may  be  speedily 


»  Smith's  Wealth  of  Nations,  vol.  ii.       2nd  May,  1649.  MS.  State  PaperOffice. 
pp.  398,  399,  M'Culloch's  edition.  3  Commons'    Journals,    5th    April, 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,       1649. 


64 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


furnished,  and    the   said   regiment  transported."'      After 
granting  a  warrant  for  the  payment  to  Colonel  Tothill  of 
£400,  the  Council  order  "  that  the  rest  of  the  money  which 
is  to  be  paid  to  Colonel  Tothill  for  the  transporting  of  his 
regiment  into  Ireland  be  transmitted  to  Chester  to   Mr. 
Walley  for  that  service."     On  the  27th  of  March  there  is 
a   minute,  "  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Governor  of 
Chester  to  let  him  know  that  sixpence  per  diem  is  ordered 
for  the  payment  of  Colonel   TothUl's  regiment,  and  that 
money  is  now  in  Mr.  Walley  his  hands  to  defray  it  ;  that, 
therefore,  free  quarter  is  not  to  be  demanded  by  them  : '' 
and   another  minute,  "That   a  letter   be   written  to  Mr. 
Walley  to  desire  him  to  take  care  that   the  quarters  of 
Colonel   Tothill's  regiment  may  I)e  paid  from  the  time  of 
their  muster,  that  the  people  in   the  country  be  not  bur- 
tliened  by  them  more  than  of  necessity,  and  that  he  do  not 
pay  the   money  into   the  hands  of  the  soldiers,  but  to  the 
people  themselves."  ^ 

Now,  it  is  to  be  observed  that  sixpence  at  that  time  was 
equivalent  to  eighteenpence,  or,  rather,  two  shillings  at 
present,  and  the  care  of  the  Council  of  State  in  this  impor- 
tant matter  sufficiently  distinguishes  them  from  some  of 
the  governments  that  went  before,  as  well  as  from  some 
that  came  after  them  in  this  country.  It  was  one  of  the 
worst  features  of  the  government  of  Charles  I.  that  he 
billeted  his  troops  in  private  houses,  and  made  them  live 
at  free  quarter.  But  the  sturdy  English  yeomen  were  not 
people  to  submit  quietly  to  such  an  outrage.  There  is  in 
the  State  Paper  Office  a  letter,  dated  1st  March,  1628,  from 
Captain  John  Watts,  and  other  officers  of  the  regin.ent  of 
Sir  Thomas  Fryer,  stationed  in  the  county  of  Dorset,  to 

Office         '        "■  ''  ^"f"'      ^^*''  ^''^'  l«^l-    IIS.  State  Pape^ 

Office. 


1649.] 


FREE  QUARTERS  AND  BILLETING. 


65 


Sir  Thomas  Fryer,  in  which  it  is  stated  that  divers  officers 
of  his  regiment  met  the  Commissioners  at  Bland  ford  to 
complain  of  their  soldiers  being  turned  out  of  their  billets  by 
violence,  the  billeters  alleging  that  they  would  not  provide 
any  billets,  but  that  the  soldiers  must  shift  for  themselves. 
"  The  soldiers,''  the  writers  of  the  letter  continue,  "  are 
thus  enforced  either  to  steal  or  starve.  The  Commissioners 
say  they  have  no  order  for  anything.  The  gentry  contemn 
the  deputy-lieutenants'  warrants  for  billeting  and  are  ill 
precedents  to  the  commonalty.  If  some  speedy  course  be 
not  taken,  the  greatest  part  of  the  men  will  run  from  their 
colours/'  ^ 

Such  is  an  example  of  the  difference  between  the 
Council  of  State  and  some  of  the  preceding  Governments. 
I  will  now  give  an  example  of  the  difference  between  that 
Council  and  some  of  the  succeeding  Governments — an 
example  which  is  a  little  startling  from  its  being  found  so 
late  as  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  When  tlie 
militia  was  called  out  during  the  Crimean  war,  the  practice 
which,  with  similar  indulgences,  cost  Charles  I,  his  crown, 
of  billeting  soldiers  on  private  houses  was  not  only  still 
kept  up  in  Scotland,  but  the  whole  burden  of  billeting 
the  militia  of  the  two  counties  of  Forfar  and  Kincardine 
was  thrown  upon  the  town  of  Montrose  alone,  thus 
exempting  not  only  the  whole  of  the  inland  landed  pro- 
prietors and  farmers  of  those  counties,  but  also  the 
towns  of  Dundee,  Arbroath,  Forfar,  Brechin,  Stonehaven 
and  others.  Such  were  the  principles  on  which  the  billet- 
ing-tax  was  levied  that  persons  who  were  too  poor  to  be 
assessed  to  the  poor-rate  were  subjected  to  the  billeting- 
tax  for  the  militia  of  these  counties,  while  other  persons 
with  an  income   of  c£*20,000   and   even  .£40,000  a  year 

»  1628,  March  1.     MS.  State  Paper  Office. 

F 


66 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


1649.] 


PROPORTION  OF  MUSKETEERS  TO  PIKEMEN. 


67 


were   exempt   from   it.      There  were  even  cases   in  which 
the  poor  people  on  whom  soldiers  were  billeted   were  com- 
pelled  to   give   up  their  only  bed  to  two  militiamen  and 
themselves  lie  on  the  floor.      In  a  petition  from  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  royal  burgh  of  Montrose  to  the  Secretary  for 
War  it  is   stated  that  "  while  non-resident  proprietors  with 
incomes  of  several  hundreds  a  year  each,   are  exempt  from 
billeting,  and  consequently  from  the   payment  into  which 
it  is  now  commuted,  a  working-man,  being  a  householder, 
is  subjected  to  the  tax  ;  and  assuming  his  income  at  ^^40 
per  annum,  at  the   present   rate   of   billeting   soldiers  in 
Montrose,  or  what  it  will  shortly  arrive  at,  he  has  upwards 
of  d^ 4  of  his  hard-earned  income  taken   from   him  to  pro- 
vide billets  for  the  militia — an  exaction  to  which  there  is  no 
parallel  in  Her  Majesty's  dominions,  except  in  some  of  the 
other  billeting  towns  in  Scotland.     The  oppressive  nature 
of  the  burden  may  be  estimated  when  it  is  considered  that 
the    householders    in    Montrose,    on    whom     soldiers    are 
quartered,  are,  after   deducting  the    present   Government 
allowance,   compelled    to    pay   £S5   per   week   for  billet- 
money,  which  sum,  there  is  reason  to  believe,  will  in  a  few 
weeks  be  raised  to  £4t5  per  week,  or  at  the  rate  of  ^^2340 
per  annum.'' 

The  orders  for  arms  for  the  regiment  of  Col.  Tothill 
show  more  exactly  than  appears  from  any  authority  I  have 
before  met  with  the  proportion  which  the  musketeers  at 
that  time  bore  to  the  pikemen.  It  may  be  convenient  to 
remind  the  reader  that  the  foot  regiments  at  that  time 
were  composed  partly  of  musketeers,  partly  of  pikemen, 
and  that  though  the  musketeers  formed  a  larger  proportion 
of  each  regiment  than  the  pikemen,  the  work,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  inefficiency  of  the  muskets,  a  large  proportion 
of  which  were  matchlocks,  not  flintlocks,  and  the  want  of 


the  bayonet,  was  mostly  done  by  the  pikemen  who  were 
the  tallest  and  strongest  men  ;  the  pikes  from  their  length, 
from  fifteen  to  eighteen  feet,  and  weight,  requiring  men  of 
some  strength  and  height  to  handle  them  efficiently.^ 
I  had  an  impression  from  all  the  authorities  I  had  before 
consulted  that  the  pikemen  formed  only  about  a  third  part 
of  every  regiment  of  foot :  but  it  appears  from  the  two 
following  minutes  that  the  pikemen  in  a  regiment  of  foot 
1000  strong  were  to  the  musketeers  as  400  to  GOO,  or  as 
two-fifths  to  three-fifths;  "That  GOO  musquets  now  at 
Liverpool  be  presently  issued  out  for  the  arming  of 
the  regiment  of  Col.  Tothill.''  ''  That  IVIr.  Webster  be 
sent  unto  to  be  here  to-morrow  in  the  afl^ernoon  to  speak 
with  the  Council  concerning  the  furnishing  of  400  pikes 
for  the  arming  of  Col.  Tothill's  regiment."  ^ 

What,  in  addition  to  the  want  of  the  bayonet,  rendered 
the  musket  a  particularly  ineflective  weapon  at  that  time, 
was  the  fact  that,  the  use  of  wadding  for  the  ball  not  being 
understood,  the  soldier  could  not  shoot  effectually  with  his 
piece  inclined  below  a  horizontal  position.  Gustavus 
Adolphus  indeed  had  introduced  the  use  of  the  cartridge, 
but  it  was  not  adopted  generally  till  near  a  century  after.' 
That  the  cartridge  was  not  introduced  during  this  war 
appears  from  one  of  the  usual  articles  of  the  surrender  of 
places,  by  which  it  is  stipulated  that  the  soldiers  may 
depart  "  with  their  arms  and  baggage,  with  di'ums  beating 
and  colours  flying,  matches  lighted  at  both  ends,  and  hall 
in  their  mouths,  as  they  usually  are  wont  to   march.'* 


^  Memoires  de  Montecuculi,  i.  2,  16  ; 
Grove's  Military  Antiquities,  vol.  i. 
pp.  132,  133. 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
13tli  March,  164«.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 


^  Historical  Record  of  the  First  Regi- 
ment of  Foot,  in  Records  of  the  British 
Army,  printed  by  authority,  comi)iled 
by  Richard  Cannon,  Esq.,  Adjutant- 
General's  Office,  Horse  Guards,  London, 
1847. 

F    2 


68 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  I. 


This  clearly  shows  that  cartridges  were  not  used,  and  that 
the  ball  was  put  loose  or  separately  into  the  gun  ;  in  which 
case  the  mouth  was  found  a  convenient  magazine.  And  at 
the  time  of  which  we  write,  about  one  in  sixty-eight  was 
the  proportion  of  flintlocks  to  matchlocks,  as  appears  from 
a  despatch  of  Cromwell  from  Linlithgow,  in  1651,  in 
which  he  states  that  they  have  left  in  store  "  2030 
muskets,  whereof  30  snapliances,"  or  flintlocks.^  Under 
such  circumstances  it  is  manifest  that  nearly  aU  the  work 
had  to  be  done  by  the  cavalry  and  pikemen. 

1  Cromwell  to  the  Lord  President  of  the  Council  of  State,  26th  July,  1651. 


CHAPTER  II. 


The  Council  of  State  occupied  themselves  a  good  deal  in 
regard   to   what  they   termed    "divers    dangerous    books 
printed  and  published  ;  "  *  the  multitude  and  constant  suc- 
cession of  which  "  dangerous  books,"  implied  a  spirit  of  dis- 
content existing   of  a    kind  and   degree   which    whether 
really  formidable  to  their  power  or  not  was  at  least  suffi- 
cient to  render  them  uneasy.     They  appear  to  have  been 
as  much  afraid  of  what   they   call  "  libellous   books ''  as 
Archbishop  Laud  and  the  High  Commission  were  some  ten 
years   before.     And  not   without    cause,   for    though    the 
government  of  the  Council  of  State  was,  as  compared  with 
the  government  of  Laud  and  Charles's  council — an  able,  a 
great,  and  a  formidable   tyranny,  it  was  a  tyranny  still, 
that  would  not  tolerate  opposition,  or  even  criticism  ;  not 
merely  in  regard  to  its  acts  but  also  to  its  opinions.       The 
Council  of  State  were  in  this  but  the  representatives  of  the 
body  to  which  they  owed  their  existence,  the  Long  Parlia- 
ment,  which  from  an  early  period  had  evinced  an  abun- 
dantly intolerant  and  tyrannical  spirit.      In  a  paper  in- 
dorsed by  Lord  Clarendon   "  Skippon's  Relation  of  some  of 
the  Extravagances  of  the  Parliament,"   it  is  related  that 
about  the   month  of  August  1646,  at  Henley-on-Thames 
a  woman  having  taken  notice  of  the  unwonted  taxations 
imposed  on  her  and  others  by  the  Parliament,  expressed 

»  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  7th  ^lay,  1649.     MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


70 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


some  dislike  thereof  yet  in  civil  terms ;  wlncli  being  made 
known  to  a  committee  there,  she  was  by  them  ordered  to 
have  her  tongue  fastened  by  a  nail  to  the  body  of  a  tree 
by  the  highway  side  on  a  market  day.  This  w^as  accord- 
ingly done ;  and  a  paper  in  great  letters^  setting  forth  the 
heinousness  of  her  offence,  was  fixed  to  her  back  to  make 
her  the  more  notorious.*  Another  instance  of  the  cruel  in- 
tolerance of  the  Lonsj  Parliament  is  the  case  of  James  Navlor, 
who  was  condemned  by  the  Parliament  to  have  his  tongue 
bored  as  a  blasphemer.^  Several  membei-s  were  for 
passing  sentence  of  death  upon  him.  The  Protector 
interested  himself  in  Naylor's  favour.  "  The  conduct  of  the 
House  of  Commons,"  says  Mr.  Orme,  "  was  as  unconstitu- 
tional, as  its  sentence  was  brutal  and  unmerited."  ^ 

But  there  were  other  cases  where  the  Parliament  and  Coun- 
cil may  appear  to  have  done  no  more  than  their  situation  im- 
peratively demanded  in  imprisoning  and  bringing  to  trial 
the  authors  of  pamphlets  which  raised  up  mutiny  in  their 
army  and  threatened  their  very  existence.  On  the  27th 
of  March  J  649  it  was  resolved  by  the  House  "  That  the 
printed  paper  intituled  *  The  Second  Part  ^  of  England's 
New  Chains  Discovered,  &c.,'  doth  contain  much  false 
scandalous  and  reproachful  matter;  and  it  is  highly  sedi- 
tious, and  destructive  to  the  present  Government,  as  it  is 
now  declared  and  settled  by  Parliament,  tends  to  division 
and  mutiny  in  the  army,  and  the  raising  of  a  new  war  in 
the  Commonwealth,  and  to  hinder  the  present  relief  of 
Ireland,  and  to  the  continuing  of  free  quarter."  *  On  the 
same  daj^  the  Council  of  State  made  the  following  orders ; 

1  Appendix    to    Clarendon's    State  *  The  First  Part  of  England's  New 
Papers,  vol.  ii.                                               Chains  consisted  of  Lilburne's  Objec- 

^  See  Baxter's  Autobiography,  part  i.  tions  to  the  Agreement  of  the  People, 

pp.    102,    103  ;   and   Burton's   Diary,  as  put  forth  by  the  Council  of  War. 
vol.  i.  ^  Commons'   Journals    Die    Martis 

2  Orme  s  Life  of  Baxter,  p.  91,  note.  27  Martii  1649. 


1649.]  JOHN  LILBUUNE  COMMITTED  TO  THE  TOWER.  7l 

"  That  Sergeant  Dendy,''  who  was  on  the  same  day  appointed 
"  Sergeant-at-Arms  to  this  Council,"   "  be  appointed  to  make 
proclamation  of  the  order  of  the  House  this  day  against 
the   authors   of  the  book  called  the  'New  Chains;'  and 
that  he  do  proclaim  it  in  Cheapside,  at  the  new  Exchange, 
in  Southwark,  and  at  the  Spittle.      That  the  Lord  General 
be  desired  to  give  order  that  Sergeant  Dendy  may  be  fur- 
nished with  a  guard   drum  and  trumpets  for   proclaiming 
the  order  of  the  House  against  the  authors  of  the  book 
called  the  '  New  Chains.'     That  a  warrant  generrJ  be  issued 
for  the  apprehension  of  all  such  as  have  been  publishers  of 
the  book  called  the  '  New  Chains/     And  that  the  posts 
may  that  night  be  searched  for  the   said  book,  and  that 
Mr.  Sero-eant  Dendy  do  make  that  search."  ^      They  also,  on 
the  same  day,  issued  a  warrant  for   the   apprehension  of 
John    Lilburne,    Mr.  Walwyn,    Mr.   Overton  and  Thomas 
Prince,  as  being  "  the  authors  or  publishers  of  a  scandalous 
and  seditious  book  printed  intituled  '  The  Second  Part  of 
England's  New  Chains  Discovered.'  " '     On  the  following 
day  the  28th  of  March  the  Council  made  an  order  "  That 
Mr.  Milton  be  appointed  to  make  some  observations  upon 
the  complication  of  interest  which    is   now   amongst   the 
several  designers  against  the  peace  of  the  Commonwealth  : 
and  that  it  be  made  ready  to  be  presented  with  the  papers 
out    of   Ireland    which    the    House    hath    ordered    to    be 
printed."  ^     On  the  23th  of  March  the  Council  appointed 
a  committee  to  examine  Lt.-Col.  John   Lilburne  and  the 
others   concerning  the  matters  contained  in  the  declaration 
of  the  Parliament  of  the  27th  of  March  :  and  also  made  an 


1  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
27th  March,  1649.      MS.  State  Paper 

Office. 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 


27th  March,  1649.    MS.   State  Paper 

Office. 

3  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
28th  March,  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 


72 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


order  "  That  Lt.-Col.  John  Lilbume  be  committed  prisoner 
to  the  Tower  upon  suspicion  of  high  treason  for  being  the 
author  of  a  scandalous  and  seditious  book  intituled 
*  England's  New  Chains  Discovered.'  "  ^ 

In  order  to  have  some  insight  into  the  character  of  John 
Lilbm-ne  as  well  as  into  that  "  complication  of  interest " 
upon  which  "  Mr.  Milton  "  was  appointed  by  the  Council 
of  State  to  make  some  observations,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
go  back  for  a  few  years  to  the  time  when  Cromwell  fir^st  as 
a  captain  of  a  troop  and  then  as  a  colonel  of  a  regiment  of 
horse  beat  up  his  drums  ^  for  the  ardent  and  energetic 
souls  lodged  in  strong  and  active  bodies  who  had  long  been 
groaning  under  a  most  grievous  spiritual  as  well  as  civil 
tyranny.  In  the  beginning  of  his  career  one  of  his 
officers  was  James  Berry,  who  had  been  a  clerk  of  iron- 
works, ^  and  was  an  old  and  dear  friend  of  Eichard  Baxter. 
When  Cromwell  lay  at  Cambridge  with  "that  famous 
troop  which  he  began  his  array  with,"  Berry  and  his  other 
officers  proposed,  says,  Baxter,  "to  make  their  troop  a 
gathered  church,  and  they  all  subscribed  an  invitation  to 


*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
28th  March,  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

2  This  was  the  official  phrase  of  that 
time  —  thus  :  * '  That  George  Lyon, 
ensign  to  Capt.  Anthony  Stampe 
have  a  warrant  issued  out  unto  him 
for  the  beating  up  of  drums  for  the 
gathering  recruits  for  the  said  captain's 
company,  and  that  Mr.  Walley  be 
ordered  to  ship  such  men  as  the  said 
Lyon  shall  conduct  to  the  waterside 
to  Derry  to  the  rest  of  his  company." 
— Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  StcUe^ 
6th  July,  1649.  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 

3  Some  modern  writers  say  that  Berry 
had  been  a  gardener,  but  Baxter,  who 
had  known  him  well,  and  in  whose 
house  he  had  lived,  says  that  Berry, 


at  the  Restoration,  was  imprisoned  in 
Scarborough  Castle,  * '  but  being  re- 
leased, he  became  a  gardener,  and  lived 
in  a  safer  state  than  in  all  his  greatness." 
—-The  Life  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Richard 
Baxter,  faithfully  published  from  his 
own  original  MS.,  by  Matthew  Sylvester, 
folio,  London,  1696,  part  i.  p.  58.  In 
another  place  Baxter  says,  "James 
Berry  was  made  Major-General  of  Wor- 
cestershire, Shropshire,  Herefordshire, 
and  North  Wales  ;  the  counties  in  which 
he  had  formerly  lived  as  a  servant  (a 
clerk  of  ironworks).  His  reign  was 
modest  and  short;  but  hated  and 
scorned  by  the  gentry  that  had  known 
his  inferiority  :  so  that  it  had  been 
better  for  him  to  have  chosen  a  stranger 
place."— /6irf.,  pp.  97,  98. 


1649.] 


PARLIAMENTARY  ARMY. 


73 


me  to  be  their  pastor,  and  sent  it  to  me  at  Coventry :  I 
sent  them  a  denial."  Baxter  then  says  that  afterwards 
meeting  Cromwell  at  Leicester,  Cromwell  expostulated  with 
him  for  refusing  their  proposal ;  and  adds  :  "  These  very 
men  that  then  invited  me  to  be  their  pastor  were  the  men 
that  afterwards  headed  much  of  the  army,  and  some  of 
them  were  the  forwardest  in  all  our  changes ;  which 
made  me  wish  that  I  had  gone  among  them,  however 
it  had  been  interpreted,  for  then  all  the  fire  was  in  one 
spark."  * 

Baxter  heard  nothing  more  of  Cromwell  and  his  old 
friend  Berry  for  about  two  years.  After  the  battle  of 
Naseby  he  paid  a  visit  to  the  army  of  the  Parliament  and 
he  then  found  that  Cromwell's  chief  favourites  among  the 
officers  held  opinions  both  political  and  religious  which 
greatly  shocked  him.  "  What,"  they  said,  "were  the  lords 
of  England  but  William  the  Conqueror's  colonels  ?  or  the 
barons  but  his  majors  ?  or  the  knights  but  his  captains  ?  "  ^ 
They  most  honoured  the  Separatists,  Anabaptists,  and  Anti- 
nomians ;  but  Cromwell  and  his  Council  joined  themselves 
to  no  party,  but  were  for  the  liberty  of  all.  Baxter  says 
he  perceived  that  those  they  did  commonly  and  bitterly 
speak  against  were  the  Scots,  and  with  them  all  Presby- 
terians but  especially  the  ministers,  and  also  the  com- 
mittees of  the  several  counties.  There  were,  however, 
some  officers  who  were  still  orthodox  according  to  Baxter's 


*  Baxter's  Autobiography,  p.  51. 

2  Hobbes  says,  "The  levelling  sol- 
diers, finding  that  instead  of  dividing 
the  land  at  home  they  were  to  venture 
their  lives  in  Ireland,  flatly  denied  to 
go."  —  Behemoth,  part  iv.,  p.  266, 
London,  1682.  But  Baxter  was  much 
better  informed  on  this  matter  than 
Hobbes  ;    and   we  see  that,  according 


to  Baxter,  those  who  were  for  dividing 
the  land  among  them  were  Cromwell's 
chief  favourites  among  the  oflicers,  and 
not  the  men  upon  whom  Cromwell  fixed 
the  name  of  Levellers.  At  the  same 
time,  I  do  not  think  that  Ireton,  Lud- 
low, Blake,  Harrison,  are  to  be 
reckoned  in  this  class. 


74 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


notion  of  orthodoxy ;  and  partly  from  them,  partly  from 
the  mouths  of  the  leading  sectaries  themselves,  Baxter  in- 
formed himself  of  the  state  of  the  army.  * 

Baxter  now  blamed  himself  for  having  before  rejected 
the  invitation  to  be  chaplain  to  Cromwell's  regiment,  and 
after  taking    two    days    to    deliberate    upon    the    matter 
accepted  an  invitation  to  be  chaplain  to  Whalley's  regiment 
several  troops  of  which  had  belonged  to    Cromweirs  old 
regiment.^       Evanson    a    captain   of   Whalley's    regiment 
had  prevailed  over  Baxter's  reluctance  to  leave  his  studies 
and  friends    and    quiet  at  Coventry  by  telling  him  that 
their  regiment  though   the    most  religious,    most    valiant, 
most  successful  of  all  the  army  was  in  as  much  danger  of 
falling  from  orthodoxy  as  any  regiment  whatsoever ;   and 
Whalley  the  colonel,    who  like   Evanson  was  according  to 
Baxter  orthodox  in  religion  but  engaged  by  kindred  and 
interest  to   Cromwell,  invited  him  to  be  chaplain  to  his 
regiment.      The   county  committee    were    so    angry    with 
Baxter  for  proposing  to  leave  them  to  go  to  the  army  that 
he  was  fain  to  tell  them  all  the  truth  of  his  motives  and 
design,  what  a  case  he  perceived  the  army  to  be  in,  and 
that  he  was  resolved  to  do  his  best  against  it.       Whatever 
difference  of  opinion  there  may  be  as  to  Baxter's  judgment, 
his  statements  respecting  what  he  saw  and  heard  may  be 
accepted  as  generally  truthful  and  even  where  from  a  slip 
of  memory   inaccurate,   not   intentionally  so.       It    would 
appear  from  what  followed  Baxter's  statement  of  his  case 
to  the  committee,  that  Cromwell  and  his  confidants  did  not 
wish  just  at  that  time,  1645,  to  make  any  public  parade  of 
the  opinions  religious  and  political,  which  Baxter  imputed 

>  Baxter's  Autobiography,  p.  51.  enemy,  and  he  sent  three  of  the  gene- 

'^  Baxter  says  (p.   54),    "Cromwell,  ral's  regiment  to  second  them,  all  being 

at  the  battle  of  Langport,  bid  Whalley  of  Cromwell's  old  regiment." 

eend  three  of  his  troops  to  charge  the 


1649.] 


PARLIAMENTARY  ARMY. 


75 


to  them.  Baxter  did  not  know  till  afterwards  that  Colonel 
William  Purefoy,  a  member  of  the  committee  and  also  a 
member  of  Parliament,  was  a  confidant  of  Cromwell's. 
Purefoy,  as  soon  as  Baxter  had  spoken  what  he  did  of  the 
army,  answered  him  in  an  imperious  manner  with  the 
following  remarkable  words  which  give  a  more  striking 
picture  than  anything  I  have  anywhere  else  met  with 
of  the  terms  in  which  Cromwell's  oflScers  spoke  of  him  and 
of  the  terrible  promptitude  with  which  he  repressed  any 
symptom  of  insubordination: — "Let  me  hear  no  more  of 
that :  if  Nol  Cromwell  should  hear  any  soldier  speak  but 
such  a  word,  he  would  cleave  his  crown.  You  do  them 
wronof  •  it  is  not  so."  ^ 

"  As  soon  as  I  came  to  the  army,"  continues  Baxter, 
**  Oliver  Cromwell  coldly  bid  me  welcome,  and  never  spake 
one  word  to  me  more  while  I  was  there  ;  nor  even  all  that 
time  vouchsafed   me  an  opportunity  to  come  to  the  head- 
quarters where   the  councils  and  meetings  of  the  oflBcers 
were,  so  that  most  of  my  design  was  thereby  frustrated. 
And  his  secretary  gave  out  that  there  was  a  reformer  come 
to  the  army  to  undeceive  them,  and   to  save  Church  and 
State,  with  some  such  other  jeers ;   by  which  I  perceived 
that  all  I  had  said  but  the  night  before  to  the  committee 
was  come  to   Cromwell  before  me,  (I  believe  by  Colonel 
Purefoy's  means :)  but  Colonel  Whalley  welcomed  me,  and 
was  tlie  worse  thought  on  for  it  by  the  rest  of  the  cabal."  ^ 
"  All  those  two  years  that  I  was  in  the  army,"  continues 
Baxter,  "  my  old  bosom  friend,  who  had  lived  in  my  house, 
and  been  dearest  to  me,  James  Berry,  then  captain,  after 
colonel  and  major-general,  then  lord  of  the  Upper  House, 
who  had  formerly  invited  me  to  Cromwell's  troop,  did  never 
once  invite  me  to  his  quarters,  nor  ever  once  came  to  visit 

»  Baxter's  Autobiography,  p.  52.  =  Hid.,  p.  52. 


76 


HISTOEY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


me,  nor  saw  me  save  twice  or  thrice  that  we  met  acciden- 
tally/' *  Of  this  change  in  his  old  friend's  behaviour 
towards  him  Baxter  gives  the  following  modest  and  candid 
explanation.  ''  He  (Berry)  was  a  man,  I  verily  think,  of 
great  sincerity  before  the  wars,  and  of  very  good  natural 
parts,  especially  mathematical  and  mechanical ;  and  affec- 
tionate [well  affected,  or  rather  zealous]  in  religion,  and  he 
carried  himself  as  a  very  great  enemy  to  pride.  But  when 
Cromwell  made  him  his  favourite  ;  and  his  extraordinary 
valour  was  crowned  with  extraordinary  success,  and  when 
he  had  been  a  while  most  conversant  with  those  that  in 
religion  thought  the  old  puritan  ministers  were  dull,  self- 
conceited  men  of  a  lower  form,  and  that  new  light  had 
declared  I  know  not  what  to  be  a  higher  attainment,  his 
mind,  his  aim,  his  talk  and  all  was  altered  accordingly/'  ^ 
"After  a  little  time  Colonel  Walley,"  Baxter  further 
says,  "  though  Cromwell's  kinsman  and  commander  of  the 
Trusted  regiment,  grew  odious  among  the  sectarian  com- 
manders at  the  head-quarters  for  my  sake  ;  and  he  was 
called  a  Presbyterian,  though  neither  he  nor  I  were  of  that 
judgment  in  several  points/'  ^ 

Even  among  the  orthodox  of  Walley's  regiment  how- 
ever there  were  sectarians.  Major  Bethel's  troop  in  par- 
ticular consisted,  according  to  Baxter,  of  very  vehement 
and  dangerous  sectaries.  One  characteristic  or  mark  to 
detect  a  sectary,  in  Baxter's  opinion,  was  the  disposition  to 
dispense  with  vicarious  preaching  and  prayer  and  thereby 
to  encroach  upon  his  professional  functions.  Great  preachers 
were  those  military  saints,  and  the  parliamentary  army 
exhibited  scenes  such  as  would  be  sought  for  in  vain  in  any 
other  age  or  nation.  Of  one  of  those  scenes  Baxter  has 
preserved  a  sketch  in  outline.     While  he  was  in  Walley's 

»  Baxter's  Autobiography,  p.  57.  »  Ibid,,  p.  57.  3  Ibid.,  p.  55, 


1649.] 


FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN. 


77 


regiment,  and  when  they  were  quartered  at  Agmondesham, 
in    Buckinghamshire,     some    sectaries    of    Chesham    had 
appointed  a  public  meeting  as  for  conference ;  "  and  this  in 
the   church,  by  the   encouragement,"  says  Baxter,  ''  of  an 
ignorant  sectarian  lecturer,  one  Bramble,  whom  they  had 
got  in   (while  Dr.  Crook,  the  pastor,  and  Mr.  Richardson, 
his  curate,  durst  not  interrupt  them)."     When  this  public 
talking  day  came,  Bethel's  troopers  (then  Captain  Pitch- 
ford's),    and  other  sectarian  soldiers,    mustered    strong    in 
the    church.      Baxter    thought    it    his    duty  to    be    there 
also,  and  took  "  divers  sober  officers  "  with  him.      Baxter 
took  the  reading  pew,  and  Pitchford's  cornet  and  troopers 
took  the    gallery.     There    was    a  crowded    congregation. 
The  leader  of  the  Chesham  men  began,   and  was  followed 
by  Pitchford's  troopers.      Baxter  then  took  up  the  argu- 
•nent,  if  such  it  could    be  called,  in  answer  to  what  he 
designates  "  the  abundance  of  nonsense  which  they  uttered," 
and  alone  disputed  against  them  from  morning  until  almost 

night.  ^ 

Another  type  of  those  strange  military  saints  was  the 
gallant  soldier  and  wild  enthusiast  Thomas  Harrison,  who 
has  come  in  for  almost  as  great  a  share  of  the  Boyalist 
calumny  and  scurrility  as  Cromwell  himself.  For  the 
royalist  and  later  Jacobite  writers  designate  Harrison  "  that 
butcher's  dog,"  or  "  brood  of  a  butcher's  mastiff/'  because 
he  was  the  son  of  a  grazier,  and  "  bloody,"  when  in  fact 
he  was  a  most  humane  as  well  as  an  honourable  man  ;  as 
they  have  styled  Pride  "  a  drayman "  because  he  was  a 
brewer,  and  Hewson  "  a  cobbler  "  because  he  was  a  shoe- 
maker. Harrison  was  a  favourite  with  Cromwell  for  the 
same  reason  that  Berry  was  ;  because  Cromwell  naturally 
esteemed   men   who  were  thoroughly  fit  for  their  work — 

'  Baxter's  Autobiography,  p.  56. 


78 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


men  who  never  turned  back  from  the  sword  or  feared  the 
face  of  a  mortal  enemy.      But  Harrison's  religious  enthu- 
siasm was  of  a  far  wilder  flight  than  Berry's,  whose  mind 
was  naturally  inclined  to  mathematical  studies.     Harrison's 
imagination   like  Vane's  loved  to  dwell  on  the  vision  of  a 
time  when  "  Christ's  saints  fitted  by  Him  to  sit  upon  the 
throne    of    the   same   glory  with  Him,    shall  likewise  be 
found  prepared  to  bring  forth  magistracy  itself  in  its  right 
exercise,  exactly  answering  the  end  for  which  it  was  set  up 
by  God  ;  and  so  shall  be  acknowledged  by  all  the  nations 
of  the  world,  during  the  thousand  years'  reign  of  Christ  on 
earth/'  ^     Harrison's  military  life  naturally  led  him  more 
than  Yane  was  led  to  contemplate  the  attainment  of  his 
miJlenial  paradise  through  deadly  strife  with  the  powers 
of  evil,  at  the  great  battle  of  Armageddon,  where  the  kings 
of  the  earth  and  their  armies  shall  be  gathered  together 
to  make  war  against  him  that  sitteth  on  the  white  horse, 
and  against  his  army,  and  shall  be  slain  with  the  sword ; 
and  the  angel  standing  in  the  sun  shall  call  all  the  fowls 
that   fly  in   the   midst  of  heaven  to  feed  on  the  flesh  of 
kings   and  captains,   of  the  war-horse  and  his  rider.      To 
men  who  revelled  in   such   visions  as  these   the   dust   of 
battle  was    the    breath    of  life  ;    and   the   "  iron    scour^re 
and  torturing  hour"  of  the   barbarians'   law   of  treason 
were  the  keys  that  unlocked  the  gates  of  an  everlasting 
Paradise. 

Baxter  describes  Harrison  as  so  far  diflering  from  the 
disputatious  troopers  last  mentioned  that  he  would  not  dis- 
pute at  all,  at  least  with  him.      "  But  he  would  in  good 


*  The  Retired  Man's  Meditations, 
or  the  Mystery  and  Power  of  Godli- 
ness shining  forth  in  the  living  Word, 
to  the  unmasking  the  mystery  of 
iniquity  in  the  most  refined  and  pui'est 


forms.  In  which  old  light  is  restored, 
and  new  light  justified.  Being  the 
witness  which  is  given  to  this  age.  By 
Henry  Vane  Knight,  4to,  1655,  p.  392. 


1649.] 


ANTINOMIANS. 


79 


discourse  very  fluently  pour  out  himself  in  the  extolling  of 
free  grace   which   was   savoury    to    those  that   had  right 
principles,  though  he  had  some  misunderstandings  of  free 
grace  himself      He  was  a  man  of  excellent  natural  parts 
for  affection  and  oratory  ;  ^  but  not  well  seen  in  the  prin- 
ciples of  his  religion  :   of  a  sanguine  complexion,  naturally 
of  such  a  vivacity,  hilarity,  and  alacrity  as  another  man 
hath  when  he  hath  drunken  a  cup  too  much  ;  but  naturally 
also  so  far  from  humble  thoughts  of  himself,  that  it  was 
his    ruin."^     This    vivacity   and    this    cheerfulness    never 
deserted  Harrison,  not  even  on  the  scaffold,  with  a  death  of 
torture  before  him  ;   and  combined  with  his  religious  en- 
thusiasm   they    made    him  fearless  and    even  exulting  to 
the  last.      He  told  the  sheriff  on  the  day  of  his  execution 
that  he  looked  upon  this  as  a  clear  answer  to  his  prayers ; 
''  for  many  a  time,"  said  he,  "  have  I  begged  of  the  Lord 
that  if  he  had  any  hard  thing,  any  reproachful  work  or 
contemptible    service    to   be   done  by   his   people,    that   I 
should  be  employed  in  it ;  and  now  blessed  be  the  name 
of  God  who  accounteth  me  worthy  to  be  put  upon  this  ser- 
vice for  ray  Lord  Christ."     He  told  the  people  round  the 
scaffold,  with  respect  to  a  shaking  in  his  hands  and  knees, 
which  being  observed  gave  rise  to  scoffing  in  some  abject 
spirits,  that  the  shaking  was  not  from  fear  of  death,  but  by 
reason   of  many  wounds   he  had  received    in  battle   and 
much  blood  he  had  lost.      "This,"  added  he,  "causeth  the 
shaking  and  weakness  in  my  nerves  :   I  have  had  it  these 
twelve  years  ;  I  speak  this  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  God  ; 
He  hath  carried  me  above  the  fear  of  death  :  and  I  value 
not  my  life,  because  I  go  to  my  Father,  and  am  assured  I 
shall  take  it  up  again.      Oh  !  I  have  served  a  good  lord  and 


^   "  Afiection  "  seems  to  be  here  used  ^  Baxter's  Autobiography,  p.  57. 

in  the  sense  of  zeal. 


80 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


master,  which  hath  helped  me  from  my  beginning  to  this 
day,  and  hath  carried  me  through  many  difficulties,  trials, 
straits,  and  temptations,  and  hath  always  been  a  very 
present  help  in  time  of  trouble  ;  He  hath  covered  my  head 
many  times  in  the  day  of  battle.  By  God  I  have  leaped 
over  a  wall,  by  God  I  have  run  through  a  troop,  and  by 
God  I  will  go  through  this  death,  and  He  will  make  it  easy 
to  me.  Now  into  thy  hands  0  Lord  Jesus  I  commit 
my  spirit." 

Harrison  may  be  more  correctly  described  as  a  Fifth 
Monarchy  man  than  as  Baxter  describes  him,  when  he 
says  that  his  opinions  were  for  Anabaptism  and  Antinomi- 
anism.  Baxter  also  says  that  Cromwell  had  by  degrees 
headed  the  greatest  part  of  the  army  with  Anabaptists, 
Antinomians,  Seekers,  or  Separatists,  and  tied  all  these 
together  by  the  point  of  liberty  of  conscience  as  the 
common  interest  in  which  they  united ;  and  that,  though 
Cromwell  did  not  openly  profess  what  opinion  he  was  of 
himself,  the  most  that  he  said  for  any  was  for  Anabaptism 
and  Antinomianism.  *  To  apply  the  name  of  Anabaptists 
and  Antinomians  to  Harrison  and  Cromwell  is  to  do  pre- 
cisely what  Baxter  objects  to  Cromwell  for  doing,  in 
calling  certain  men  Levellers.  The  Church  of  Rome  called 
those  who  differed  from  it  '*  heretics ; "  the  Church  of 
England,  under  Laud,  called  those  who  differed  from  it 
"  schismatics  ;  **  the  Presbyterians,  who  succeeded  Laud  in 
power,  called  those  who  differed  from  them  "  sectaries." 
And  worthy  Mr.  Baxter  called  Harrison  and  Cromwell 
"  Antinomians,"  because  they  did  not  adopt  all  his  theo- 
logical views,  to  read  which,  as  set  forth  in  some  twenty 
odd  thick  volumes,  would  be  a  labour  to  which  that  of 
reading  Guicciardini  would  be  light.     And  yet  the  story 

*  Baxter's  Autobiography,  p.  57. 


1649.] 


OLIVER  CROMWELL. 


81 


says  that  the  criminal,  who  was  offered  Guicciardini  or  the 
galleys,  having  chosen  the  history  and  tried  to  read  it, 
changed  his  mind  and  went  to  the  galleys. 

The  change  that  had  taken  place  in  the  character  of 
Cromwell  in  the  interval  between  the  time  when  he  in- 
vited Richard  Baxter  to  be  chaplain  to  his  troop  of  horse 
at  Cambridge  in  16-43  and  the  time,  two  years  later  and 
after  the  battle  of  Naseby,  when  he  gave  Baxter  a  cold 
welcome  to  the  army  of  the  Parliament,  is  at  least  in  part 
explained  by  Baxter  when  he  says  of  Cromwell : — "  I  think 
that  having  been  a  prodigal  in  his  youth,  and  afterwards 
changed  to  a  zealous  religiousness,  he  meant  honestly  in 
the  main,  and  was  pious  and  conscionable  in  the  main 
course  of  his  life,  till  prosperity  and  success  corrupted  him ; 
that  at  his  first  entry  into  the  wars,  being  but  a  captain  of 
horse,  he  had  a  special  care  to  get  religious  men  into  his 
troop."  ^  But  though  Baxter  might  be  able  to  understand 
the  characters  of  ordinary  enthusiasts  such  as  Berry  and 
Harrison,  there  were  depths  in  the  character  of  Cromwell 
which  his  plummet  could  not  fathom,  which  perhaps  no 
human  plummet  can  ever  fathom.  There  were  combined  in 
him  qualities  apparently  the  most  incompatible,  the  most 
fervent  enthusiasm,  the  most  adventurous  courage,  the 
calmest  and  keenest  judgment.  One  leading  characteristic 
of  Cromwell  was  the  union  of  craft  with  bluntness  and  with 
a  fiery  temper,  whereas  crafty  men  are  usually  understood 
to  be  of  a  cold  temper  and  smooth  manner  ;  though  craft 
under  a  cloak  of  bluntness  and  irascibility  has  the  advan- 
tage of  apparent  openness  and  simplicity  and  thus  of  throw- 
ing off  their  guard  those  with  whom  it  has  to  deal. 

There  are  some  well-authenticated  facts  in  the  history  of 
Cromwell's  life  which   may   perhaps  help  to  throw  some 


^  Baxter's  Autobiography,  p.  98. 


G 


82 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


light  on  those  parts  of  the  character  both  of  him  and  of 
other  great  men  of  the  same  type,  which  have  been  said  to 
render  such  characters  '*  the  wonders  of  history — characters 
inevitably  misrepresented  by  the  vulgar,  and  viewed  even 
by  those  who  in  some  sense  have  the  key  to  them,  as  a 
mystery,  not  fully  to  be  comprehended,  and  still  less  ex- 
plained  to  others/' ' 

The  early  years  of  Cromwell's  life  appear  to  have  been 
particularly    darkened    by    those    fits    of    mental    gloom,^ 
which,   whether  they  be  viewed  as   arising  from   physical 
or  from    religious    and    moral    causes,    seem   strangely    at 
variance  with  the   daring  and  energetic   character   of  the 
men   in   whom  they    are    sometimes    found.     The    names 
given  in  most  languages  to  this  temper  of  mind  attribute 
it  to  a  physical    cause  connected  with  the  digestive  organs. 
But  the  cause  is  probably  also  associated  with  the  nervous 
system  and  the  brain.     And  what  appears  strange  or  para- 
doxical  is  that   men,   to  whom    vulgar  language    assi^ms 
"  nerves  of  iron,''  should  have  a  nervous  system  apparently 
so  delicate,   as  such   susceptibility  to  derangement  would 
seem  to  imply.     Yet  even  if  we  retain  that  common  meta- 
phor, may  not  iron  chords  be  so  formed  as  to  vibrate  easily  ? 
But  there  is  a  certain   class  of  minds  in  which,   though 
generally  under  the  control  of  a  most  powerful  and  acute 
understanding,   the  imagination  at  times   exercises  almost 
unbounded  dominion.     And  if  to  the  physical   causes  of 
disturbance  referred  to,   religious  enthusiasm  be  added,  in 
such  minds  at  such  times  ideas  assume  a  force  and  vivid- 
ness which  give  them  the  power  and  enable  them  to  exercise 
the  tyranny  of  sensations.       Then  in  such  men   "  thoughts, 
like  masterless  hell-hounds,"  rise  to  torture  them.    Then  the 

»  Arnold's  History  of  Rome,  vol.  iii.  »  Sir  Philip  Warwick's  Memoirs  of 

P-  ^^^-  the  Reign  of  King  Charles  I.,  p.  249. 


1649.]  INFLUENCE  OF  PAMPHLETS  ON  THE  SOLDIERS. 


83 


phantoms  of  the  brain  assume  the  forms  of  fiends,  to  which 
they  fancy  themselves  compelled  to  give  battle  even  with 
a  mort<al  weapon.  There  are  fanatics  in  all  times.  But 
extraordinary  times  produce  extraordinary  fanatics,  men  of 
whose  'clear,  stronor  and  masculine  minds  the  ordinary 
tenor  seems  strangely  at  variance  with  fanaticism.  Laud 
and  Strafibrd  were  the  precursors,  in  the  way  of  cause  and 
effect,  of  Yane  and  Cromwell.  And  the  persecution  of 
such  bigots  and  tyrants  as  Laud  and  Strafford  may  be  re- 
garded as  having  produced,  among  many  other  effects,  the 
strange  spectacle  of  Vane's  dark  and  wild  theology,^ 
and  of  Cromwell's  brainsick  fancies  ^  and  hysterical 
tears. 

Though  Cromwell  and  many  of  his  officers  were  great 
preachers,  more  influence  was  exercised  on  the  minds  of 
the  soldiers  by  pamphlets  than  by  preaching.  And  for  a 
reason  which  is  well  put  by  Baxter  who  describes  what  he 
actually  witnessed.  The  soldiers  he  says,  "  being  usually 
disperst  in  their  quarters,"  that  is,  scattered  so  that  it  was 
difficult  to  get  together  a  large  congregation  of  them  at 
a  time  to  hear  a  sermon,  "  they  had  such  books  to  read 
when  they  had  none  to  contradict  them."^  Now  as  long 
as  it  was  the  object  of  Cromwell  and  his  party  to  put 
down  prelacy  and  presbyterianism  they  "  abundantly  dis- 

1  Clarendon's  assertion  (History,  vol.  392-395  of  that  work  of  Vane,  a  small 

vi    pp    695,  696)  that  Vane  "did  at  quarto,  published  in  1655. 

some  time  believe  he  was  the  person  ^  Sir  Philip  Warwick  was  told  by 

deputed  to  reign  over  the  saints  upon  Cromwell's  physician.  Dr.  Simcott,  that 

earth  for  a  thousand  years"    (though  his  patient  had  ''phansyes  about  the 

Clarendon's  testimony  regarding  Vane  cross  in  that  town,"  and  that  he,  the 

must  be  admitted  with  caution)  is  not  doctor,    had    been    very    many  timea 

unsupported  by  the  evidence  of  Vane's  ''  called  up  to  him  at  midnight  and 

own   writings.      See   particularly  the  such  unseasonable  hours,  upon  a  strong 

chapter   on     ''The    Thousand   Years'  phansy,  which  made  him  believe  he  was 

Keign  of   Christ,"  in   "The  Retired  then  dying." 

Man's  Meditations;"    also,   pp.  390,  ^  Baxter's   Autobiography,    part    i. 

p.  53. 

G    2 


84 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


persed  such  pamphlets  as  R.  Overton's  Martin  Mar-Priest, 
and  more  of  his,  and  some  of  J.  Lilburne's."  ^  But 
Cromwell  and  his  friends  learned  in  time  that  such 
pamphlets  might  become  a  two-edged  sword  which 
might  be  turned  against  themselves  as  well  as  against  the 
prelatists     and     presbyterians.  Then      of    course     the 

pamphlets  were  to  be  put  down  as  "  dangerous  books  ''  and 
"  scandalous  and  seditious  libels."      I  do  not  impute  blame 
to   Cromwell  and  his  friends   for  warring   against  presby- 
terians.    Such  war  was  in  fact  a  necessity,  if  to  put  down 
the    t^^ranny    of    the    Stuarts    and    ultimately    save    the 
English  constitution  was  .  a  necessity.      It  was  a  necessary 
step  in  the  process   by  which   England  was  saved  from  the 
fate     of   the  other  European    nations ;    for    the    presby- 
terian    party    had   most    clearly    shown    that   they  either 
could  not  or   would  not   save  the  nation  from  the  talons 
of  the  Stuart  tyrants.      And  if  the  pamphlets  of  Overton 
and  Lilburne  were  useful  in  that  work,  Cromwell  did  right 
to  encourage   them.     But  then  comes  the  further  question 
concerning    the    Agreement    of   the    People,    of   which  I 
have  given  a  short  account  in  the  preceding  chapter.       It 
is  admitted,  I  believe,  on  all  sides  that  this  Agreement   of 
the  People,  which  must  be  carefully  distinguished  from  the 
Agreement  of  the  People  by   John  Lilburne  bearing  date 
May  1st  1649,  was  the  work  of  men  who  were  both  able 
and  honest.      It   may  be   objected  to  it  that  it   was  im- 
practicable ;  that  it  was  a  piece  of  machinery  that  could 
not   be   worked.      But    then   the  experiment  of    working 
it  was  never  tried  ;  and,  assuming  for  argument's  sake,  the 
absence  of  all  selfish  motives,  the  remnant  of   the  Long 
Parliament   were  of  opinion  that  England  could  at  that 
time    only   be   governed  by  an   able    oligarchical   despot- 

*  Baxter's  Autobiography,  part  i.  p.  53. 


1649.] 


PETITION  IN  BEHALF  OF  LILBURNE,  &c. 


85 


ism  in  their  persons,  and  Cromwell  was  of  opinion 
that  it  could  only  be  governed  by  an  able  monarchical 
despotism  in  his  own  person.  So  difficult  has  it  always 
been  found  to  get  rid  of  one  tyranny  without  having 
another  set  up  in  its  place — so  difficult  that  the  excep- 
tions may  be  called  the  wonders  of  history. 

I  have  stated  that  on  the  28th  of  March,  the  Council 
of  State  made  an  order  for  the  committal  to  the  Tower,  of 
Lilburne,  Walwyn,  Overton,  and  Prince.     On  the  30  th  of 
March  a  petition  signed  by  10,000  persons  was  presented 
to  the  House  in  their  behalf.     This   petition  is  ably  and 
temperately  drawn,   and,   from  various    expressions  in  it, 
those  who  framed  it  evidently  believed  that  even  at  that 
time  Cromwell  had  formed  designs    against    the    nation's 
liberties.     The  petitioners  say  that  "  the  hostile  seizure  by 
the  Council  of  State,  and  their  examinations  apart  upon 
questions  against  themselves,  no  accuser  appearing  face  to 
face,  no  friends  allowed  to  be  present,  and  thereupon  com- 
mitted    prisoners     to    the      Tower,     being     all      directly 
contrary  to   Magna   Charta,  the    Petition  of    Right,    and 
to  your  own  declarations   of  the   8th  February  and  I7th 
March  last ;  we  are  inforced  to  believe  that  some  eminent 
persons,   whose   particular  interests   our   said  friends   may 
have    opposed,    have     surprised    this   honourable    House." 
The  petition  then  refers  to  their   frequent    motions   and 
petitions,    especially    their     **  Agreement    of    the    People, 
wherein    are    comprised  such  clear    fundamentals  of  just 
government.''      The  framers  of   the   petition  would  here 
seem  to  claim  for  Lilburne  and  Overton  the  authorship  of 
the  *'  Agreement  of  the  people  ;"  a  claim  which  can  hardly 
be  just,  though  they  may  have  been  consulted  by  Ire  ton 
in  the  framing  of    that   document.     The  petitioners  then 
charge  "  some  eminent  persons  in  the  army  ''  with   hatred 


86 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


towards    their  friends  for  their   endeavours    to  keep  the 
military  power  subordinate  to  the  civil,  and  for  standing 
betwixt     the     absolute    domination    of    such     "eminent 
persons  of  the  army  "  and  the  freedom  of  the  people ;  for 
which    their  friends   have    been   long   aspersed    by  them 
as    ^^  Levellers,    Atheists,  Jesuits,    &c."     The    petitioners 
further    say  they  are    credibly  informed  that   Lieut.-Gen. 
Cromwell    declared     in    the    Council    -that    they    must 
break  this  party  into  pieces  or  they  would  break  them  : 
that,  if  they  did  not  do  it,  they  would  render  themselves 
the    most    silly,  low-spirited    men    in    the    world,    to   be 
routed  by  so  contemptible  and  despicable  a  generation  of 
men."     The  petition  then  complains  that  the  Declaration 
of  Parliament  reflecting  upon  them  as  "  persons  seditious, 
destructive  to  the  present  Government,  mutineers,  hindererl 
of   the   relief  of  Ireland,   and  continuers  of  free  quarter, 
hath  so  forespoken  them,  that,  whensoever   they  come  to 
trial,  they  are  likely  to  fall  under  abundance  of  prejudice ; 
besides   the  influence  those   eminent   persons     (who    now 
visibly  appear  their  particular  adversaries)  have   upon  all 
persons  in  office,  and  upon  all  the  present  forces  in  being/' 
The  petitioners    say  they  cannot   "  discern  how  it  can  be 
just  to  try  men  on  a  Declaration  made  after  the  fact  pre- 
tended;"   and    earnestly    intreat    the     House    that    they 
will  first  make  strict  inquiry  into  the  cause  of  that  force 
of   soldiers   used  against    the   prisoners  contrary  to    law, 
enlarge    them  from    their     present    imprisonment    in    the 
Tower ;  and  then,  if  any  person  hath  wherewith  to  accuse 
them,  that  they  may  be  proceeded  against,  as  by  law  they 
ought,    by  warrants   from  a  justice  of    the   peace    to    be 
served    by    constables    not    soldiers,     and,     if    the    fact 
be    bailable,    to   be  allowed  bail ;    if  not,     to  be  secured 
in  that  legal  prison  appointed  for  that  place  and  fact  not 


1649.] 


GAVE  OFFENCE  TO  THE  HOUSE. 


87 


\ 


iiHiiirXl^-xi^i^t 


in  a  prerogative  prison  as  the  Tower  is  ;  and  then  in  an 
ordinary  way  to  have  the  benefit  of  a  trial  by  a  jury  of 
twelve  sworn  men  in  the  neighbourhood,  not  overawed 
by  soldiers :  "  a  trial  which  we  conceive,  cannot  in 
justice,  in  any  circumstance,  be  denied  to  the  worst  of 
thieves,  murderers,  and  traitors  ;  and  which  was  our  real 
intention  in  our  late  petition  presented  to  you  con- 
cerning them."  The  petition  after  praying  that  the 
execution  of  civil  affairs  may  be  wholly  freed  from  the 
interposition  of  the  sword,  and  that  martial  law  may 
not  be  exercised  in  time  of  peace,  thus  concludes  :  "  Lastly, 
we  intreat  that  there  may  be  some  general  encouragement 
from  3'ou,  to  proceed  to  a  speedy  settlement,  by  way  of 
an  "  Agreement  of  the  People,"  upon  the  grounds  of  an 
equal  and  just  government  ;  and  so  that  all  discord,  enmity 
and  dissatisfaction  amongst  former  friends,  may  finally 
receive  a  speedy  end,  by  and  with  this  Parliament  ;  and 
that  the  end  of  this  may  be  the  beginning  of  a  new  and 
equal  representative. "  ^ 

The  petition  being  read  gave  so  high  offence  to  the  House, 
that  they  resolved  "  that  the  petitioners  should  have  a  sharp 
reprehension  for  it."  A  Committee  was  also  appointed  to 
withdraw  immediately,  and  prepare  an  answer  to  be  given 
to  the  petitioners  by  the  Speaker  ;  which,  upon  their  being 
called  in,  he  delivered  to  them  in  the  following  terms  : 
'*  Gentlemen,  the  House  hath  read  your  petition  ;  and, 
lest  I  should  mistake  as  you  have  done,  hath  commanded 
me  to  give  you  this  answer  ;  that  the  four  persons  in 
your  petition  are,  upon  just  and  mature  consideration, 
appointed  to  be  brought  under  a  legal  trial  for  crimes 
against  law  preceding  the  fact,  and  not  after,  as  suggested  ; 
at  which  trial  they  will  have   free  liberty  to  offer  what- 

^  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  ii.  pp.  1306-1310. 


88 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


oever  they  shaU  have  to  say  in  their  own  defence  :  and  to 
such  proceedings  the  Parhament  do  expect  that  all  persons 
in  England  should  submit,  and  in  the  judgment  of  Parlia- 
ment acquiesce.      That  the  contrivers  of  this  petition  have 
therein    taken   a  liberty  of  scandalous   and   seditious  sug- 
gestions,   not    allowable    nor    justUaable    in   any    persons 
whatsoever,  under  pretence  of  petitioning ;  and  do  so  far 
countenance   the   imprisoned  persons,   in  the    offences  for 
which   they  are  questioned,  as  might  render  them  justly 
suspected  of  the  like  crimes.      But  the  Parliament  will  yet 
exercise  patience  towards  you,  conceiving  that  divers  well- 
meaning    men  may,   by   false  yet  specious    pretences,    be 
deluded   into  this  miscarriage  ;   and  hoping  that,  by  this 
forbearance,  such  may  come  to  see  their  own  errors."  * 

The  petition  of  the  men  having  thus  failed,  the  women 
took  up  the  case  of  Lilbume  and  his  associates,  and 
presented  a  petition  to  the  House  in  terms,  according  to 
Whitelock,  '^  almost  scolding."  ^^  But  the  women  did  not 
improve  the  case  of  the  prisoners  by  their  interference, 
for  the  House  ordered  that  the  following  answer  be 
given  them  by  their  serjeant-at-arms :  "  That  the  matter 
they  petitioned  about  was  of  an  higher  concernment 
than  they  understood  ;  that  the  House  had  given  an 
answer  to  their  husbands;  and  therefore  desired  them 
to  go  home  and  look  after  their  own  business,  and  meddle 
with  their  housewifery."^ 

I  have  said  that  the  Government  called  the  Common- 
wealth was  in  fact  a  strong  and  able  military  oligarchy, 
supported  by  ability  and  courage  indeed,  but  without  that 
stability  which  a  broad  basis  alone  can  give.  If  the 
Parliament  had  felt  that  their  power  was  based  on  public 

»  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  pp.  1310,  1311.  3  Whitelock,  p.  398,  April  25, 1649. 

2  Whitelock's   Memorials,    p.    379,       Pari.  Hist.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  1310,  1311. 
April  23,  1649,  folio,  London,  1732. 


1649.] 


THE  LEVELLERS. 


89 


opinion,  they  would  not  have  been  so  afraid  of  adverse 
pamphlets  as  their  acts  and  deeds  showed  them  to  be.    They 
are  constantly  recurring  to  this  grievance.      On  the  16  th  of 
June  we  find  these  orders  made  by  the  Council  of  State 
— "  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  lord  mayor  to  pursue 
according  to  ordinance  of  Parliament  all  such  persons  as  sell 
or  make    pamphlets  ;"    "  That  the    act   for  pamphlets    be 
brought  in  on  Wednesday  next."  *   Not  content  with  silencing 
the  press  they  resolved  to  silence  the  pulpit  also  as  far  as  re- 
garded any  expression  of  opinion  respecting  themselves.  On 
the  28  th  of  March  it  was  ordered  by  the  House  that  it  be 
referred  to  a  committee  to  bring  in  an  act  forbidding  ministers 
in   London  or   any  part   of  England    or    Wales,   in  their 
pulpits,  in  preaching  or  praying,  to  meddle  with  matters  of 
government  on   the   transactions    of   State;    and  it    was 
ordered  that  this  act  be  brought  in  on  Friday  morning.^ 

The  account  given  in  the  petition  before  mentioned  of 
the  origin  of  the  term  Levellers  is  not  unsupported  by  the 
evidence  of  contemporary  writers  of  some  authority.  Thus 
Richard  Baxter  in  his  Autobiography  says  that  there  arose 
a  party  who  adhered  to  the  principles  of  the  Agreement  of 
the  People ;  "  which  suited  not  with  Cromweirs  designs  : 
and  to  make  them  odious  he  denominated  them  Levellers,  as 
if  they  intended  to  level  men  of  all  qualities  and  estates ''? 

>  OrderBook  of  the  Council  of  State,  that  they   will   take   further   care   of 

16th  June,  1649.     MS.    State  Paper  himr—lUd,  14th  May,  1649,  a  Meri- 

Office.      They  had  before,    namely  on  die.   It  appears  from  subsequent  orders 

the  14th  of  May,  made  the  foUowing  that  a  part  of  Mr.  Hall's  duties  was  to 

order,  which  did  not  prevent  them  from  write  answers  to  some  of  Prynne's  pam- 

answering  pamphlets  in  the  way  tyrants  phlets.    Thus  ' '  That  500  of  the  copies 

answer:— ^' That  Mr.    Hall  shall    be  of  Mr.  Hall  his  answer  to  Mr.  Prynne  be 

employed    by  this   Council    to    make  printed  in  Latin  and  that  the  charge  of 

answer  to  such  pamphlets  as  shaU  come  it  be  defrayed  by  the  Council."— /6ic?., 

out  to  the  prejudice  of  this  Common-  17th  October,  1649. 

wealth,   and  that  he  shaU  have  £100  2  Commons' Journals,  28  Martii,  1649. 

per  annum  for  his  labour,  with  an  as-  *  Baxter's  Life,  by  Himself,  part  i. 

surance  given  him  from  this  Council  p.  61. 


90 


HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


It    is    to    be    observed  here  however  that  Baxter  is  not 
strictly  accurate  in  describing  the  persons  called  LeveUers 
a^   adhering  to   the  principles    of  the   Agreement  of    the 
People,  as  drawn  by  Ireton  ;    inasmuch  as  on  the  26  th  of 
February,  164f,  John  Lilburne  delivered  a  paper  to  the 
House  signed  by  many  of  the  Levellers  proposing  several 
alterations  in  the  -  Agreement  of  the  People/'  A  summary 
of  these  proposals  of  which  some  are  reasonable  and  sen- 
Bible    enough  while    others  have   about  as    much  that  is 
rational  and  practicable  as  the  legislation  of  Jack  Cade 
wiU     be    found    in    Whitelock/       These    men    whom    it 
now    suited    Cromwell    and    the  Parliament    to    denomi- 
nate  LeveUers  had  been  found    extremely  useful    a   year 
or    two    earlier;     and   a  year    or  two  later   it    wiU  suit 
Cromwell    to     bestow    very    hard    names    on    his    good 
friends  Harry  Vane  and  Harry  Martyn  and  others  whom 
he  finds  useful  at  present.        It  is  the  old  tale  so  often  told 
of  Ambition's  march.  The  friends  of  yesterday,  when  their 
day  is  done  and  they  are  no  longer  needed,  become  but 
"  the  broken  tools  that  tyrants  cast  away/' 

In  May,  1649,  a  mutiny  or  insurrection  was  raised 
in  the  army  by  that  portion  of  the  officers  and  soldiers 
whose  discontent  at  the  treatment  which  the  Agreement 
of  the  People  met  with  from  the  body  which  now  called 
Itself  the  Parliament  of  England  led  them  to  attempt  what 
was  far  beyond  their  power,  and  who  have  been  deno- 
mmated  Levellers.  The  chief  leader  of  these  men  was 
William  Thomson,  a  captain  of  horse,  according  to  White- 
lock  and  according  also  to  a  better  authority  than 
Whitelock,    the     Order-book    of    the    CouncH    of    State. 

»  Whitelock,  p.  384,  Feb.  26,  164|.  his  objections  to  the  A-n-eement  of  th^ 
LUbun.epublished,afewdaysafter,h^  ^-pH  -der  the  title^En^^^^^^^^ 
address  to  the  Parliament,  containing      New  Chains  Discovered  " 


1649.] 


THE  LEVELLERS'  WAR. 


91 


Baxter  speaks  of  Thomson  as  one  of  the  corporals  of 
that  theological  troop  of  Walley's  regiment  who  disputed 
with  him  for  a  whole  day  in  Agmondesham  church. 
But  he  may  have  risen  from  the  rank  of  corporal  to 
that  of  captain  in  the  interval  of  three  or  four  years. 
According  to  Whitelock  Thomson  marched  up  and  down 
with  about  200  horse  and  "  declared  to  join  with 
those  of  Colonel  Scroope's,  Colonel  Harrison's,  and  Major 
General  Skippon's  regiments  in  their  Declaration  and  reso- 
lution.'' According  to  another  contemporary  writer  whose 
accuracy  however  is  not  much  to  be  relied  on,  the 
Levellers  of  the  army  drew  together  to  a  rendezvous 
about  Banbury,  in  Oxfordshire,  to  the  number  of  4000 
or  5000,  others  resorting  to  them  daily  from  other 
parts.'  Thomson  published  a  declaration  in  print,  intituled 
"  England's  Standard  advanced,  or  a  Declaration  fi^om  Mr. 
William  Thomson,  and  the  oppressed  People  of  this  Nation, 
now  under  his  Conduct  in  Oxfordshire,  dated  at  their  Ren- 
dezvous, May  6,  1649."  At  the  end  of  this  document 
were  these  words :  "  Signed  by  me  William  Thomson,  at 
our  rendezvous  in  Oxfordshire  near  Banbury,  in  behalf 
of  myself  and  the  rest  engaged  with  me.  May  6,  1649, 
for  a  new  Parliament,  by  the  Agreement  of  the  People." 

Now  as  Lilburne's  "Agreement  of  the  People"  was 
dated  May  1,  1649  and  is  specially  referred  to  in 
Thomson's  Declaration,  it  may  be  concluded  that  the 
*'new  Parliament  by  the  Agreement  of  the  People,"  de- 
manded by  Thomson  and  those  engaged  with  him  was  a 
new  Parliament  by  Lilburne's  and  not  by  Ireton's  Agree- 
ment of  the  People.  This  indeed  is  expressly  stated  in 
the  Declaration.  There  were,  as  I  have  said,  in  Lilburne's 
Agreement  of  the  People,  amid   some  provisions  that  were 

»  Clement  Walker's  History  of  Independency,  part  ii.  p.  179,  et  seq. 


92 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


unobjectionable  others  that  savoured  somewhat  of  the 
legislation  of  Jack  Cade.  But  as  the  men  called  Levellers 
have  been  usually  condemned  by  writers  who  have  not 
given  themselves  the  trouble  to  obtain  any  accurate  know- 
ledge respecting  them,  it  is  but  justice  that  they  should  be 
judged  by  their  own  words  and  not  by  the  construction 
put  upon  those  words  by  their  enemies.  Their  words  and 
deeds  are  a  part  of  the  drama  of  this  troubled  period  of 
English  history,  without  a  tolerably  accurate  knowledge  of 
which,  the  whole  meaning  of  that  drama  cannot  be  known. 
The  Declaration  thus  commences  : — 

"Whereas,   it  is   notorious  to    the    whole    world,   that 
neither  the  faith  of  the  Parliament,  nor  yet  the  faith  of  the 
army  formerly  made  to  the  people  of  this  nation  in  behalf 
of  their  common  right,  freedom,  and  safety,  hath  been  at 
all  observed,  or  made  good,  but  both  absolutely  declined  and 
broken,  and  the  people  only  served  with  bare  words  and 
fair  promising  papers,  and  left  utterly  destitute  of  aU  help 
or  delivery :  and  that   this  hath  principally  been  by  the 
prevalency  and  treachery  of  some  eminent   persons,  now 
domineering  over  the  people,  is  most  evident.      The  solemn 
engagement  of  the  army  at  Newmarket  and  Triplo-heath 
by   them   destroyed,  the   Council  of    Agitators    dissolved, 
the  blood  of   war  shed   in   time   of  peace,   petitions  for 
common   freedom   suppressed   by  force  of  arms,  and  peti- 
tioners abused  and   terrified,   the   lawful   trial  by  twelve 
sworn  men   of  the  neighbourhood   subverted   and  denied, 
bloody  and  tyrannical  courts,  called  a  High  Court  of  Jus- 
tice and  a   Council  of  State,  erected,  the    power  of   the 
sword  advanced  and  set  in  the  seat  of  the  magistrates,  the 
civd  laws  stopped  and  subverted,  and  the  military  intro- 
duced,  even  to  the  hostile  seizure,  imprisonment,  trial,  sen- 
tence, and  execution  of   death,  upon    divers  of  the  free 


1649.] 


THE  LEVELLERS'  WAR  CRUSHED. 


93 


people  of  this  nation,  leaving  no  visible  authority,  de- 
volving all  into  a  factious  Juncto  and  Council  of  State, 
usurping  and  assuming  the  name,  stamp,  and  authority  of 
Parliament,  to  oppress,  torment  and  vex  the  people, 
whereby  all  the  lives,  liberties  and  estates,  are  subdued  to 
the  wills  of  those  men,  no  law,  no  justice,  no  right  or 
freedom,  no  case  of  grievances,  no  removal  of  unjust  bar- 
barous taxes,  no  regard  to  the  cries  and  groans  of  the  poor 
to  be  had,  while  utter  beggary  and  iiimine,  like  a  mighty 
torrent,  hath  broken  in  upon  us,  and  already  seized  upon 
several  parts  of  the  nation."  ^ 

The  Declaration  then  proceeds  to  state  that  they  are 
resolved  as  one  man,  "  even  to  the  hazard  and  expence  of 
their  lives  and  fortunes/'  which  would  imply  that  some  of 
them  had  property  to  lose  as  well  as  life,  "  to  endeavour 
the  redemption  of  the  magistracy  of  England,  from  under 
the  force  of  the  sword,  to  vindicate  the  Petition  of  Right, 
to  set  the  unjustly  imprisoned  free,  to  relieve  the  poor,  and 
settle  this  commonwealth,  upon  the  grounds  of  common 
right,  freedom,  and  safety."  They  then,  "that  all  the 
world  may  know  particularly  what  they  intend,*'  declare 
that  they  "  will  endeavour  the  absolute  settlement  of  this 
distracted  nation,  upon  that  form  and  method  by  way  of 
an  Agreement  of  the  People,  tendered  as  a  peace-offering  by 
Lieut..Col.  John  Lilburne,  Mr.  William  Walwyn,  Mr.  Tho. 
Prince,  and  Mr.   Richard   Overton,  bearing   date,  May    1 , 

1649." 

Now  if,  the  question  of  abstract  right  apart,  there  were 
certain  grave  practical  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  Parlia- 
ment's accepting  Ireton  s  Agreement  of  the  People,  there 
would  be  practical  difficulties  far  greater,  to  say  nothing  of 
difficulties  on  the  ground  of  sound  principle,  in  the  way  of 

1  This  Declaration  has  been  reprinted       Lieut. -Col.    John    Lilburne,    in  State 
at  the  end  of  the  report  of  the  trial  of       Trials,  vol.  iv.  pp.  1410-1413. 


94 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


their  accepting  LiJburne's  Agreement  of  the  People.     Be- 
sides, if  they  acceded  to  the  demand  of  those  who  offered 
them  Lilburne's    Agreement    of   the  People  ''with    their 
swords  in   their  hands/^ '   the  sovereignty  passed   at  once 
from    their    hands   to   the  hands  of    the    leaders  of   this 
section  of  their  army.      And  though  the  immediate  conse- 
quence might  have  been  the  erection  for  a  short  time  of  a 
goverment  partaking  considerably  more  of  the  nature  of  a 
democracy,   or  a  democratic  republic,   than   the  common- 
wealth of  the  Eump  of  the  Long  Parliament,  the  ulterior 
consequence    would    have    been   such   a  political   chaos  as 
the  substitution  of  the   brains    of  Lilburne,   Overton  and 
Thomson,  for  the  governing  power,  in  the  place  of  the  brains 
of  Cromwell,  Ireton  and  Vane,  would  be  likely  to  produce. 

Colonel  Reynolds  first   attacked  these  men,   and  after- 
wards   Fairfax    and    Cromwell    surprised    them    in    their 
quarters  at  Burford,  in  Oxfordshire,   with  a  very  superior 
force.     A   small   number  escaped.      Thomson  was  pursued 
and    slain,   making    a   brave  defence   singly    to   the  last, 
near  Wellingborough,  in  Northamptonshire.     The  rest,  the 
number  of  whom  is  variously  stated,  were  taken  prisoners 
at  Burford,  and,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  were  pardoned. 
"  So  that,''  to  borrow  the  words  of  Baxter,  "  the  Levellers' 
war  was  crusht  in  the  egg/''     On  the  12th  of  May,  the 
Council  of  State  made  an  order,  "  that  a  letter   of  thanks 
be  written  to  Colonel  Reynolds  for  his  good  service  done  in 
dispersing  the  rebellious  troops  under  Captain  Thomson.''* 
The    important   part    performed    by  Cromwell    in    the 


^  **  Be  it  therefore  known,"  says  the 
Declaration,  ''to  all  the  free  people  of 
England,  and  to  the  whole  world,  that 
(choosing  rather  to  die  for  freedom, 
than  live  as  slaves),  we  are  gathered 
and  associated  together  upon  the  bare 
account  of  Englishmen,  with  our  swords 
in  our  hands,  to  redeem  ourselves  and 


the  land  of  our  nativity  from  slavery 
and  oppression." 

2  Baxters  Life,  by  Himself,  part  i. 
p.  61.  Whitelock's  Memorials,  pp 
401,  402. 

'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
12th  May,  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 


iig^8fe■laAnMBi8^g.^ilafeirawyJlaJ.^j^.ji^i^^  i 


1649.]    COMPONENT  PARTS  OF  THE  PARLIAMENTARY  ARMY.        95 

putting  down  of  this  dangerous  insurrection  is  beyond  a 
doubt  ;  though  here,  as  elsewhere,  some  of  his  enemies 
have  been  bold  enough  to  charge  him  with  want  of  personal 
courage.  Clement  Walker's  account  of  Cromwell's  beha- 
viour on  the  occasion  is  ratlier  an  amusing  specimen  of  the 
style  of  that  scurrilous  and  mendacious  writer.  "  Crom- 
well," says  Walker,  "not  knowing  what  party  to  draw 
out  against  them,  that  would  be  steadfast  to  him,  shunned 
the  danger,  and  put  his  property  the  General  upon  it  to 
oppose  the  rendezvous,  and,  looking  as  wan  as  the  gills  of  a 
sick  turkey-cock,  marched  forth  himself  westward,  to  inter- 
cept such  as  drew  to  the  rendezvous."  ^ 

We  have  now,  taking  the  testimony  of  Baxter,  a  credible 
witness,  who  was  for  two  years  ^  chaplain  to  the  principal 
Ironside  regiment,  the  Agreement  of  the  People,  drawn  up 
by  Ireton,  and  the  proceedings  of  Lilburne,  Overton,  Thom- 
son, and  others,  altogether,  the  means  of  analyzing  the 
Parliamentary  army  ;  that  is,  of  decomposing  it  into  its 
component  parts  ;  and  we  find  that  it  consisted  of  two 
parts — one,  the  larger  and  more  powerful,  headed  by  Crom- 
well and  his  friends  or  partizans  (not  including  Ireton  nor 
Harrison,  except  so  far  as  the  latter  was  duped  by  Crom- 
well), who  were  the  sort  of  men  described  by  Baxter  as  for 
a  settlement  of  the  business  similar  to  that  of  William  the 
Norman  and  his  officers ;  the  other,  much  weaker,  who 
were  for  a  republic  in  reality,  not  merely  in  name,  like  the 
"  Commonwealth " — a  republic  such  as  the  instrument 
called  the  Agreement  of  the  People,  if  fully  carried  into 
operation,  would  have  created.  But  the  smaller  party 
was  rendered  much  weaker  than  it  would  otherwise 
have    been  by  the  mischievous    activity  of  Lilburne    and 


*  Clement  Walker's  History  of  Inde- 
pendency, part  ii.  p.  179. 


*  Baxter's  Autobiography,  part  i.  p. 


57. 


96 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


one    or    two    others,    who,    as    stated   above,'    proposed 
several  alterations    in  Ireton's  Agreement  of   the  People. 
Without    imputing    any  superfluous  dishonesty    to  Crom- 
well, it  may  be  supposed  that  so  practical  a  logician,  as  he 
was,  considered   this   republic  according  to  Ireton  s  Agree- 
ment  of  the  People,  much  more  according    to    Lilburne's 
Agreement    of   the    People,  as    a  visionary  and    even   an 
impossible  project,  which  he  was  justified  in  crushing  and 
which  he  accordingly  crushed  with  his  characteristic  decision 
and  promptitude.     And  as  both   Ireton  and  Blake  served 
under   the   Government    which  had   destroyed    under    the 
name  of  Levellers  some  of  those  who  sought  to  carry  out 
by  force  some  at  least  of  the  provisions  of  Ireton's  Agree- 
ment  of  the  People,  it  may  I  think   be  concluded    that 
those   two  brave   and  able  men  tacitly  at  least  admitted 
that  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  a  republic  were  at  that 
particular  time  insurmountable.      Still,   the  question  is  an 
extremely  complicated  one,  and  I  do  not  feel  by  any  means 
unlimited  confidence  in  this  solution  of  it,  but  it  appears  at 
least  some  clearing   up  of  the   darkness  and  confusion  in 
which  this   period   of  English  history   has  to    me  always 
appeared  to  be  enveloped. 

During  this  month  of  May  1649  the  new  Government  of 
England  had  more  than  even  its  ordinary  share  of  dangers 
and  difficulties  to  cope  with,  for,  besides  the  mutiny  in  the 
army,  which,  but  for  the  rapidity  and  decision  of  Fairfax 
and  Cromwell  might  have  overthrown  them,  they  received 


*  In  the  two  subsequent  chapters  I  will 
endeavour  however  to  do  that  justice 
which  has  by  no  means  been  done  to 
Lilbume  in  regard  to  his  quarrel  with 
Cromwell  and  the  remnant  of  the  Long 
Parliament.  His  penetration  in  dis- 
covering Cromwell's  designs  long  before 


others  discovered  them  and  his  defence 
of  himself  on  his  trial,  fighting  singly 
without  counsel  against  the  whole 
power  of  the  Government  and  their 
law  officers,  prove  that  he  possessed 
abilities  of  a  much  higher  order  than 
modern  writers  attribute  to  him. 


1649.] 


ASSASSINATION  OF  DORISLAUS. 


97 


information   of   the   assassination  of  Dr.    Dorislaus,   their 
resident  at  the  Hague. 

Dr.  Dorislaus,   who   though  a  native  of   Holland    had 
lived  long  in  England,  and  had  acted  as  judge-advocate  in 
Essex's  army  and  as  assistant  counsel  against  the  late  king, 
had  been  sent  towards  the  end  of  April  to  the  Hague  as 
resident  jointly  with  Walter  Strickland  for  the  Parliament 
in  Holland.     Soon  after  his   arrival   at  the  Hague,  while 
seated  at   table  in  his    own  lodgings   Dr.   Dorislaus  was 
assassinated  by  some  Royalists,  in  revenge,  as  they  said,  for 
their  king's   murder.     On   the  1 0th  of  May,  a  Memorial 
on    the   murder    of    Dr.    Dorislaus  at    the    Hague    wa^ 
ordered   by  the   Council   of  State    to    be  drawn  up  and 
delivered  to   the    Dutch  ambassador.^     On  the  following 
day,  the    11th   of  May,   it   was  ordered  by  the  Council 
of   State  'Hhat  it  be  reported  to    the    Parliament    that 
it  is   the  opinion   of   this  Council,   in  regard    Dr.   Doris- 
laus  lost   his  life    in   the  service  of    the  Commonwealth, 
being  murthered  in  so   barbarous  a   manner,  his  children 
being  deprived  of  their  father  and  thereby  of  the  mainte- 
nance they  had  by  him,  that   the   Parliament  will  settle 

i?200  per  annum  as  a  pension  on  his  son  during  his  life 

and  that  each  of  his  two  daughters  may  have  c^'oOO  to  be 
paid  to  her  forthwith — also  that  there  may  be  £250 
appointed  for  the  interment  of  Dr.  Dorislaus  in  an  honour- 
able way  at  Westminster."  ^  Q^^  the  1  0th  of  May,  there  is 
in  the  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State  a  minute  of  the 
committal  of  one  Walter  Breame  "  prisoner  to  Peterhouse 
upon  suspicion  of   having  a  hand  in   the  death    of    Dr. 


*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
May  10,  1649.  MS.  State  Pai)er 
Office. 


*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
11th  May,  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

H 


98 


HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


Dorislaus."  The  general  opinion  was,  that  the  assassins 
of  Dorislaus  were  six  Scotchmen  in  the  train  of  the  Mar- 
quis of  Montrose. 

A  minute  of  the  Council  of  State  of  12th  May  directs 
"That  the  informations  had  concerning  the  death  of  Dr. 
Dorislaus  be  reported  to  the  House,  and  withall  that  the 
Council  hath  informations  that  there  are  designs  for  assas- 
sination of  the  Lord  President  and  some  members  of  the 
Parliament  and  of  this  Council.''^  On  the  14th  the 
Council  considered  that  the  mutiny  in  the  army  wore  so 
dangerous  an  appearance  as  to  render  it  necessary  to 
suspend  the  preparations  for  the  expedition  to  Ireland. 
They  ordered  "  that  a  letter  be  written  to  the  generals  of 
the  fleet  to  let  them  know  that  by  reason  of  some  present 
disturbance  in  this  nation  the  soldiers  formerly  designed 
for  the  service  of  Ireland  are  not  in  such  readiness  as  was 
formerly  expected  they  by  this  time  would  have  been  ;  to 
desire  them  therefore  that  the  vessels  by  them  prest  for 
transporting  forces  thither  be  discharged  from  further 
exportation  at  present."  ^ 

On  the  15th  the  very  day  following,  the  Council  of 
State  received  the  news  that  the  revolt  in  the  army  had 
been  put  down  and  they  immediately  took  off  the  tempo- 
rary stoppage  of  the  transportation  of  troops  to  Ireland. 

I  may  mention  in  this  place  an  instance  of  the  weight  of 
Vane  in  tlje  councils  of  the  English  Government  at  that 
time.  A  Spanish  ship  the  Santa  Clara  had  been  taken 
at  sea  canying  near  200  Irishmen  for  the  military  service 

*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State       Paper  Office. 
10th  May,   1649.      MS.    State   Paper         ^  q^^j^j.  ^^^  ^f    ^^^    Council    of 

^®<^®-  State,    14th  May,    1649,   a  Meridie. 

•^  Order    Book    of    the    Council  of      MS.  State  Paper  Office. 
State,   12th  May,    1649.      MS.   State 


1649.] 


I 


RELATIONS  WITH  SPAIN. 


99 


of  Spain.    On  the  1  6th  of  April  1649,  before  Vane's  arrival 
in  the  council-room,   there  was  a  considerable  number  of 
members  of  the  Council  of  State  present,  including  Fairfax 
Cromwell,  Ludlow,  Martyn ;  and  a  good  deal  of  business 
had  been  gone  through,  chiefly  relating  to  the  details  of 
transporting  troops  to   Ireland.      The  importance  of  the 
business  dealt  with  in  the  order  made  next  after  Vane's 
arrival,  an  order  which  might  and  did  lead  eventually  to 
war  with  Spain,  manifests  in  a  remarkable  degree  Vane's 
weight  in  the  Council.     It  was  probably  a  matter  that  had 
been  committed  to  Vane's  particular  consideration  and  im- 
mediately  on  his  arrival  in  the  Council,  it  was  propounded 
and  then  the  important  order  made.      Cromwell  and  Vane 
may  certainly  be  regarded  as  the  two  great  men—the  men 
of  gen,us-of  the  CouncU  of  State-Cromwell  chiefly  as  a 
soldier  or  rather  as  a  statesman-soldier— Vane  as  a  states- 
man  only,   not  at  all   as   a  soldier.     As  compared  with 
these  two,  the  others  must  be  regarded  as  mere  men  of 
detaU.      The  following  is  this  important  order  :— «  That  it 
be  returned  in  answer  to  the  Spanish  ambassador  That, 
upon  due  consideration  of  the  contents  of  the  paper  given' 
in  by  his  secretary,  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Council  that  it 
IS  not  contrary  to  any  of  the  alliances  between  the  two 
nations  of  England  and  Spain  to  hinder  the  carrying  of 
Irishmen  into  the  service  of  Spain,  and  that  it  is  in  their 
power  to  dispose  of  them  as  they  shaU  conceive  best  for 
the  Commonwealth,  which  accordingly  they  have  done."* 

The  « Instructions  to  Sir  Oliver  Fleming,  Master  of  the 
Ceremonies,  to  be  observed  in  his  Address  to  the  Lord 
Ambassador  of  Spain  "  are  these,  and  their  import  must 
have  convinced  even  Gondemar,  had  he  then  filled  the 
place  of  Spanish  ambassador,  that  he  had  now  another  sort 

'  Or,ler  Book  of  tl.o  Council  of  Stote,  1  Gth  Ai.ril,  1649.    MS.  State  Paper  Office. 

ir  2 


100 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


of  men  to  deal  with  than  King  James  and  his  minions : 
— "  You  are  to  make  your  repair  to  the  said  Lord  Ambas- 
sador of  Spain  and  shall  signify  to  his  lordship  that  we 
have  taken  the  petition  into  consideration,  and  have  con- 
sulted with  the  judges  and  advocates  of  the  Admiralty 
about  it,  and  find  that  the  taking  of  the  said  ship  and 
men  therein  is  not  against  any  treaties  or  articles  of 
alliance  between  the  Commonwealth  of  England  and  any  of 
the  countries  of  the  jurisdiction  and  obedience  of  Spain, 
which  treaties  we  shall  be  careful  to  maintain  inviolably. 

"  You  shall  also  inform  his  lordship  that  the  Irish  nation 
are  dependents  upon  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  and 
therefore  neither  the  nation  nor  any  party  or  particular 
man  of  them  have  any  power  to  treat  or  agree  with  any 
foreign  State  or  their  ministers  for  their  levying  or  trans- 
porting of  men  to  their  service  without  special  licence  first 
obtained  from  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  which  hath 
not  in  the  case  of  these  men  been  either  desired  or  granted. 

"  You  shall  further  inform  his  lordship  that  the  Irish  are 
declared  long  since  by  Act  of  Parliament  to  be  rebels 
against  the  sovereignty  of  England  and  therefore  it  is 
justly  in  the  power  of  the  English  to  deal  with  them  as 
such  wherever  they  shall  take  them. 

"That  therefore  the  Council  hath  given  order  for  the 
disposing  of  the  men,  and  shall  leave  the  ship  and  goods  to 
their  just  trial  in  the  Court  of  the  Admiralty. 

"  And  lastly  you  shall  signify  to  his  lordship  that  this 
Commonwealth  cannot  permit  these  nor  the  rest  of  the  men 
to  be  transported,  it  being  (besides  other  important  reasons) 
a  private  transaction  of  a  rebel  and  against  the  honour 
and  sovereignty  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England."  ^ 

^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,       State  Paper  Office. 
Die  Martis,   17th  April,   1649.      MS. 


L^M.  i«Vrfan!t*Jai'4i>-'faV?J»^W«'.^iiBftA^-.A*^ 


-    lrtH.lMlrV*rf*^      J^WfcJ'  ' 


1649.] 


RELATIONS  WITH   HOLLAND. 


101 


On  the  24th  of  May  it  is  ordered  in  pursuance  of  an 
order  of  the  House  that  it  be  reported  to  the  House  "  as 
the  opinion  of  this  Council  that  those  houses  and  parks 
hereunder  named  be  kept  for  the  public  use  of  the 
Commonwealth  and  not  sold  viz.  Whitehall  House,  and 
St.  James's  Park,  St.  James's  House,  Somerset  House, 
Hampton  Court  and  the  Home  Park,  Theobald's  and  the 
Park,  Windsor  and  the  little  park  next  the  house.  Green 
wich  House  and  Park,  Hide  Park."^  On  the  28th  of 
May  the  warrant  for  the  clearing  of  Whitehall  was 
dehvered  out  to  the  Serjeant-at-Arms  to  put  in  execution  ; 
and  after  that  day  the  Council  of  State  removed  from 
Derby  House  and  held  their  sittings  at  Whitehall.^  On 
the  31st  of  May,  as  if  conscious  of  an  increase  of  dignity 
by  the  change  from  Derby  House  to  Whitehall,  they 
ordered  "  that  there  sliall  be  a  mace  provided  for  the  use  of 
the  Council  at  the  charge  of  the  State."  ^ 

In  forming  a  judgment  of  men  engaged  in  such  a 
contest  as  that  which  was  the  business  of  those  who  nov\^ 
governed  England,  it  is  necessary  to  bear  in  njind  that 
defence  not  wealth  was  their  object,  while  the  olject  of 
political  economists  is  wealth  solely.  This  distinction  is 
admitted  even  by  Adam  Smith  himself  in  his  criticisms  of 
their  famous  Navigation  Act,  passed  about  two  years  after 
the  time  of  which  I  am  now  writing.  "  It  is  not  impos- 
sible,'' says  Adam  Smith,  "that  some  of  the  regulations  of 
this  famous  Act  may  have  proceeded  from  national  ani- 
mosity. They  are  as  wise,  however,  as  if  they  had  all 
been   dictated  by  the  most  deliberate  wisdom.     National 


1  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
24th  May,  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
28th  and  29th  May,  1649.     MS.  State 


Paper  Office. 

^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  31st  May,  1649.  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 


102 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


animosity,  at  that  particular  time,  aimed  at  the  very  same 
object  which  the  most  deliberate  wisdom  would  have 
recommended,  the  diminution  of  the  naval  power  of  Hol- 
land, the  only  naval  power  which  could  endanger  the 
security  of  England.''  And  after  stating  some  economical 
disadvantages  consequent  upon  that  Act,  such  as  that  of 
buying  foreign  goods  dearer  and  selling  our  own  cheaper, 
he  adds,  "  As  defence,  however,  is  of  much  more  im- 
portance than  opulence,  the  Act  of  Navigation  is, 
perhaps,  the  wisest  of  all  the  commercial  regulations  of 
England."  ^ 

The  Navigation  Act  carried  the  animosity  between  Eng- 
land and  Holland  into  open  war.  But  more  than  two 
years  before  the  passing  of  that  Act  namely  at  the  point 
of  time  to  which  the  present  narrative  has  reference,  o-rave 
matter  of  offence  had  arisen  on  both  sides.  On  one  side 
the  Dutch  authorities  had  taken  no  effective  measures  to 
punish  the  cowardly  and  infamous  assassination  of  Doris- 
laus  by  the  partizans  of  the  Stuarts  ;  and  by  such  criminal 
neglect  they  had  offered  a  mortal  affront  to  a  body  of  men 
who  taught  the  Dutch  and  all  the  world  that  they  were  not 
men  who  could  be  insulted  with  impunity.  On  the  other 
side  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  English  Government  only 
a  few  weeks  after  the  assassination  of  Dorislaus  afforded  to 
the  Dutch  Government  grave  cause  of  offence.  The  Dutch 
were  at  that  time,  and  indeed  for  more  than  a  century 
after,  the  great  carriers  of  Europe.  In  that  capacity  it 
was  natural  that  the  Council  of  State  should  seek  to  em- 
ploy Dutch  vessels  for  the  transport  of  their  troops  to 
Ireland.  But  the  matter  was  urgent,  the  English  Govern- 
ment pressed  their  own  ships,  colliers  and  others,  and  they 
resolved  to  press  the  Dutch  ships,  if  their  masters  or  owners 

*  Adam  Smith's  Wealth  of  Nations,  book  iv.  ch.  ii. 


1649.] 


PRESSINa  OF   DUTCH  SHIPS. 


103 


should  refuse  to  contract  with  them.      On  the  6th  of  June 
1 649  the  Council  of  State  made  an  Order  "  That  a  warrant 
be  issued   to   the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy  to  contract 
with   20   Dutch   Prams,^  or  other  needful  vessels   for  the 
transportation  of  forces  into  Ireland  ;  and  that  they  have 
warrant  to  the  sergeant  of  the  Admiralty  to  make  stay  of 
them  in  case  they  shall  refuse  to  stay  to  make  a  contract 
with    the   said  commissioners  for  the  aforesaid  service." 
And  on  the  same  day  a  warrant  was  issued  to  "  make  stay 
by  the  marshal  of  the  admiralty  of  20  Dutch  prammes.'' 
At  the  same   time  they  ordered  a  letter  to  be  written  to 
their  agent  in  Holland  Mr.  Strickland  ''  to  use  his  best  en- 
deavours to  stop  clamour,  if  any  should  arise  thereupon  "  ^ — 
not  an  easy  task  for  Mr.  Strickland,  it  may  be  supposed. 
On  the  8th  Sir  Oliver  Fleming  was  ordered  to  go  to  the 
Dutch  ambassador  to  give   him  an  explanation  that  the 
Dutch  ships  are  only  stayed  for  a  contract  with  them  for 
transporting  of  troops  to  Ireland  and  that  the  State  will 
dismiss  as  many  of  them  as  possibly  they  may.*      On  the 
1  3th  they  ordered  a  letter  to  be  written  to  Mr.  Walley  at 
Chester  to   desire  him   to  make  stay  of  all  Dutch  bottoms 
and  other  fit  ships  for  the  transportation.^     And  on  the 
same  day  they  made  an  order  "  That  ^2500  be  paid  upon 
account  to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy,  out  of  which  the 
masters  of  the  several  colliers'  ships  who  are  now  pressed 
for  the  service  of  Ireland  shall  be  presently,  according  to 


*  This  word  is  in  the  warrant  in  the 
Order  Book  spelt  *'  prammes."  John- 
son in  his  dictionary  gives  the  word 
*'prame — a  flat-bottomed  boat. — 
Bailey.''^ 

*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
6th  June,  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 


6th   June,    1649.      MS.   State  Paper 
Office. 

*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
8th  June,  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
13th  June,  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 


104 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


contract,  paid."  ^  On  the  same  day  the  13th  of  June 
they  ordered  "  That  Mr.  Scott  do  report  to  the  House  as 
the  opinion  of  this  Council  that  Commissary  General  Ireton 
shall  be  the  person  who  sliall  be  the  next  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  forces  in  Ireland,  under  the  command  of  Lieu- 
tenant General  Cromwell/'^  On  the  15th  of  June  Mr. 
Scott  brouglit  up  this  report  to  the  House,  who  confirmed 
the  appointment. 

Thursday  the  1 4th  of  June  was  the  day  appointed  for 
the  public  funeral  of  Dr.  Dorislaus.  The  Council  of  State 
resolved  to  show  every  mark  of  respect  in  their  power  to 
the  remains  of  the  man  who  had  been  so  basely  assassi- 
nated   in  executincr  the  commands   of  the  Parliament  of 

o 

England.^  The  body  of  Dorislaus  was  accompanied  to 
the  grave  by  the  members  of  the  Council  of  State,  by  the 
two  Lords  Chief  Justices  and  the  Lord  Chief  Baron,  and 
by  the  Lord  General  and  the  general  officers  of  the  army  ; 
and  the  Lord  General  was  directed  by  the  Council  to  give 
order  for  a  fit  guard  to  prevent  any  disorder  that  might 
happen  by  so  much  concourse  of  people  as  might  be  at 
such  a  solemnity.* 

Under  the  date  20th  June  the  Order  Book  contains  "  a 
list  of  Bills  proposed  by  the  Council  to  the  House  to  be  put 


*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
13th  June,  1649. 

'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
13th  June,  1649. 

^  There  are  many  instances  in  the 
Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State  as 
well  as  in  the  Commons'  Journals  of 
the  prompt  punishment  of  all  injury 
or  insult  offered  to  or  by  their  public 
servants,  and  of  their  prompt  acknow- 
ledgment of  the  claims  of  the  widows 
and  children  of  those  who  died  in  their 
service.  Dr.  Dorislaus  would  appear 
to  have  died  very  poor,  to  judge  from 


the  following  minute  :  —  **  That  £10 
be  paid  unto  Mr.  Dorislaus,  as  part  of 
the  arrear  due  unto  the  Dr.  his  father, 
to  enable  him  to  pay  the  taxes  charged 
upon  their  lodgings." — Order  Booh  of 
the  Council  of  State,  2nd  June,  1649. 
MS.  State  Paper  Office.  The  reason 
assigned  for  this  payment  tells  much 
respecting  the  weight  of  taxation  at 
that  time. 

*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  13th  June,  1649.  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 


THE  GOVERNMENT  NOT  PARLIAMENTARY  GOVERNMENT.      105 

into  Acts  before  the  adjourning  of  the  House/'  and  likewise 
a  list  of  "  things  to  be  put  in  a  way  during  the  recess  to 
ripen  them  for  the  judgment  of  the  House  at  their  meeting 
again."  Among  the  former  are  "  An  Act  for  the  further 
and  better  prevention  of  the  exportation  of  gold  and 
silver  ; ''  "  An  Act  for  preventing  and  punishing  the  print- 
ing and  publishing  of  scandalous  pamphlets  and  regulation 
of  the  press  ;  "  and  "  The  Act  touching  restraining  and 
punishing  the  licentiousness  of  the  pulpits  in  seditious  and 
derogatory  expressions  touching  the  Parliament  and  their 
proceedings."  The  latter  are  these  "1.  That  a  commis- 
sion be  granted  to  fit  persons  in  the  several  parts  of  this 
nation  for  the  valuing  of  tithes  throughout  England  in 
order  to  the  taking  of  them  away  and  settling  in  their 
room  an  honourable  and  competent  means  for  the  preachers 
of  the  gospel.  2.  That  the  business  depending  before  a 
committee  of  settling  future  parliaments  may  be  proceeded 
in  during  the  recess  to  be  ready  for  the  consideration  of 
the  House  at  their  next  meeting.  3.  That  the  regulating 
of  the  proceedings  in  law  and  courts  of  justice  and 
equity  for  preventing  the  tediousness  of  suits  and 
abuses  burthensome  to  the  people  may  be  proceeded  in 
during  the  recess,  and  an  account  thereof  be  given  at 
the  next  meeting  after  the  adjournment,  and  the  same 
committee  to  consider  what  unnecessary  and  inconvenient 
laws  are  fit  to  be  repealed,  and  their  opinion  to  be  therein 
proposed. "  ^ 

It  is  extremely  difficult  to  strike  a  balance  with  such 
nicety  as  to  do  perfect  justice  to  those  men  who  now  formed 
the  Parliament  and  the  Council  of  State  of  England. 
While  some  of  their  proceedings  evince  a  spirit  of  the  most 
grinding   despotism,    others  exhibit    an    anxious    care    for 

*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  20th  June,  1G49.     MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


106 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


1649.] 


THE   EXPEDITION  TO   IRELAND. 


107 


justice  and   even  liberty  to   the  subject.     They  conscien- 
tiously and  justly  paid  for  whatever  was  taken  even  under 
the    most   urgent  pressure  of    necessity.       Thus    on    the 
1  3th  of   September  of  this  year  the  petition  of  Mr.  John 
Davis  for  fish  taken  by  Sir  Charles  Coote  for  the  use  of 
the  garrison  of  Derry  is  referred  to  the  consideration  of  the 
committee  for  Ireland  who  are  to  report  to  the  Council  what 
is  fit  to  be   done  for  his   satisfaction.^      The   title  which 
they  assumed  to  themselves  of  Custodes  Lihertatis  Anglice  ^ 
does   indeed  forcibly  suggest  the  question  "  Quis  custodiet 
ipsos    custodes    libertatis    Anglise  ? "       A    defence    might 
indeed   be   made  for  them,   that   at  least  many — a  large 
proportion — of  their  harsh  acts  were  the  necessary  result 
of  their  very  difficult  situation.     Though   this   again  may 
be  called  the    tyrant's  plea,   necessity.      But   in   troubled 
times  men   must  either  destroy  or  be  destroyed  ;  and  it  is 
not   fair   to   style   men  tyrants  absolutely  for  taking  the 
means   necessary   for    their   deliverance    from    destruction. 
Then  again  many  of  their  measures  were  simply  the  result 
of  ignorance,  which   they  shared  with  the   wisest  men  of 
their  age,  of  the  true  laws  of  political  science ;  such   mea- 
sures as  those  already  mentioned,  their  attempts  to  keep 
down  by  force  the  price  of  corn,  and  the  rate  of  interest 
and  their  great  exertions,  by  searching  ships  and  interrupt- 
ing trade  by  embargoes,  to  prohibit  the  exportation  of  gold 
and  silver.     The  English  Government  at   this  time    was 
in   fact    an  anomaly.      Though    called   a    Commonwealth 
governed  by  a  Parliament,  it  was  not  strictly  parliamentary 


1  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
13th  Sept.  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

2  Commons'  Journals,  Die  Mercurii,  7 
Martii,  164|.  "The  form  of  a  writ 
for  election  of  a  knight  for  the  county 


of  Berks  was  this  day  read  ;  and  upon 
the  question  agreed  unto  ;  and  was  in 
hcec  verba;  viz.  'Custodes  Libertatis 
AnglisG,  Auctoritate  Parliamenti,  Vice- 
comiti  salutem,'  "  &c. 


iA 


government.  For  it  wanted  the  essentials  of  true  parlia- 
mentary government,  a  second  chamber  and  a  parlia- 
mentary opposition.  It  thus  wanted  the  counterpoise 
absolutely  necessary  to  protect  any  man  or  body  of  men 
from  themselves  when  exposed  to  the  corrupting  influence 
of  undivided  and  unchecked  power.  In  this  point  of  view 
the  history  of  the  proceedings  of  this  Government  becomes 
a  most  instructive  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  great 
experiments  made  by  man  in  the  art  of  government. 

The  Council  of  State  now  directed  all  their  energies  to 
the  hastening  off  of  the  expedition  to  Ireland.  On  the 
25th  of  June,  they  ordered  a  warrant  to  be  sent  to  the 
masters  of  the  twelve  ships  impressed  for  the  service  of 
Ireland  to  fall  down  forthwith  into  the  Downs,  and  thence 
with  convoy  to  set  sail  with  the  first  fair  wind  to  Milford 
Haven,  where  they  are  to  receive  orders  from  the  new  Lord 
Lieutenant  of  Ireland.  On  the  same  day  they  sent  a  letter 
to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy  to  impress  eight  ships 
more  for  the  service  of  Ireland.^  They  also  on  the  same 
day  issued  warrants  to  the  treasurers  at  war  to  pay 
to  each  of  the  four  old  regiments  of  foot  designed  for 
Ireland  c£^20  to  buy  chirurgians'  chests,  viz.  the  Lord-Lieu- 
tenant's regiment,  Colonel  Hewson's,  Colonel  Ewer's,  and 
Colonel  Cooke's  ;  and  to  pay  to  each  of  the  four  new 
regiments  ci^25  for  a  chirurgian's  chest,  viz.  Colonel 
Venables',  Colonel  Phaire's,  Commissary  General  Ireton's, 
and  Colonel  Stubber's  regiments — "  those  having  never  yet 
had  any.''  They  also  issued  warrants  to  the  eight  regi- 
ments "for  ten  colours  each  at  c£20  each  ;"  and  warrants 

1  From  a  document  in  the   Order  they    carried    three,    five,    six,    eight 

Book  intituled  **The  Agreement  with  guns,    and   were  all  of    Yarmouth. — 

the  Six   Colliers'    Ships  "    it   apj>ears  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 

that  these  six  ships  varied  from  120  to  27th  August,  1649.     MS.  State  Paper 

160  tons — four   being   120   tons — one  Office, 
being  150   and  one  160  tons  —  that 


108 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


to  furnish  the  said  eight  regiments  each  with  ten  waggon- 
horses  at  £S  16s.  each  horse,  payable  to  the  respective 
colonels.  On  the  same  day  they  ordered  letters  to  be 
written  to  Mr.  Walley  to  let  him  know  that  Major 
EUiott's  troop  is  to  consist  of  80  soldiers  besides  officers — 
a  fact  further  illustrative  of  the  strength  of  their  regi- 
ments of  horse. 

On  the  26th  of  June,  for  the  first  time  Cromwell's 
name  appears  in  the  list  of  the  members  of  the  Council 
of  State  present  at  that  sitting,  as  Lord  Lieutenant 
of  Ireland.  On  the  same  day  the  Council  issued  an 
order  "to  the  treasurers  of  deans'  and  chapters'  lands, 
Goldsmith's-hall,  and  the  Excise,  to  certify  to-morrow 
to  the  Council  what  the  present  state  of  their  several 
treasuries  is  in  present  money  :  and  that  they  do  twice 
in  every  week  viz.  Mondays  and  Tlmrsdays  give  unto 
Mr.  Frost  the  younger  an  extract  [abstract]  of  all  the 
moneys  that  shall  come  in  and  be  paid  out,  who  shall  upon 
those  days  repair  unto  them  for  that  purpose  and  that 
he  have  power  to  view  the  books  concerning  that  affair.''  ^ 

On  the  28th  of  June  the  Council  made  an  order  that 
^1000  be  paid  by  the  Treasurer  at  War  to  Captain 
TomUns,  Comptroller  of  the  Train  of  Artillery  for  Ireland, 
for  the  buying  of  horses  to-morrow  in  Smithfield ;  ^  and  on 
the  following  day  a  warrant  was  issued  to  Captain  Edward 
Tomlins  to  carry  the  horses  by  him  bought  for  the  service 
of  the  train  for  Ireland  ''  to  Maribone  Park  and  to  put 
them  there,  and  there  continue  them  till  Monday  come 
sevennight." 

On  that  same   day,  Friday  the   29th  of  June,  a  minute 


*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  ^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 

26th  June,   1649.      MS.  State  Paper      28th  June,   1649.     MS.    State   Paper 


Office. 


Office. 


1649.] 


THE   SOLDIERS'   ARREARS. 


109 


was  made,  "  that  the  next  Monday  in  the  afternoon  be 
appointed  for  the  Council  to  take  an  account  of  the  state  of 
the  affairs  of  Ireland  from  the  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland 
before  his  going  out  of  town  ; — and  that  the  usher  is  to 
give  notice  to  all  suitors  to  forbear  their  attendance  at  that 

time."  ' 

On  the  30th  of  June  a  warrant  was  issued  to   the  Trea- 
surer at  War  to   pay   ^700  by  way   of  imprest  for  the 
buying  one  hundred  carriage-horses  for  the  service  of  Ireland.^ 
On   the    2nd  of  July  an   order  was  made  for  .£^2000  by 
way  of  imprest  for  buying    of  500  draught  horses.     And 
on  the  same  day  "  Hules  and  Orders  "  were  made  as  to  the 
arrears   to   the  troops  for  Ireland,  according   to  which  all 
were  to  have    one   month's  pay  "to  be  discounted  upon 
arrears ; "  and  those  who  were  in  the  Parliament's  service 
in  January   1647  and  have    so    continued  shice  without 
receiving  the  benefit  of  the  former  disbanding  were  to  have 
a   month's    pay  more   of  their   arrears  advanced   to  them 
before  their    shipping.^     This  shows   that  the   Parliament 
habitually  kept   the  pay   of    their  troops   very   much    in 
arrear.     And  that  not  merely  the  soldiers  but  the  officers, 
at  least  those  who  were  not  Parliament-men,  suffered  from 
this  cause,  appears  strikingly  from  the  following  minute  : — 
"  That  a  warrant  be  issued  to  the  contractors  for  Ireland 
to   pay   d^lOO    to   Lieutenant   Valentine  Wood    and   such 
others  as   they  shall    think  fit   as   part   of  their  arrears.'' 
The  concluding  words  of  the  minute  are  remarkable — "  but 
that  they  do  not  suffer   it  to   be   public  lest  it  draw  upon 
the  State  a  greater  payment  than  they  can  make  good."  ^ 
This  want  of  money  is  further  shown  by  such   minutes  as 

»  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  '-^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 

29th  June,   1649.      MS.   State  Paper       30th  June,  1649. 
Office.  ^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 

2nd  July,  1649. 


no 


k 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


the  following : — "  That  a  letter  be  written  to  Colonel 
Horton  and  the  rest  of  the  Commissioners  in  South  Wales 
for  the  money  there,  to  let  them  know  that  information 
was  given  to  the  Council  that  d^  10,000  of  the  composition 
of  South  Wales  was  ready  at  Bristol,  whereupon  deputies 
and  a  waggon  were  sent  to  Bristol  to  bring  it  away  ;  to 
desire  them  to  hasten  the  payment  of  it,  in  regard  it  is 
very  much  wanted  here,  and  the  carriage  stays  there  for 
the  bringing  the  money  away/'  ^ 

In  this  want  of  money  to  pay  their  troops  it  seems  to 
me  viewing  the  question  at  this  distance  of  time  that  it 
was  the  duty  of  the  Parliament  to  have  acted  upon  the 
advice  of  Ireton  when  he  refused  the  J'2000  per  annum 
which  they  settled  on  him,  and  to  have  "  paid  their  just 
debts  before  they  made  such  presents/'  Nevertheless  on 
the  very  day  after  that  on  which  the  Council  of  State 
made  those  rules  as  to  the  soldiers'  arrears  by  which  they 
declared  they  could  or  would  pay  only  a  small  fraction  of 
them,  namely,  on  the  3rd  of  July,  the  Parliament  settled 
"  lands  of  inheritance  of  the  clear  yearly  value  of  ^£1000 
upon  Colonel  Henry  Marten  in  consideration  of  several 
great  suras  of  money  disbursed  by  him  and  of  the  arrears 
due  to  him  as  a  colonel/'  ^  I  do  not  remember  to  have 
met  with  any  record  or  any  notice  whatever  of  any  military 
service  performed  by  Henry  Marten.  But  the  rewards  of 
services  given  by  parliaments  were  somewhat  strangely 
proportioned.  On  the  27th  of  March  of  that  year  the 
Parliament  ordered  "that  .^300  per  annum  land  of  inhe- 
ritance be  settled  upon  Major  General  Lambert  and  his 
heirs  for  ever  in  respect   of  his  many  great  and  eminent 

»  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  11th  April,  1649. 

10th  April,   1649.     MS.   State  Paper  3  Commons'  Journals,  Die  Martis,  3 

Office.  Julii,  1649. 

=*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 


1649.] 


ARMS  AND   AMMUNITION. 


Ill 


services/'  ^  There  is  record  enough  of  the  great  military 
services  of  Lambert,  but  as  they  are  estimated  by  the 
Parliament  as  bearing  to  the  services  of  Marten  the  pro- 
portion of  three  to  ten,  we  may  thence  form  some  idea  of 
the  parliamentary  scale  of  merit.  And  this  will  tend  to 
make  us  feel  little  surprise  that  when  certain  men  saw  that 
their  chief  portion  had  been  hard  blows  while  the  Parlia- 
ment-men had  sat  comfortably  and  voted  themselves  good 
estates,  it  should  occur  to  the  men  of  hard  blows  to  say — 
"  Let  us  pull  those  talking  fellows  out  by  the  ears/' 

On  the  3rd  of  July  the  Council  of  State  made  an  order, 
"  That  the  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  Sir  WiUiam  Masham, 
Sir  William  Armyn,  and  Sir  Henry  Vane,  do  go  forth  and 
confer  with  the  Commissioners  of  the  Excise  concerning  the 
advancing  of  the  ^^  150,000,  and  that  they  do  acquaint 
them  with  the  necessity  of  having  present  money  for  the 
public  service/'  ^  On  the  same  day  it  was  ordered 
"  That  a  warrant  be  issued  to  the  treasurer  for  deans' 
and  chapters'  lands  to  pay  to  the  Treasurers  at  War 
the  sum  of  cf'S 0,000  out  of  their  receipts,  saving  the 
third  part  appointed  for  the  use  of  the  navy  ; "  and 
"  that  a  warrant  be  issued  to  the  Treasurers  at  War  to 
send  dPS 0,000  unto  the  head-quarters  of  the  Lord  Lieute- 
nant of  Ireland/'  ' 

On  the  4th  of  July  the  following  warrant,  the  last 
clause  of  which  directing  "  that  the  great  shot  be  first 
delivered,  that  it  may  serve  for  ballast  to  the  ships,"  is  par- 
ticularly deserving  of  attention,  was  issued  by  the  Council 
of  State  to  the  officers  of  the  Tower  : — 

"  These  are  to  will  and  require  you  upon  sight  hereof 

*  Commons'  Journals,  Die  Martis,  27  Paper  Office. 

Martii,  1649.  ^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 

2   Order    Book  of     the    Council   of  3rd   July,    1649.      MS.    State    Paper 

State,    3rd    July,    1649.      MS.    State  Office. 


112 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND 


[Chap.  II. 


to  deliver  unto  Captain  Edward  Tomlyns,  Comptroller  of 
the  Train  for  Ireland,  the  arms  and  ammunition  hereunder 
expressed  (which  we  are  informed  by  certificate   from  Cap- 
tain Vernon  to  be  now  in  the  Tower)  to  be  by  him  presently 
shipped  away  for  Ireland  :  and  that  the  great  shot  be  first 
delivered,   that  it  may  serve   for  ballast  to  the  ships  ;   of 
which  you  are  not  to  fail  and  for  which  this  shall  be  your 
warrant.     Given   at  the   Council  of  State    at    Whitehall, 
this  4th  of  July  1649. 
"  The  particulars  are — 
"  Cannon  of  8    . 
"  24-lb.  bullet     . 


"  Demi-cannon    . 

"  Culverin 

"  Demi-culverin 

"  Sacre  [Saker] 

"  Match — ton      . 

"  Matchlock  musquets 

"  Powder 

"  Musquet-shot — ton 

"  Grenado-shells,  1  4^-inch 

"  Grenado-shells,  12^-inch 

"  Hand  Grenado-shells 

On  the  10  th  of  July  the  Council  made  the  following 
minute  respecting  the  raising  of  certain  regiments  of 
volunteers  : — "  That,  to  the  end  the  regiments  of  foot  in  the 
several  garrisons  may  be  free  to  take  the  field  when  there 
is  occasion,  the  Council  of  State  do  give  commissions  for 
raising  such  regiments  of  volunteers  near  the  said  garrisons 
as  they  shall  find  necessary  ;  which  additional  forces  are 
not  to  expect  pay  but  when  they  are  employed  in  service, 


200 
200 

79 
226 
600 
788 

50 
400 

40^ 

30 
11] 

187 
200."  2 


'  Qy.  barrels.  State,    4th   July,    1649. 

'^  Order   Book    of   the    Council    of      Paper  Office. 


MS.  State 


16l9.] 


CROMWELL'S  DEPARTURE   FOR   IRELAND. 


1J3 


and  are  to  be  in  readiness  to  join  with  the  marching  forces 
or  be  put  into  garrisons  as  the  Lord  General  shall  think  fit 
and  shall  be  ordered  from  time  to  time  by  the  Parliament 
in  Council  of  State/'  ^ 

On  the  evening  of  that  same  day,  the  1 0th  of  July, 
1649,  about  five  o'clock,  the  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ire- 
land, after  prayers  for  the  success  of  his  expedition  by 
three  ministers,  and  an  exposition  of  the  Scriptures 
by  himself,  Goff,  and  Harrison  in  the  presence  of  a 
large  assemblage  at  Whitehall,  set  out  on  his  journey 
to  Ireland  by  the  way  of  Windsor  and  Bristol.  Seven 
years  had  made  a  transformation  like  that  in  an  ancient 
fable  or  Ai'abian  tale  upon  the  rustic  if  not  clownish 
Member  for  the  town  of  Cambridge,  the  Huntingdon 
brewer,  and  St.  Ives  and  Ely  gentleman  farmer.  He 
now  began  his  journey  amid  the  acclamations  of  an 
immense  concourse  of  spectators  "in  that  state  and 
equipage,''  says  a  contemporary  journal,  "  as  the  like  hath 
hardly  been  seen.  Himself  in  a  coach  with  six  gallant 
Flanders  mares,  whitish  grey,  divers  coaches  accompanying 
him,  and  very  many  great  officers  of  the  army ;  his  life- 
guard, consisting  of  eighty  gallant  men,  the  meanest 
whereof  a  commander  or  esquire  ;  in  stately  habit,  and  many 
of  them  colonels,  with  trumpets  sounding  almost  to  the 
shaking  of  Charing  Cross  had  it  been  now  standincr.  The 
Lord  Lieutenant's  colours  are  white."  ^ 

The  ordinary  strength  of  a  regiment  of  foot  appears  to 
have  been  10  companies  of  100  each,  and  of  a  regiment 
of  horse  10  troops  of  80  each.  On  the  10th  of  July  an 
order  was  made    "That  there  be    added    to    the   present 


*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
10th  July,  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 


2  Mod.    Intel.   July  5-12,  1649,   in 
Cromwelliana,  p.  62. 


114 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


establishment  of  the  army,  when  the  Council  of  State  shall 
see  necessary  to  make  up  the  regiments  of  foot  1200  the 
several  single  companies  120,  and  the  troops  of  horse 
100,  and  for  such  time  only  as  the  Council  of  State 
shall  find  the  safety  of  the  Commonwealth  to  necessitate 
the  same/'  ^ 

On  the  12th  of  July  the  Council  of  State  made  the 
following  order  : — ''In  pursuance  of  the  order  of  the  House  it 
is  this  day  ordered  that  the  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland  shall 
be  allowed  from  the  day  of  the  date  of  his  patent  the  sum  of 
£\0  per  diem  as  General  of  the  forces  of  Ireland  during 
the  time  that  he  shall  continue  in  England  ;  and  that  from 
the  time  he  arrives  in  Ireland  he  shall  have  and  receive  as 
General  of  the  said  forces  of  Ireland  the  sum  of  <i£'200O 
each  quarter,  which  is  not  understood  to  be  in  order  to 
any  salary  or  emolument  which  he  ought  by  this  patent 
to  receive  as  Lord  Lieutanant  of  Ireland ;  and  shall 
have  d^SOOO  immediately  for  transportation  and  furnish- 
ing himself   with   provisions  of   stufi*    and    for  such   like 

charges/'  ^ 

On  the  18  th  of  July  the  Council  ordered  a  letter  to  be 
written  to  the  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland  to  inform  him 
that  for  supply  of  the  :£^  100,000  desired  by  him, 
0^30,000  were  to  be  sent  from  the  Excise  in  the  beginning 
of  the  next  week ;  and  that  it  had  been  proposed  to  the 
Council  that  the  .£70,000  may  be  had  out  of  the  deans'  and 
chapters'  lands,  and  that  no  money  shall  be  paid  to  the 
navy  till   the  whole  of  that   «£'70,000   be    paid,    "  if    his 


^  Order  Book  of  the  Couucil  of  State, 
10th  July,  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
12th  July,  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office.  On  the  same  day  was  made 
the  following  order:    "That  so  many 


of  the  horses  bought  for  the  train  of 
artillery  for  the  service  of  Ireland  as 
cannot  be  grazed  in  Marrowbone  [sic] 
Park  be  put  into  Hide  Park,  there  to 
be  grazed  until  they  be  ordered  to 
march  to  the  waterside." 


1649.] 


REDUCTION   OF   GARRISONS. 


1J5 


k 


judgment  be  that  that  way  will  be  satisfactory,  and  if  he 
shall  signify  so  much  to  this  Council.''  ^  TJiese  words  have 
very  much  the  appearance  of  the  language  of  men  writin<y 
to  their  master. 

Immediately  after  Cromwell's  departure  for  Ireland  the 
Council  of  State  employed  themselves  assiduously  in  giving 
orders,  with    a    view    to   the   diminution    of   the  military 
charges,  for  the  reduction  of  garrisons  to  citadels,  and  for 
the  demolition  of  castles.      Thus  on  the  13th  of  July  they 
gave  orders  that  the  garrisons  of  Oxford   and   Yarmouth 
should  be  reduced  to  citadels ;  and  they  also  took  into  con- 
sideration the  same  measures  with  regard  to  Gloucester,  Liver- 
pool, and  Shrewsbury.     They  also  ordered  that  Killingworth 
Castle  and   Tamworth  Castle  should  be   demolished:    and 
"  that  the  castle  of  Scarborough  shall  be  demolished  and  a 
work  built,  in  the  place  where  the  platform  now  stands  for 
the  securing  of  the  harbour."  ^     Their  order  with  regard  to 
Killingworth  is   "That   Killingworth   Castle  be  made  un- 
tenable with  as  little  spoil  to  the  dwelling-house  of  it  as 
may  be."  ^    In  many  cases,  if  not  in  all,  some  compensation 
is  awarded  to  the  owners  for  the  demolition  of  defensible 
castles.        Thus  a  report   is    ordered   to   be  made  to   the 
House  "  that  <^]  000  be  given  to  the  Countess  of  Kent  in 


*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
18th  July,  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

"  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State 
13th  July,  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office.  On  the  7th  of  August  they  or- 
dered "that  the  castle  of  Wrezell  be 
demolished."  —  Ibid.,  7th  August, 
1649. 

3  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
21st  July,  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office.  In  regard  to  the  demolition  of 
Lancaster  Castle  there  is  this  order  : 
' '  That  the  gentlemen  entrusted  for  the 


demolition  of  Lancaster  Castle  be  writ- 
ten unto  to  reserve  the  Portcluse,  lead, 
and  tymber  belonging  unto  that  castle 
for  the  repairing  of  the  castle  of  Li- 
verpool."—76/cZ.,  17th  August,  1649. 
Although  Johnson  under  the  word  port- 
cullis, gives  also  portcluse,  quasi  porta 
clausa,  yet  in  the  five  quotations  from 
English  writers  which  he  subjoins  there 
is  not  one  in  which  portcluse  is  used 
for  portcullis.  This  is  the  only  in- 
stance I  have  happened  to  meet  with 
of  its  use. 

I  2 


116 


HISTORY   OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


respect  of  the  demolishiDg  of  Goothericli  Castle  and  that  it 
be  paid  out  of  the  revenue."  ^ 

On    the    28  th    of    July    the    office   of    Master   of    the 
Ordnance    was    formally    put    into    a    committee    of    the 
Council  of  State  by  the  following  order  : — "  That  the  trust 
formerly    exercised  by    the    Master  of    the    Ordnance   of 
England     be    put   into    a    committee    of     the      Council, 
and  that  &c.  [the  names  are  given]   or  any  two  of  them 
shall    be   the   committee,  and  Mr.  Frost  is   to  attend  on 
this  business,  and  they  are  to  use  all  possible  diligence  to 
provide  arms  ammunition  and  all  other  necessary  provisions 
of  war  at  equal  and  reasonable  prices,  at  convenient  days 
of   payment  for  the  service   of   this    Commonwealth,  and 
they  are  to  consult  with  whom  they  shall  think  fit  for  the 
better  carrying   on  of  their  business."^     The   Council    of 
State  therefore   performed  the  work  which  is  now  appor- 
tioned among  many  departments.     For,  besides  the  business 
of  the  Treasury  and  of  the  several  secretaries  of  State,  the 
Council  of  State  now  did  the  work  of  the  Master  of  the 
Ordnance.     It  will  not  be  uninstructive  to    record  what 
number  of  secretaries  and  clerks  this  Council  of  State  em- 
ployed, and  on  what  scale  it  paid  them,  to  do  that  work  which 
was  done  so  well.     Their   whole  staff  of  secretaries  and 
clerks    consisted    of   Walter    Frost,    the  elder,    secretary; 
Walter    Frost,    the    younger,  his  son,  assistant  secretary; 
John  Milton,  secretary  for  foreign  tongues  ;   and  four  clerks. 
The  salary  of  Milton  was,  as  I  have  before  stated,  i'SOO 
a  year.     The  salaries  of  the  others  are  set  forth   in    the 
following  minute  of    the  Council  of  State  of  the  4  th  of 
July  1649.     "  Ordered  that  from  the  time  of  the  constitu- 
tion of  this  Council  of  State  there  shall  be  allowed  to  Mr. 

1  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  ^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 

6th  July,    1649.      MS.    State    Paper       28th  July,    1649.     MS.    State  Paper 
Office.  ^'^^®' 


1649.] 


BUSINESS  OF  THE  COUNCIL  OF  STATE. 


117 


Frost  secretary  to  this  Council  forty  shillings  per  diem  for 
his  salary,  and  to  his  eldest  son  appointed  to  be  his  assist- 
ant, twenty  shillings  per  diem  ;  and  for  4  clerks  26s.  8cZ. 
per  diem.''  ^ 

Cromwell  proceeded  from  Bristol  by  Swansea  to  Milford 
Haven,  and  there  embarked  for  Dublin,  which  he  reached 
on  the  1 5  th  of  August.^ 


*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
4th  July  1649.    MS.  State  Paper  Office. 

2  M.  Guizot  in  his  Historical  Study 
of  Monk  says  that  Cromwell  embarked 
with  his  army  at  Bristol,  and  that 
Monk  met  at  Bristol  Cromwell  on  the 
point  of  embarking.  Besides  other 
evidence  to  the  same  eflfect,  the  follow- 
ing minute  in  the  Order  Book  of  the 
Council  of  State  proves  that  Cromwell 
did  not  embark  at  Bristol.  "  That  the 
letter  of  the  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland 
from  Swansey  of  the  30th  of  July  in 
behaK  of  Lieut.  -Col.  Owen  O'Connelly 
be  referred  to  the  consideration  of  the 
Committee  of  Ireland." — Order  Book 
of  the  Council  of  State,  3°  Augusti, 
1649.  MS.  State  Paper  Office.  More- 
over, besides  the  positive  authority  of 
Whitelock  (p.  415)  that  letters  (July 
27,  1649)  stated  that  Col.  Monk  was 
landed  at  Chester,  there  is  an  order 
of  the  Council  of  State  which  is 
totally  at  variance  with  M.  Guizot's 
statement  that  Cromwell,  when  he 
met  Monk  at  Bristol,  "apprised  him 
of  the  excitement  which  the  report  of 
his  league  with  O'Neal  had  produced  in 
London  ;  that  the  national  anger  had 
burst  forth  with  an  energy  which  was 
irresistible ;  that  the  Independents, 
whom  Monk  had  obeyed,  very  far  from 
avowing  these  orders,  allowed  the 
storm  to  fall  upon  him."  Now  it  is 
proved  by  the  minute  set  forth  above 
that  Cromwell  was  at  Swansea  on  the 
30th  of  July,  and  it  appears  from  the 
following  minute  of  the  Council  of 
State  of  7th  August  that  down  to  that 


date  of  7th  August  the  whole  busines 
of  Monk's  negotiation  with  O'Neal  was 
kept  secret    and    consequently    could 
have  produced   neither  public  excite- 
ment nor  national  anger  ;  and,  besides 
the    affirmation    of    total   disapproval 
from  first  to  last  of  Monk's  proceeding, 
there  is  not  a  trace  in  the  Order  Book 
of  the  Council  of  State  of  any  order 
or  authority  given  to  Monk  to  treat 
with   O'Neal.     The    following   is    the 
important   minute   to  which    I    have 
referred  : — "  That  it  be  reported  to  the 
House  that  the  letter  and  papers  here- 
unto annexed    concerning  a   cessation 
made  by  Col.   Monk  with  Owen  Roe 
M'Art  Oneale  were  sent  to  the  Lord- 
Lieutenant  of   Ireland  by  Col.    Monk 
and    were    by     the     Lord -Lieutenant 
brought  and  delivered  to  the  Council, 
and  by  them  taken  into  consideration  ; 
and   the   whole   business  then  disap- 
proved   by  the   Council.     But    upon 
serious  debate  it  was  not  then  thought 
fit  for  divers  reasons  to   return   any 
answer  thereupon  to  Col.  Monk  ;  but 
enjoyned    secrecy    upon     the    whole. 
That  Col.  Monk  being  now  come  into 
England  and  having  presented  himself 
to  the  Council,  the  Council  hath  de- 
clared unto  him  that  they  neither  did 
nor  do  approve  of  what  he  hath  done 
therein  :  and  have  ordered  that  both 
the  foresaid  letter  and  papers  and  also 
the    reasons    now    exhibited    to    the 
Council  by  Col.  Monk  for  his  making  the 
said  cessation  should   be   reported  to 
the   House."  —  Order    Book    of   the 
Council  of  StatCf    T  Augusti,    1649, 


118 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


The  minutes  of  the  Council  of  State  lay  open  the  whole 
system  of  the  machinery  by  which  the  government  called 
the  Commonwealth  of  England  did  its  work,  in  a  manner 
and  to  an  extent  of  which,  as  far  as  I  know,  no  other  State 
papers  in  existence  furnish  an  example.  ^  While  those 
minutes  show  with  what  indefatigable  diligence,  with  what 
rapid  promptitude,  unremitting  vigilance,  and  courage  that 
work  was  done  ;  the  results  prove  by  the  most  infallible 
test,  success,  that  the  statesmanship  which  predominated  in 
its  Council  of  State  was  as  sure-footed  as  it  was  energetic 
and  laborious.  I  am  speaking  now  merely  with  reference  to 
its  administrative  qualities  ;  its  legislative  genius,  as  I  have 
before  said,  I  do  not  rate  so  high.  And  with  regard  to  this 
administrative  question,  it  may  be  instructive  to  compare 
this  Government  with  one  or  two  other  Governments  which 
like  it  bear  the  form  at  least  of  Councils  of  State.  The 
Privy  Council  or  Cabinet  of  the  United  States  at  Wash- 
ington is  not  recognized  by  the  Constitution  and  is  not  a 
deliberative  council  where  the  arguments  or  opinions  of  the 
ablest  men  shape  the  result  of  the  deliberations.  They  may 
do  so  sometimes,  but  the  president  admits  or  rejects  their 
arguments  and  conclusions  according  to  his  own  convictions 
or  caprice.  He  is  in  fact  a  sort  of  dictator  for  four  years, 
the  term  of  his  office.  It  was  natural  enough  that  this 
form  of  government  should  suggest  itself  to  the  framers  of 
the  United  States'  constitution,  having  a  man  of  such 
extraordinary  qualities  in  Washington  to  select  as  their 
first  president.     But  when,  instead  of  a  Washington,  an 

MS.  State  Paper  Office.     On  the  6th  of  opinion.     That  Col.  Moncke  have  this 

August    there    is    also  this   minute  :  sense  of  the  Council  made  known  to 

*' Resolved   that   the    treaty   between  him." — Ibid.j  6th  August,  1649. 

Col.  Moncke  and  Owen  M'Art  Oneale  *  Neither  the  English  nor  the  United 

was  wholly  against  the  judgment  of  States  Cabinet  Council  keeps,  I  believe, 

this  Council  when  they  first  heard  of  it  any  minutes, 
and  that  they  are  still  of  the  same 


1649.]        CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  COUNCIL  OF  STATE. 


119 


incompetent  man  is  made  a  dictator  for  four  years,  the 
result  is  not  very  different  from  that  of  having  an  incom- 
petent man  made  the  absolute  master  of  the  destinies  of 
millions  by  the  accident  of  birth.  The  English  Cabinet, 
like  the  Washington  Cabinet,  is  not  recognized  by  the 
Constitution ;  and  in  it  the  person  called  the  Prime  Minister 
occupies  nearly  the  same  position  as  the  United  States' 
President,  except  that  he  does  not  hold  his  office  for  a  fixed 
term  of  years,  but  may  be  turned  out  any  day.  But  the 
English  Cabinet  resembles  much  more  the  Washington 
Cabinet  than  it  resembles  the  Council  of  State  of  the 
government  called  the  English  Commonwealth.  If  there 
were  two  Presidents  and  two  chief  ministers,  for  the  same 
reason  that  induced  the  Romans  to  have  tw^o  consuls, 
namely,  that  neither  of  them  might  be  subjected  to  the  cor- 
rupting influence  of  undivided  power  even  for  a  single  year  ; 
.the  chances  of  having  the  government  administered  with 
ability  and  vigour  would  be  infinitely  smaller  than  if  the 
power  were  placed,  as  in  the  case  of  the  English  Council  of 
State,  in  the  hands  of  a  really  deliberative  Council,  con- 
sisting of  such  a  number  as  would  give  a  good  chance  of 
there  being  some  men  amongst  them  of  ability  for  govern- 
ment, whose  arguments  and  opinions  would  determine  the 
deliberations  of  the  whole  body. 

A  council  with  an  incompetent  man  to  control  it  is 
worse  than  no  council  at  all.  And  as  regards  its  control, 
even  by  a  man  of  great  ability,  it  may  I  believe  be  shown 
that  the  English  Government  was  administered  with  fully 
more  ability  when  it  was  administered  by  a  reallj^  delibera- 
tive Council  of  State  than  when  it  was  administered 
by  Cromwell  alone  under  the  title  of  Protector.  I 
believe  it  might  also  be  shown  that  when  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  was  Prime  Minister,  the  other  ministers   com- 


120 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


posing  his  Cabinet  had  about  as  much  weight  with  him  as 
Cromwell's  Council  had  with  Cromwelh  Those  two  great 
men  were  not  infallible,  and  they  may  have  erred  in  think- 
ing that  they  could  best  govern  a  nation  as  they  governed 
an  army.  Though  Cromwell  was  a  great  soldier  and  Vane 
no  soldier  at  all,  I  believe  Cromwell  found  Vane's  abilities 
as  a  statesman  of  the  highest  value  in  the  deliberations  of 
the  Council  of  State.  Indeed  it  is  proved  by  Cromwell's 
own  letters  that  in  trying  emergencies  he  was  desirous  to 
have  the  opinion  of  Vane  to  aid  and  guide  his  own  conclu- 
sions. But  when  "  lone  Tyranny  commanded  "  he  could 
never  more  have  the  benefit  of  that  aid  and  that  guidance. 
It  will  be  seen  by  those  who  consider  the  subject  with 
the  attention  it  deserves  and  requires  that  the  history  of 
this  Council  of  State  furnishes  a  new  and  most  important 
fact  towards  the  formation  of  political  science,  if  that 
science  be  considered  as  an  experimental  and  therefore  a 
progressive  science.  Lord  Macaulay,  though  he  thus  con- 
siders the  science  of  politics,  has  altogether  omitted  this 
important  experiment  supplied  by  the  working  of  the 
Council  of  State,  in  his  investigation  of  the  question  of 
executive  administration  in  his  essay  on  Sir  William 
Temple.  He  says  "  the  largest  cabinets  of  modern  times 
have  not,  we  believe,  consisted  of  more  than  fifteen  mem- 
bers. Even  this  number  has  generally  been  thought  too 
large.  The  Marquess  Wellesley,  whose  judgment  on  exe- 
cutive administration  is  entitled  to  as  much  respect  as  that 
of  any  statesman  that  England  ever  produced,  expressed, 
during  the  ministerial  negociations  of  the  year  1812,  his 
conviction  that  even  thirteen  was  an  inconveniently  large 
number.  But  in  a  cabinet  of  thirty  members  what  chance 
could  there  be  of  finding  unity,  secrecy,  expedition,  any  of 
the  qualities  which  such  a  body  ought  to  possess  ? " 


1649.]        CHARACTERISTICS   OF  THE   COUNCIL  OF  STATE.  121 

Now  whether  or  no  this  Council  of  State  can  be  con- 
sidered sufficiently  analogous  to  a  cabinet  to  make  the  same 
reasoning  applicable  to  both,  there  can  be  no  question  that 
the  Council  of  State  of  the  Interregnum  possessed  in  the 
highest  degree  ever  possessed  by  any  administrative  council 
recorded  in  history,  unity,  secrecy,  expedition,  all  the  quali- 
ties required  in  a  council  formed  for  executive  administra- 
tion. And  this  Council  consisted  not  of  thirteen  pronounced 
by  the  Marquess  Wellesley  an  inconveniently  large  number, 
but  of  forty-one  members.  The  difference  between  the 
ordinary  case  of  a  cabinet  in  modern  times  and  the  case 
of  this  Council  of  State  was  only  this,  that  from  the  end 
of  the  l7th  century  the  Crown  retained  the  shadow  of 
that  authority  of  which  the  Tudors  had  before  and  the 
Parliament  then  held  the  substance ;  and  that  during  the 
Interregnum  the  Parliament  had  both  the  shadow  and  the 
substance.  Consequently  the  Council  of  State  of  the 
Interregnum  held  very  much  the  same  relation  to  the 
Sovereign,  when  the  Parliament  was  both  shadow  and 
substance,  as  the  Cabinet  Council  held  afterwards  when 
the  Parliament  was  the  substance,  though  the  shadow  was 
elsewhere.  In  both  cases  we  have  a  Sovereign  and  a 
Council  of  executive  administration  to  that  Sovereign  ;  and 
why,  when  the  Council  of  forty-one  members  proved  itself 
an  executive  Council  of  efficient  action  rarely  if  ever 
equalled  in  the  world's  history,  the  dictum  of  the  Marquess 
Wellesley  that  even  thirteen  was  an  inconveniently  large 
number  for  such  a  council,  and  the  dictum  of  Lord 
Macaulay  against  there  being  any  chance  of  finding  in  a 
cabinet  of  thirty  members  unity,  secrecy,  expedition,  any 
of  the  qualities  which  such  a  body  ought  to  possess,  can 
be  accepted  as  settling  the  question,  it  is  not  easy  to  see. 


122 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  II. 


If  the  science  of  politics  be,  like  all  other  sciences, 
except  the  purely  mathematical,  the  rationale  of  accurately^ 
observed  facts,  surely  such  a  fact  as  this  of  the  existence 
and  successful  action  of  this  Council  of  State  consisting  of 
forty-one  members  cannot  be  left  out  of  the  problem  of 
determining  the  number  of  members  of  which  a  council  of 
executive  administration  may  consist.  Even  if  we  apply 
to  the  question  a-'prioH  reasoning,  why  should  the  number 
thirteen  be  too  large  for  unity,  secrecy,  and  expedition,  and 
the  numbers  ten,  eleven,  or  nine  not  too  large?  Why 
indeed  should  not  a  council  of  three  be  an  inconveniently 
large  number  if  there  be  any  truth  in  the  old  proverb  that 
"  two  may  keep  counsel,  when  the  third's  away "  1  A 
proverb,  the  fallacy  of  which  when  applied  to  a  council  of 
executive  administration  consists  in  the  assumption  that  the 
members  of  such  council  are  not  men  of  at  least  average 
faith  and  honour,  but  a  pack  of  scoundrels  tied  together 
only  by  the  common  bond  of  crime.  In  truth  this  dog- 
matizing on  the  subject  of  the  numbers  of  councils  of 
executive  administration  is  only  an  example  of  that  mode 
of  dealing  with  the  science  of  politics,  which  considers  it 
not  as  an  experimental  and  therefore  a  progressive  science 
but  as  a  science  founded  and  built-up  on  short  synthetical 
arguments  drawn  from  truths  of  the  most  vulgar  notoriety, 
and  which  no  writer  has  been  more  ready  to  condemn  than 
Lord  Macaulay. 

I  have  said  "  accurafeZ^z-observed  facts,''  and  therefore 
it  will  be  proper  to  meet  a  question  that  may  be  fairly 
asked ;  did  the  whole  number  of  forty-one  members  com- 
posing the  Council  of  State  attend  the  meetings  of  the 
Council  ?  Now  it  appears  from  a  minute  of  1  4th  May 
1649   that  down  to  that  date  some  members  had  never 


1649-52.] 


NUMBERS   PRESENT. 


123 


attended  at  all.^  The  result  at  which  I  have  arrived  from 
a  minute  examination  of  the  Order  Book  is  that  the 
number  present  varied  very  much,  varied  from  thirty-four 
or  thirt3''-five  ^  down  to  nine,  which  is  the  lowest  number 
I  have  met  with.  This  low  scale,  however,  belongs  to  the 
month  of  October  when  many  of  the  members  were  pro- 
bably out  of  town.  The  result  abundantly  proves  that  a 
Council  of  executive  administration  actually  and  not  merely 
nominally  consisting  of  a  number  exceeding  thirty  mem- 
bers was  found  to  possess  unity,  secrecy,  expedition,  in  short 
all  the  qualities  which  such  a  body  ought  to  possess ;  for 
never  did  any  Government  in  any  age  or  country  evince 
greater  ability  for  administration  than  this  Council  of  State 
did  at  that  time  when  contending  single-handed  against 
nearly  all  the  world. 


*  "That  a  letter  of  summons  be 
sent  unto  such  gentlemen  appointed 
to  be  of  this  Council  as  never  yet  ap- 
peared here  to  come  to  the  Council  and 
attend  the  service  of  the  Common- 
wealth."— Order  Book  of  the  Council 
of  State,  14  May,  1649,  h.  Meridie. 
MS.  State  Paper  Office. 

*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  ]9  Feb.  164^.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office.— /6id,  3  Oct.  1G49.— /6»U,  6 


and  6  Oct.  IQiQ, —lUd.,  11,  14,  and 
17  January  1652.  On  the  17th  Ja- 
nuary 1652  the  number  present  was 
31.  This  was  the  time  when  the 
Dutch  war  engaged  their  attention,  and 
when  the  pressure  and  importance  of 
their  business  were  such  that  the 
Council  met  on  Sundays. — Ibid.,  Sun- 
day 5  Dec.  1652;  Sunday  23  May 
1652  ;  Sunday  30  May  1652. 


CHAPTER  III. 


The  English  Parliament  had  hitherto  been  obliged,  by  the 
pressure  of  business  that  absorbed  all  its  resources,  in  a 
great  measure  to  neglect  Irish  affairs,  and  to  leave  unpu- 
nished the  abominable  cruelties  committed  upon  the  defence- 
less English  in  Ireland  in  1G41,  cruelties  equalling  in 
atrocity  and  far  exceeding  in  the  number  of  victims  those 
perpetrated  in  1857  by  the  sepoys  in  India.  For  eight 
years  the  perpetrators  of  the  Irish  massacre  might  be  said 
to  have  gone  not  only  unpunished  but  triumphant ;  and 
it  might  seem  that  there  was  to  be  no  reckoning  upon 
earth  for  that  enormous  crime.  But  the  spirit  of  England, 
though  it  might  seem  to  have  slumbered,  was  not  dead, 
and  the  time  had  come  at  last  when  she  was  to  make 
Ireland  feel  both  her  power  and  her  vengeance. 

We  have  seen  that  throughout  the  whole  of  this  spring 
and  summer  the  Parliament  and  Council  of  State  had  been 
making  great  exertions  to  send  reinforcements  to  their  three 
commanders  in  Ireland  Michael  Jones,  Sir  Charles  Coote, 
and  Monk.  All  these  were  able  men  and  for  their 
services  had  received  repeatedly  the  thanks  of  the  Parlia- 
liament  and  Council  of  State ;  and  in  August  we  find  that 
Jones  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Lieut. -General  and 
Monk  to  that  of  Major-General.  In  the  beginnino*  of 
August  Michael  Jones  had   defeated  the  army  of  Ormond 


1649.] 


IRISH  AFFAIRS. 


125 


before  Dublin  -^  but  the  means  at  his  disposal  were  much 
too  small  to  bring  the  war  to  an  end.  Indeed  his  victory 
had  little  more  effect  than  to  relieve  Dublin,  which  had 
been  for  some  time  besieged  by  Ormondes  army.  Ormond 
retired  northward,  and  placed  a  body  of  some  three  thou- 
sand of  his  best  troops  as  a  garrison  in  Drogheda.  Before 
I  proceed  to  state  what  occurred  after  Cromwell's  arrival  at 
Dublin,  I  think  it  necessary  not  only  for  understanding  the 
subsequent  proceedings,  but  in  justice  to  Cromwell,  to  direct 
the  reader's  attention  to  some  events  that  took  place  in 
Ireland  eight  years  before  this  time. 

It  was  a  part  of  the  character  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  as  it 
is  of  the  characters  of  all  great  men,  to  understand  the 
spirit  and  the  wants  of  his  time.  We  who  have  lived  in 
the  year  1857  cannot  cease  to  remember  while  we  re- 
member anything  the  sepoy  massacre  of  1857.  One 
effect  of  the  feeling  of  indignation  which  that  massacre 
produced  in  England  was  to  make  men,  who  never  before 
thought  of  being  soldiers,  not  only  willing  but  eager  to 
fight  against  the  peipetrators  of  that  massacre.  In  like 
manner  there  existed  very  generally  in  England  in  1642, 
when  Cromwell  raised  his  first  troop  of  horse,  and  also 
when  he  enlarged  that  troop  to  a  regiment,  a  strong  and 


1  «*  That  the  letter  from  Lt.-Gen. 
Jones  of  the  6th  of  this  instant 
August  relating  the  victory  which  it 
hath  pleased  God  to  give  the  forces  in 
the  city  of  Dublin  against  the  army  of 
Ormond  before  that  city  together  with 
the  list  of  prisoners  and  ammunition 
taken  and  the  narrative  of  the  mes- 
senger Capt.  Otway  who  was  in  the 
action  be  forthwith  printed  and  pub- 
lished," &c.  —  Order  Booh  of  the 
Council  of  State,  Die  Satuimiy  11 
Augusti  1649.  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 
The    news   both    of    this    victory   by 


Jones,  and  of  the  successful  storm  of 
Drogheda  by  Cromwell  reached  London 
on  a  Saturday ;  and  an  order  was 
issued  by  the  Council  of  State  for  all 
the  ministers  to  publish  them  in  their 
churches  and  give  thanks  to  God  for 
them,  "to-morrow  being  the  Lord's 
day."  "That  a  letter  be  written  to 
the  Lord  Mayor  of  London  to  cause  the 
letter  of  Lieut. -Gen.  Jones  to  be  pub- 
lished by  the  ministers  of  London  in 
their  respective  churches."  —  Jbid.f 
same  day. 


126 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


fierce  indignation  against  the  perpetrators  of  the  massacre 
of  the  English  Protestants  in  Ireland  in  the  preceding  year 
1641.     This  spirit  of  indignant  revenge  enabled  Cromwell 
to  obtain  a  better  class  of  men   as  soldiers   than  he  could 
have  obtained  in   ordinary   times.       Now,  if   eight  years 
after   the   sepoy   massacre  of    1857,   namely  in  the  year 
1865,  that  massacre  were  still   unpunished,  but  in    1865 
circumstances     should    give   to    the    English   nation    the 
power  before  withheld  of  punishing  that  massacre,  I   be- 
lieve that  it  would   be  punished  with   the  severity  which 
a  sense  of  justice  as  well  as  a  spirit  of  indignant  revenge 
naturally  excites  against  the  murderers  not  merely  of  men, 
but  of  women   and  children.     In   like  manner  there  still 
existed  in  England  in  1649  a  strong  and   deep  indignation 
against    the   perpetrators   of  tlie  massacre   of  the  English 
Protestants    in    Ireland  in    1641,   and   against     all   their 
abettors,  indeed  against  all  Papists.     It  is  as  unfair  to  judge 
of  the  storm   of   Drogheda  without  keeping   in    view  the 
inhuman  massacres  of  1641,  as  it  would  be  to  judge  of  the 
storm  of  Lucknow   without   remembering   the  massacre  of 
Cawnpore.     And  it  is  as  unfair  to  call  Cromwell  inhuman 
because  he  gave  no  quarter  at  Drogheda,  as  it  would  be  to 
call  Sir  James  Outram  inhuman  for  the  storm  of  Lucknow. 
If  the  former  did  not  possess  all  the  chivalrous   generosity 
of  the  latter,  he  was  not  inferior   even  to  him  in  generous 
compassion    for  the   sufferings  of  the   weak   and  helpless. 
"  He  was  naturally  compassionate  "   says   one   who  knew 
him   well,  ''  towards   objects  in   distress   to  an  effeminate 
measure."^       And  as  his  compassion    was    great    towards 
sufferers,  so   was  his  wrath   terrible  against  the  cowardly 
cruelty  which   had   taken  advantage   of  their  helplessness. 

»  Letter  from  John  Maidstone  in  the       loe's  State  Papers,  p.  766. 
Appendix  to  the  first  volume  of  Thur- 


1641.] 


THE  IRISH  MASSACRE  OF  1641. 


127 


In  all  this  Cromwell  only  differed  in  degree  not  in  kind 
from  any  man  of  common  .  humanity  who  has  courage  and 
strength  enough  added  to  his  humanity  to  entitle  him  to 
be  emphatically  called  a  man.  A  very  eminent  person 
with  whom  I  was  speaking  of  Julius  Caesar,  who  like 
Cromwell  was  naturally  compassionate  though  at  times  he 
might  appear  to  be  cmel,  described  him  to  me  in  these 
^Qrds — "  He  had  a  great  deal  of  human  nature  in  him." 
So  it  may  be  said  of  Oliver  Cromwell  that  he  had  a  great 
deal  of  human  nature  in  him  ;  both  for  good  and  evil : 
though  unhappily  what  Shakspeare  makes  Antony  say  in 
his  funeral  oration  on  Caesar,  ''the  evil  which  men  do 
lives  after  them,  the  good  is  oft  interred  with  their  bones,'' 
is  true  of  Cromwell  as  well  as  of  Caesar.  For  those  whose 
nature  is  prone  enough  to  imitate  the  evil  are  incapable  of 
imitating  the  good,  the  intelligence,  the  magnanimity 
and  humanity.  The  same  spirit  in  the  early  part  of 
Cromwell's     career   dictated    this     order    to     one  of    his 

officers "  Hang  the   fellow    out-a-hand,   and  I   am   your 

warrant :  for  he  shot  a  boy  at  Stilton-bee  by  the  Spin- 
ney, the  widow's  son,  her  only  support:  so  God  and 
man  must  rejoice  at  his  punishment"  ;  and  it  was  no  fana- 
tical imitation  of  the  Hebrew  at  Jericho  and  at  Ai,  which 
directed  the  avenging  slaughters  of  Drogheda  and  Wex- 
ford, not  against  unarmed  men  but  men  armed  to  the  teeth, 
and  who  even  if  not  themselves  the  murderers  were  the 
abettors  of  the  murderers  of  unarmed  men,  and  of  women, 

and  children. 

There  is  one  principle,  which  men  of  average  ability  for 
empire  understand  and  act  upon,  that  if  they  conquer  a 
country  and  cannot  or  do  not  place  the  conquered  upon  an 
equality  in  respect  to  all  rights  civil  and  religious  with  the 
conquerors,  but   keep   them   in   a  state   of  subjection,  they 


128 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


must  live  among  them  as  in  a  hostile  country,  with  arms 
ever  in  their  hands,  and  in  habitations  like  fortified  camps. 
This  was  thoroughly  understood  and  acted  upon  by  that 
brave  and  astute  race  of  men,  the  Normans,  both  in  Nor- 
mandy and  England,  and  at  first  in  Ireland  too  as  the  term 
*'  lords  of  the  pale "  implies.  In  accordance  with  this 
principle,  it  had  been  the  policy  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  pro- 
bably the  ablest  ruler  except  Cromwell  that  England  has 
ever  had,  not  only  never  to  employ  the  Irish  as  soldiers, 
but  to  deny  them  liberty  to  enlist  into  the  service  of 
foreign  states.  Some  writers  have  Mien  into  the  absur- 
dity of  praising  James  the  First  as  a  promoter  of  civili* 
zation  on  the  ground  of  his  planting  new  colonies  in 
Ulster  by  sending  out  great  numbers  of  colonists  from 
England  and  Scotland,  by  which  means,  according  to  Hume, 
the  Irish  were  taught  "  husbandry  and  the  arts/'  What 
"arts  '*  they  were  taught  or  liad  learnt  sufficiently  appeared 
in  the  massacre  of  1641,  which  raged  with  peculiar  mag- 
nitude and  atrocity  in  Ulster,  where  the  feelings  of  the 
Irish  were  the  more  exasperated  from  their  having  been 
more  recently  stripped  of  their  lands.  The  "  arts  "  were 
the  arts  of  torture  ;  to  slash  and  cut  so  as  to  inflict  wounds 
that  should  not  prove  immediately  mortal,  and  then  to 
hang  the  bleeding  victims  on  tenter-hooks,  the  boy  of 
tender  years  beside  his  father ;  to  strip  some  of  their 
clothes*  and  leave  them  to  perish  of  cold  ;  to  delude  others 
with  passes  from  Sir  Phelim  O'Neal  and  with  promises  of 
being  safely  conveyed  to  their  friends  in  Enghmd  under  the 
enoort  of  men  ctdling  themselves  soldiers  and  officers,  who  had 
learnt  cruelty  in  the  service  of  Spain,  and  who  drove  them 

*  When  MoBirOM  tlomMtl  Aherdocn  iipnile<l  by  the  Mood.     They  thus  prac- 

kb   Iriak   ■olditn  Midi    ih«   citixcnH  tiHod  in  Scothitid  what  they  had  l^efore 

of  Ibtlr  oIoUmi  btfoM  tliey  killml  pnu'tiied  in  Ireland  and  learnt  in  the 

Uifti  Ui«  eloihw  Bight  nui  b«  terviio  of  Spain      Stc  Tcmj'li;  \k  8/>. 


1641.] 


THE  IRISH  MASSACRE  OF  1641. 


129 


like  cattle  till  they  came  to  a  river  and  then  forced  them 
into  the  water,  men  women  and  children,  and  knocked  on 
the  head  such  as  swam  to  the  shore  ;  to  draw  others  up 
and  down  the  water  with  ropes  about  their  necks ;  and  to 
hang  up,  take  down  and  hang  up  again  others  several  times, 
to  make  them  confess  their  money  and  then  dispatch  them  ;  to 
persuade  some  with  the  promise  of  life  to  be  the  executioners 
of  their  nearest  kindred,  and  then  butcher  them  upon  their 
murdered  relations ;  to  tempt  others  by  the  same  promise  to 
conform  to  the  Komish  rites,  and  then  murder  them  lest  they 
should  relapse  into  heresy;  to  dash  out  the  brains  of  infants, 
or  bury  them  alive  with  their  murdered  mothers  ;  and  to  do 
many  other  deeds  of  horror  which  I  will  not  write  down. 
A  record  of  them  is  preserved  in  the  depositions  of  eye- 
witnesses attested  upon  oath,  which  are  published  in  Sir 
John  Temple's  history  of  that  most  disgusting  massacre, 
called  the  Irish  Kebellion  of  1641.  I  wiU  give  one  or  two 
of  these  depositions  in  the  words  of  the  witnesses, — words 
which  are  well  calculated  to  leave  an  impression  on  the  mind 
of  any  one  who  reads  them  not  easily  effaced. 

William  Parkinson  late  of  Castle  Cumber  in  the  county 
of  Kilkenny  deposeth  "That  he  saw  Lewes  O'Brenan, 
with  his  sword  drawn,  in  the  said  town,  pursue  an  English 
boy  of  eight  or  nine  years  of  age,  or  thereabouts,  by  name 
Richard  Bernet,  into  a  house,  and  saw  the  said  Lewes  lead 
the  said  boy  forth  of  the  house,  the  blood  running  about 
his  ears,  in  a  hair-rope  ;  and  he  led  the  boy  to  his  father's 
tenters  and  there  hanged  him  with  John  Banks,  another 
little  boy."  ^ 

A  youth  of  about  fifteen  years  of  age  meeting  with 
his  schoolmaster,  the  latter  drew  his  skein,  and  began 
furiously    to    slash    and   cut   the  boy,   who  cried   to   him 

'  Temple,  p.  89,  ed.  Maseres,  London,  4to,  1812. 


128 


HISTORY  OP   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


1641.] 


THE  IRISH  MASSACRE  OP  1641. 


129 


IBVii  live   among  them  as  in  a  hostile   country,  with  arms 
ever  in  their  hands,  and  in  habitations  like  fortified  camps. 
This  was   thoroughly  understood   and  acted   upon  by  that 
brave  and   astute  race  of  men,  the  Normans,  both  in  Nor- 
man<ly  and  England,  and  at  first  in  Ireland  too  as  tlie  term 
"  lords   of    the  pale "  implies.       In  accordance  with  this 
principle,  it   had  been   the  policy  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  pro- 
bably the  ablest  ruler  except   Cromwell  that  England  has 
ever  had,  not  only  never  to  employ  the  Irish  as  soldiers, 
but    to   deny   them   liberty   to  enlist  into  the   service    of 
foreign  states.     Some  writers  have   flillen  into   the  absur- 
dity of  praising  James  the   First  as  a  promoter  of  civili* 
zation  on  the  ground  of    his  planting    new    colonies    in 
Ulster   by  sending   out   great    numbers    of  colonists  from 
England  and  Scotland,  by  which  means,  according  to  Hume, 
the  Irish   were  taught    "  husbandry  and  the  arts."     What 
"arts  "  they  were  taught  or  had  learnt  sufficiently  appeared 
in  the  massacre  of  164?1,  which  raged  with  peculiar  mag- 
nitude and   atrocity  in  Ulster,   where  the  feelings   of  the 
Irish  were  the  more  exasperated   from  their   havino*   been 
more  recently  stripped   of  their  lands.      The   "  arts  "  were 
the  arts  of  torture  ;  to  slash  and  cut  so  as  to  inflict  wounds 
that   should   not  prove  immediately   mortal,   and   then  to 
hang    the   bleeding  victims   on   tenter-hooks,    the    boy  of 
tender    years  beside   his   father;  to   strip    some    of    their 
clothes^  and  leave  them  to  perish  of  cold  ;  to  delude  others 
with  passes  from  Sir   Phelim  O'Neal  and  with  promises  of 
being  safely  conveyed  to  their  friends  in  England  under  the 
escort  of  men  calling  themselves  soldiers  and  officers,  who  had 
learnt  cruelty  in  the  service  of  Spain,  and  who  drove  them 

^  *  When  Montrose  stormed  Aberdeen  spoiled  by  the  blood.     They  thus  prac- 

his   Irish   soldiers  made    the   citizens  tised  in  Scotland  what  they  had  before 

take  off  their  clothes  before  they  killed  practised  in  Ireland  and  learnt  in  the 

them,   that  the  clothes  might  not  be  service  of  Spain.     See  Temple,  p.  85. 


"I  » 


like  cattle  till  they  came  to  a  river  and  then  forced  them 
into  the  water,  men  women  and  children,  and  knocked  on 
the  head  such  as  swam  to  the  shore  ;  to  draw  others  up 
and  down  the  water  with  ropes  about  their  necks  ;  and  to 
hang  up,  take  down  and  hang  up  again  others  several  times, 
to  make  them  confess  their  money  and  then  dispatch  them  ;  to 
persuade  some  with  the  promise  of  life  to  be  the  executioners 
of  their  nearest  kindred,  and  then  butcher  them  upon  their 
murdered  relations ;  to  tempt  others  by  the  same  promise  to 
conform  to  the  Komish  rites,  and  then  murder  them  lest  they 
should  relapse  into  heresy;  to  dash  out  the  brains  of  infants, 
or  bury  them  alive  with  their  murdered  mothers  ;  and  to  do 
many  other  deeds  of  horror  which  I  will  not  write  down. 
A  record  of  them  is  preserved  in  the  depositions  of  eye- 
witnesses attested  upon  oath,  which  are  published  in  Sir 
John  Temple's  history  of  that  most  disgusting  massacre, 
called  the  Irish  Eebellion  of  1641.  I  will  give  one  or  two 
of  these  depositions  in  the  words  of  the  witnesses, — words 
which  are  well  calculated  to  leave  an  impression  on  the  mind 
of  a^  one  who  reads  them  not  easily  eflfaced. 

William  Parkinson  late  of  Castle  Cumber  in  the  county 
of  Kilkenny  deposeth  "That  he  saw  Lewes  O'Brenan, 
with  his  sword  drawn,  in  the  said  tovm,  pursue  an  English 
boy  of  eight  or  nine  years  of  age,  or  thereabouts,  by  name 
Richard  Bernet,  into  a  house,  and  saw  the  said  Lewes  lead 
the  said  boy  forth  of  the  house,  the  blood  running  about 
his  ears,  in  a  hair-rope  ;  and  he  led  the  boy  to  his  father's 
tenters  and  there  hanged  him  with  John  Banks,  another 
little  boy."  1 

A  youth  of  about  fifteen  years  of  age  meeting  with 
his  schoolmaster,  the  latter  drew  his  skein,  and  began 
furiously    to    slash    and   cut   the  boy,   who  cried   to    liim 

•  Temple,  p.  89,  ed.  Maseres,  London,  4to,  1812. 


130 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


«  Good  master,  do  not  kill  me,  but  whip  me  ^  much  as  you 
will '  "     But  the  merciless  wretch  murdered  him. 

"Near  Kilfeale  in  the  Queen's  county,  an  Englishman 
his  wife,  four  or  fi^e  children  and  a  maid  were  all  hanged 
and  afterwards  put  all  into  one  hole  ;  the  youngest  child 
bein.  not  fully  dead  put  out  his  hand,  and  cried  '  Mammy  ! 
mammy  ! '  upon  which  they  buried  him  ahve.  ^ 

But  these  proceedings  were  merciful  compared  to  many 
others  which   are  too  horrible   to   be  transcribed.     Their 
most  revolting  cruelties  were  committed  on  women  and 
children.       In  a  wood  near  the  town  of    Cutherlagh  a 
woman  was  hanged  and  her  daughter  hanged  in  the  hair  of 
her  mother's  head. »     Some  had  their  eyes  plucked  out,  and 
their  hands  cut  off,  and  so  were  turned  out  to  wander  up 
and  down.^     The  Irish  women  and  children  were  as  cruel  as 
the  men.'    Master  Cunningham  deposeth  "  That  the  amount 
of  the  persons  killed  by  the  rebels  from  the  time  of  the  be- 
ginning of  the  EebeUion,  Oct.  23,  1641,  unto  the  month  of 
April  following  was  a.  the  priests  weekly  gave  it  in,  m 
their  several  paxishes,  one  hundred  and  five  thousand 

These  were  "  the  arts  "  which  the  government  of  small 
mean  incapable  tyrants  like  James  and  Charles,   ike  Laud 
and  Strafford,  is  fitted  to  teach  mankind.      And  of  thos 
four  men  before  all  others  the  EngUsh  nation  had  a  right 
to  demand  an  account  of  the  blood  that  was  shed  and  the 


»  Temple,  p.  109. 
'  Temple,  p.  88. 


3  Temple,  p.  95. 

*  Temple,  p.  95. 

5  Temple,  p.  94. 

e  Temple,  p.  99.  "Sir  Phelim 
O'Neale  and  Roger  Moore  were  the 
actors  in  the  massacres,  and  by  public 
directions  of  some  in  place,  and  ot  the 
titulary  bishops,  for  the  sending  of  an 
exact  account  of   what  persons  were 


murdered  throughout  all  Ulster,  a 
fourth  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Ireland, 
to  the  parish-priests  in  every  parish,  a 
particular  account  was  sent  in  ;  and 
the  account  was  104,700  in  one  pro- 
vince, in  the  first  3  months  of  the 
rebellion."— Sir  Charles  Coote's  testi- 
mony concerning  the  generality  of  the 
Rebellion,  in  the  Trial  of  Lord  Mac- 
guire,  20  Charles  L,  1645.  State 
Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  679. 


1641. J 


THE   IRISH  MASSACRE   OF   1641. 


131 


suffering  that  was  endured  in  this  detestable  massacre.  For 
let  us  look  at  their  doings.      James  departed  from  the  wise 
policy  of  Elizabeth,  and  permitted  and  encouraged  Irish 
regiments  under  Irish  officers  to  enter  the*  Spanish   service. 
These  regiments  were  therefore  ready  to   return   to  their 
native  country  with  all  the  advantages  of  military  disci- 
pline and  with  all  the  arts  of  Spanish  cruelty  superadded 
to  their  own,  whenever  it  suited  the  interest  of  the  house 
of  Austria  to  disturb  the  English  Government,  or  when- 
ever it  suited  the  interest  of  the  house  of  Stuart  to  employ 
them  for  the  destruction  of  the  EngHsh  Constitution  and 
the  establishment  of  a  pure  despotism  in  its  place.  Charles 
in  his  presumptuous  folly,  which  in  many  cases  exceeded 
even  that  of  James,  went  much  farther.     He  not   only 
permitted  such  levies  but  actually  granted  a  commission  to 
the  Earl  of  Antrim  to  raise  an  army  of  native  Irish  to  be 
employed  against  Scotland,  from  the  wildest  portion  of  the 
nation,  "  as  many  O's  and  Macs  "  wrote  Strafford  who  had 
sense   enough   at    least  to   remonstrate    against    this,   "as 
would  startle  a  whole  council  board  on  this  side  to  hear 
of "  ^  Antrim's  propositions,  which  are  nineteen  in  number,* 
conclude  with  "  names  of  my  friends.''       Among  tliese  will 
be  found  some  of  those  who  were  very  active  in  the  subse- 
quent massacre — Macgennis,  JVTacguire,  Phelim  O'Neale  and 
his  brother,  and  Hugh  McMahon.   So  that  the  ringleaders  of 
this  massacre   were   literally   the  same   persons  to  whom 
Charles  had  granted  a  commission  to  make  war  in  Scot- 
land— and  how  they  made  war  was  shown  afterwards  in 
the  butcheries  they  committed  in  Ireland  in   16^1,  and  in 
Scotland  under  Montrose. 


1  The  Lord  Deputy  (Strafford)  to 
Mr.  Secretary  Windebank,  March  20, 
163|.  Strafford's  Letters  and  Dis- 
patches, vol.  ii.  p.  300. 


2  They  will  be  found  in  Strafford's 
Letters  and  Dispatches,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
305,  306. 

K    2 


182 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  queen  of  Charles, 
Henrietta  Maria,  Lad  nearly  as  much  to  do  with  the  Irish 
massacre  as  her  relative  Catherine  de'  Medici  had  with  that 
of    St.    Bartholomew.      There  is    a   letter    from   her    to 
Strafford  in  1638  which  shows  that  she  was  in  confidential 
communication  with  the  Earl  of  Antrim  two  or  three  years 
before  the  massacre.'  And  the  English  House  of  Commons, 
in  one  of  their  Declarations  concerning  Ireland,  charge  the 
king  with  delaying   to  proclaim  the  perpetrators  of  the 
Irish  massacre  rebels  and  traitors  to  the  Crown  of  England 
till  almost  three   months  after  the  breaking  out  of  the 
rebellion,  and  then  commanding  that  but  forty  copies  of 
the  proclamation  should  be  printed,  nor  they   published 
tm  further   directions  should   be  given  by  his    Majesty, 
although  the  rebels  had   styled   themselves    the    Queen  s 
army  and  professed  that  the  cause  of  their  rising  was     to 
n^aintain  the  King's  prerogative  and  the  Queen  s  religion 
against  the  Puritan  Parliament  of  England.  Mrs  Hut. 

chinson  says,  speaking  of  Nottinghamshire :-  AH  the 
popish  gentry  were  wholly  for  the  king,  whereof  one  Mr. 
Golding,  next  neighbour  to  Mr.  Hutchinson,  had  been  a 
private  collector  of  the  Catholics'  contributions  to  the 
Irish  rebellion,  and  for  that  was,  by  the  queen's  procure- 
ment,  made  a  knight  and  baronet.  _ 

Althou-rh  Strafford  remonstrated  against  the  commission 
to  Antrim"  granted  probably,  like  Mr.  Golding's  knighthood 
and  baronetcy,  "  by  the  queen's  procurement,"  the  army 
which  he  himself  had  raised  for  the  same  service,  amount- 
ing  to  8000  foot  and  1000  horse,  consisted  entirely  of 
papists.     And  whUe  this  was  done  to  put  arms  mto  the 


^  See  Strafford's  Letters  and   Dis- 
patches, vol.  ii.  p.  321. 

2  May's  Hist,    of    the  Parliament, 


book  ii.  ch".  ii.  sub.  fin. 

3  Memoirs  of  Col.    Hutchinson,  p. 
117,  Bohn's  ed.,  London,  1854. 


1641.] 


THE  IRISH  MASSACRE  OF  1641. 


133 


hands  of  the  Pope's  adherents,  the  severe  restrictions  upon 
saltpetre  and  gunpowder  disarmed  the  Protestants.  At  the 
same  time  Strafford's  government  had  excited  general  dis- 
content and  disgust  in  both  parties.  The  ecclesiastical 
innovations  introduced  by  him,  in  compliance  with  the 
urgent  demands  of  Laud,  disgusted  the  Protestants  by  their 
approach  to  Eomanism,  without  gaining  the  Eomish  party 
whom  an  English  Pope  did  not  satisfy,  and  whose  clergy 
perceived  themselves  still  hopelessly  excluded  from  partici- 
pation in  church  livings. 

Modern  writers  appear  to  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
from  a  general  statement  of  Ludlow  that  the  army  did  not 
land  in  Ireland  till  September.  Ludlow's  expression  may 
be  so  far  correct  that  the  landing  of  the  whole  of  the 
troops,  stores,  artillery,  ammunition  and  provisions  was  not 
completed  till  the  beginning  of  September.  But  the 
minutes  of  the  Council  of  State  clearly  show  that  regiment 
after  regiment,  as  it  could  be  got  ready  at  the  watei-side, 
was  transported  during  the  summer.  There  are  many 
orders  during  the  month  of  April  for  engaging  ships  for 
transporting  troops  and  provisions  to  Ireland. 

Where,  as  frequently  happens,  the  statements  of  Whitelock 
do  not  coincide  with  those  of  the  Order  Book  of  the  Council 
of  State  in  military  matters,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  Order  Book  is  the  more  trustworthy  authoritv.  White- 
lock  has  misled  many  modern  writers  by  his  statements  as 
to  the  amount  of  the  forces  sent  to  Ireland.  It  would  be 
idle  to  attempt  to  reconcile  Whitelock  with  the  Order  Book, 
inasmuch  as  a  loose  and  inaccurate  statement  cannot  be 
reconciled  with  an  exact  and  accurate  one.  While  White- 
lock  has  made  the  whole  number  of  regiments  sent  to 
Ireland  very  mucli  less  than  it  was,  he  has  in  some 
instances  made  a  regiment  more  numerous  than  the  Order 


134 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


1649.] 


STORM   OF   DROGHEDA. 


135 


Book.  I  have  shown  from  the  Order  Book  that  Colonel 
TothilFs  regiment  consisted  of  1000  men,  from  the  fact  of 
there  being  orders  for  400  pikes  and  600  muskets.  Under 
date  April  30,  1649,  Whitelock  says  "Letters  from 
Ireland  that  Colonel  Tothill's  regiment  of  1250  was  nob 
landed  but  beaten  back  by  tempest  to  Anglesey.  That 
Londonderry  could  not  hold  out  the  siege  ;  that  Colonel 
Monk  stood  off,  and  did  nothing,  being  (as  he  said)  not  in 
a  capacity."  *  Now  on  the  11th  of  May  there  is  an  order 
of  the  Council  of  State  "  That  a  letter  be  written  to  Col. 
Moncke  to  let  him  understand  this  Council  is  very  sensible 
of  his  services  to  this  commonwealth  and  of  his  integrity 
in  the  carrying  of  it  on  in  those  parts.''  ^ 

Cromwell  on  reaching  Dublin  on  the  1 5th  of  August, 
set  himself  immediately  to  work  on  his  business  and  he 
appears  to  have  very  soon  come   to  the  conclusion   that 
the  forces  already  voted  for  the  service  on    which  he  was 
engaged  were  insufficient.      On  the  23rd  of  August,  he 
wrtte  a  letter   to  the   Council   of   State    asking  for  re- 
inforcements.   This  letter  seems  to  have  travelled  with  great 
rapidity  for  that  time,  taking  only  seven  days  to  go  from 
Dublin  to  London.      It  was  written  at  Dublin  on  the  23rd 
and  was  read  in  the  Council  of  State  at  Whitehall  on  the 
30th  of  August.      There  is  a  minute  in  the  Order  Book 
of  the  Council  of  State  under  date  30th   August  1649  : 
"That  the  letter  of    the  Lord-Lieutenant  of    Ireland  of 
the  23rd  instant  be  reported  to  the  House  :   that  for  the 
reasons  expressed   in  the  same  the  Council   is  of  opinion 
that   his    desire  for  recruits  of    men  should   be  complied 
with."  ^     On  the  same   day  there   is   a   minute   that  the 

1  WLitelock,  r.  399,  April  30,  1649.  ^  OrJer    Book    of   the   Council    of 

'  Order  Book  of  the  Couucilof  Stiitc,  State,  30th  August,  1649.     MS.  State 

lUh  May,   1649.      MS.   State  Paper  Paper  Office. 

Office. 


Lord  General  be  written  to,  to  hasten  the  departure  of 
Col.  Hacker  s  regiment  of  horse  for  Ireland.* 

Cromwell  however  had  no  intention  of  waiting  for 
those  reinforcements  before  he  began  bis  campaign. 
Having  remained  at  Dublin  about  a  fortnight,  he  marched 
to  Drogheda,  or  Tredagh  as  it  was  then  usually  called. 
On  his  march  to  Drogheda  Cromwell  set  forth  a  declara- 
tion to  assure  the  country  "  that  none  of  them  should  be 
injured  behaving  themselves  peaceably  and  bringing  in 
their  provisions."  ^  He  also  issued  a  proclamation  against 
the  soldiers  plundering  the  country  upon  pain  of  death ; 
and  three  men  were  condemned  to  die  for  plundering  and 
for  straggling  from  their  colours  of  whom  two  were 
hanged.^ 

Drogheda  was  garrisoned  with  near  three  thousand 
foot  and  two  hundred  horse,*  and  was  considered  by 
the  governor.  Sir  Arthur  Ashton,  to  be  almost  im- 
l^regnable.  Ormond,  expecting  that  Drogheda,  being  not 
far  distant  from  Dublin,  would  be  first  attempted  by 
Cromwell,  had  thrown  into  it  a  strong  garrison  of  his 
best  troops  under  an  officer  of  reputation,  with  the  view 
of  occupying  the  enemy  sometime  in  the  siege  of  it, 
while  he  repaired  his  forces  broken  by  the  defeat  they 
had  received  from  Michael  Jones  before  Dublin.  But 
Cromwell  was  not  a  man  to  lose  in  a  siege  time  of 
which  he  well  knew  the  value.  Having  com2)leted  his 
batteries  on  the  10th  of  September,  he  summoned  the 
governor  to  deliver  the  town  to  tlie  use  of  the  Parlia- 
ment of  England.  Not  receiving  a  satisfactory  answer 
Cromwell  then  efiected  '*  two  reasonable  good  breaches " 

»  Order  Book    of    the  Council    of           ^    Letter  dated   Dublin,    Sept.    13, 

State,  30th  August,  1649.  MS.  State       1649,  in  Cromwelliana,  p.  64. 

Paper  Office.  ■•  Cromwell  to  the  Speaker,  Dublin, 

2  Whitelock,  p.  426.  17th  Sept.  1649. 


136 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


in  the  east  and  south  wall ;  and  upon  Tuesday  the  11th 
of  September  about  5  o'clock  in  the  evening  proceeded 
to    storm  the   town.       "  Through  the   advantages   of  the 
place,"  he  says  in  his  dispatch,  "  our  men  were  forced  to 
retreat     quite    out    of    the    breach,    not     without    some 
considerable    loss.    Colonel   Castle,   whose    regiment   com- 
menced   the  attack,  being  shot  in  the  head  whereof  he 
presently   died."      Cromwell's  troops  led   by   himself   in 
person  then   made  another  attempt,  "  wherein "  he  says, 
"  God    was    pleased    so    to    animate  them   that  they  got 
ground    of    the    enemy,    and    by    the    goodness  of    God 
forced   him  to  quit  his  intrenchments ;  and  after  a  very 
hot     dispute,  the    enemy  having    both    horse    and   foot, 
and    we  foot   only    within    the    walls,    the    enemy  gave 
ground,  and  our  men  became  masters."     Then,  a  passage 
having   been    effected    for     his    cavalry    into     the    town, 
«  divers  of  the  enemy  "  he  continues,  "  retreated  into  the 
Mill  Mount,  a  place  very  strong,  and  of  difficult  access, 
being  exceeding  high,  having  a  good  graft,  and  strongly 
palhsadoed.       The     governor.    Sir     Arthur    Ashton,    and 
divers  considerable  officers  being  there,  our  men  getting  up 
to    them,    were    ordered    by  me  to  put  them  all  to  the 
sword  ;     and    indeed,    being    in    the    heat    of    action,    I 
forbade  them  to   spare  any  that  were  in  arms  in  the  town, 
and  I  think  that  night  they  put  to  the  sword  about  two 
thousand  men.     Divers  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  being 
fled    over    the  bridge   into   the  other  part  of  the   town, 
where  about   one  hundred  of  them  possessed  St.  Peter's 
church   steeple,  some  the  west   gate,   and  others  a   strong 
round  tower  next  the  gate,    called     St.   Sunday,— these 
being  summoned  to  yield  to  mercy  refused  ;  whereupon  I 
ordered   the  steeple    of   St.    Peter's    church    to    be    fired. 
The  next   day  the  other  two  towers  were  summoned,  in 


1649.] 


STORM  OF  DROGHEDA. 


137 


one  of  which  were  about  six  or  seven  score,  but  they 
refused  to  yield  themselves ;  and  we,  knowing  that 
hunger  must  compel  them,  set  only  good  guards  to 
secure  them  from  running  away,  until  their  stomachs  were 
come  down.  From  one  of  the  said  towers,  notwith- 
standing their  condition,  they  killed  and  wounded  some 
of  our  men.  When  they  submitted,  their  officers  were 
knocked  on  the  head ;  and  every  tenth  man  of  the 
soldiers  killed  ;    and   the  rest  shipped  for  the  Barbadoes. 

I  believe  all  the  friars  were  knocked 
on  the  head  promiscuously  but  two  ;  the  one  of  which 
was  Father  Peter  Taaff,  brother  to  the  Lord  Taaff,  whom 
the  soldiers  took  the  next  day  and  made  an  end  of.  The 
other  was  taken  in  the  round  tower,  under  the  repute  of 
a  lieutenant,  and  when  he  understood  that  the  officers  in 
that  tower  had  no  quarter,  he  confessed  he  was  a  friar  ; 
but  that  did  not  save  him."  Of  Cromwell's  men  not 
one  hundred  were  killed,  though  many  were  wounded  ; 
and,  besides  Colonel  Castle,  he  lost  several  officers :  while, 
according  to  the  list  subjoined  to  Cromwell's  dispatch  to 
the  Speaker,  the  enemy  lost  all  their  officers,  220  reforma- 
does  and  troopers,  and  2500  foot  soldiers  ^ — a  hint  to  the 
Medici,  Valois,  Bourbon,  and  Stuart  school  of  politicians 
that  a  massacre  of  English  Protestants  might  turn  out 
rather  an  expensive  sort  of  speculation.  In  a  letter 
to  Bradshaw,  president  of  the  Council  of  State,  Cromwell 
says  "  I  do  not  believe,  neither  do  I  hear,  that  any 
officer  escaped  with  his  life  save  only  one  lieutenant, 
who,  I  hear,  going  to  the  enemy  said  that  he  was 
the  only  man  that  escaped  of  all  the  garrison.  The  enemy 
upon  this  were  filled  with  much  terror.  And  truly  I 
believe  this  bitterness  will  save  much  eftusion   of  blood 

>  Cromwell  to  the  Speaker,  Dublin,  17th  Sept.  1649. 


138 


HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


through  the  goodness  of  God."  ^  In  the  minute  of  the 
Council  of  State  of  Saturday  29th  of  September  1649, 
ordering  a  public  thanksgiving  on  the  following  day  in 
all  the  churches  of  London  and  the  neighbouring  districts, 
it  is  stated  tliat  "there  were  about  three  thousand  of 
the  enemy  slain  and  of  our  men  only  sixty-five  private 
soldiers  and  two  officers."  ^ 

The  reasons  which  Cromwell  in  his  dispatch  to  the 
Speaker  assigns  for  this  severity  are  precisely  the  same 
as  a  British  commander  might  in  1857-8  have  assigned 
for  ordering  no  quarter  to  be  given  to  sepoys  taken  in 
arms,  and  will  be  better  appreciated  now  than  they 
were  some  years  ago.  "  I  was  persuaded "  he  says 
"  that  there  is  a  righteous  judgment  of  God  upon  these 
barbarous  wretches  who  have  imbrued  their  hands  in  so 
much  innocent  blood,  and  that  it  will  tend  to  prevent  the 
effusion  of  blood  for  the  future  ;  which  are  the  satisfactory 
grounds  to  such  actions  which  otherwise  cannot  but 
work  remorse  and  regret."  If  on  the  other  hand  it  be 
asserted  that  the  garrison  of  Drogheda  were  not  chiefly 
Irish,  since   according  to  Ludlow  the  royalists  had  "  put 


^  Cromwell  to  Bradsliaw,  16tli  Sept. 

1649. 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Die  Saturai,  29  Sept.  1649. 
MS.  State  Paper  Office.  The  following 
is  the  minute: — "Whereas  it  hath 
pleased  God  to  bless  the  endeavours  of 
the  forces  of  the  Commonwealth 
against  the  Irish  rebels  and  their  ad- 
herents in  the  town  of  Drogheda  which 
was  taken  in  by  storm  there  being  in 
it  a  strong  garrison  of  the  choice  of 
Ormond's  army  put  into  it.  There 
were  about  three  thousand  of  the 
enemy  slain  and  of  our  men  only  sixty- 
five  private  soldiers  and  two  officei-s. 
It  is  therefore  this  day  ordered  that  all 
the  ministers  in  London  &c.  do  publish 


the    same    to    the    people  to-morrow 
being  the  Lord's  day  the  30th  of  this 
instant    September    in    their    several 
churches  and  chapels  and  stir  up  the 
people  to  give  thanks  to  God  for  his 
goodness  in  still  crowning  and  blessing 
the  endeavours  of  this  Commonwealth, 
for  the  settling  of  peace  against  the 
enemies  thereof."      On   the   17th   of 
October  the  Council  of  State  made  an 
order  '  *  That  a  warrant  do  issue  out  to 
Mr.  Jackson  to  pay  unto  Capt.  Porter 
who  brought  the  good  news  out  of  Ire- 
land of   the  taking   of    Drogheda  the 
sum  of  <£100  according  to  an  order  of 
Parliament  made  to  that  purpose.'' — 
Ibid.,  17th  October,  1649. 


1649.] 


STORM  OF  WEXFORD. 


139 


most  of  their  army  into  their  garrisons,  having  placed 
three  or  four  thousand  of  the  best  of  their  men,  being 
mostly  English,  in  the  town  of  Tredagh  (Drogheda),  and 
made  Sir  Arthur  Ash  ton  governor  thereof,"  the  answer 
is  that  if  Englishmen  will  join  with  Nana  Sahib,  they 
must  take  the  fate  of  Nana  Sahib.  In  regard  to  the 
assertion  that  women  and  children  were  slaughtered 
in  the  storm  of  Drogheda,  it  is  an  assertion  unproved 
and  most  probably  altogether  false.^ 

The  garrison  of  Wexford  having  offered  resistance 
shared  the  fate  of  the  garrison  of  Drogheda.  Cromwell 
in  his  dispatch  reckoned  that  there  were  lost  of  the 
enemy  not  many  less  than  2000,  while  of  the  besiegers 
not  twenty  were  killed.^  Most  of  the  other  places  of 
strength  yielded  at  his  approach,  and  the  Protestant 
troops  under  Inchiquin  revolted  to  the  Parliament.  The 
season  was  so  far  advanced  (24th  of  November)  before 
he  attempted  Waterford  that  he  was  obliged  to  raise  the 
siege,  and  soon  after  retire  into  winter  quarters.  He 
first  however  reduced  Dungarvan,  at  which  place  he  had 
the    misfortune  to   lose  by  a   rapid   fever  his  lieutenant- 


•  Mr.  Carlyle  (Cromwell's  Letters, 
vol.  ii.  p.  205,  note)  says  the  old  Par- 
liamentary History,  vol.  xix.  pp. 
207-9,  has  added  after  the  concluding 
*' Surgeons,  &c.,"  in  Cromwell's  list  of 
the  slain,  "and  many  inhabitants,"  of 
which  there  is  no  trace  in  the, old  pam- 
phlets. And  yet  M.  Guizot  in  his  Histoire 
de  la  Republique  d'Angleterre  et  de 
Cromwell  (Paris,  1854),  tom.  i.  p.  91,  in 
quoting  the  list  in  question  has  con- 
cluded thus  —  "  les  chirurgiens  et  beau- 
coup  d'habitans,"  and  has  actually 
cited  Carlyle's  Cromwell's  Lettei*s  as 
the  first  of  his  authorities,  adding  Pari. 
Hist.  vol.  xix.  pp.  201-210,  &c., 
without  noticing  Mr.  Cailyle's  note  on 


the  most  important,  and  as  it  would 
appear  altogether  unwarrantable  addi- 
tion of  ' '  many  inhabitants, "  made  by 
the  royalist  compilers  of  the  Parlia- 
mentary History.  In  regard  to  the 
question.  Had  children  or  women  also 
imbrued  their  hands  in  innocent  blood  ? 
the  depositions  on  oath  printed  in  Sir 
John  Temple's  History  of  the  Irish 
Rebellion  or  Massacre  show  that  they 
had — not  that  even  this  might  be  a  valid 
ground  for  retaliating  upon  them^  and 
I  do  not  believe  that  Cromwell's 
soldiers  did  so. 

■^  Cromwell  to  the   Si)eaker,   Wex- 
ford, 14th  October,  1649. 


140 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


1649.]         PREPARATIONS  FOR  JOHN  LILBURNE'S  TRIAL. 


Ul 


general,  Michael  Jones,  to  whom  Ireton,  with  that  zeal 
for  the  public  service  and  freedom  from   selfish  ends  and 
personal  aggrandizement  that  marked  his   character,  had 
given  way  "on    observing  his  greater    knowledge   of   the 
country  and  of  the  service.    The  character  which  his  com- 
mander-in-chief,   Cromwell,    gives    him    in    the    dispatch 
which    announces     his    death,     will    remain    a    greater 
honour    to    his    memory    than    a  monument    among    the 
sepulchres  of  kings.     "  The  noble  lieutenant-general,"  says 
Cromwell,     "whose     finger,     to     our    knowledge,    never 
ached   in    all  these    expeditions,    fell    sick,    upon   a    cold 
taken  in  our  late  wet  march,  and  ill  accommodation,  and 
went  to  Dungarvan,  where,  struggling  some  four  or  five 
days  with  a  fever,  he  died,  having  run  his  course  with   so 
much  honour,  courage,  and  fidelity,  as  his  actions   better 
speak,    than    my    pen.       What    England    lost    hereby    is 
above  me  to  speak ;  I  am  sure  I  lost  a  noble  friend  and 
companion  in  labours.     You  see  how  God  mingles  out  the 

cup  to  us.'' 

Owen  O'Neal,  having  quarreUed  with  Ormond,  en- 
deavoured to  make  his  peace  with  the  English  Parliament ; 
but  his  offers  were  sternly  rejected,   and   he  again  united 

with  Ormond. 

It  would  appear,  from  a  minute,  and  a  copy  of  another 
document  in  the  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  that 
the  number  of  the  troops  of  the  Parliament  at  that  time 
in  Ireland  was  greater  than  has  been  commonly  supposed. 
There  is  a  minute  of  1  2th  October  1649  "that  the  pro- 
position made  by  Mr.  Downes  for  the  furnishing  of  sixteen 
thousand  suits  of  foot  soldiers  cloaths  [sic]  at  1 7s.  per  suit 
and  to  find  packing  be  accepted  of."  ^     The  Order  Book 

1  Order  Book    of    the    Council    of      Paper  Office. 
State,  12th  October,  1649.    MS.  State 


also  contains  a  copy  of  the  "  Articles  of  Agreement  between 
the  Council  of  State  and  Robert  Downes  for  the  furnishing 
of  16,000  coats  and  breeches  for  the  soldiers  in  Ireland." 
The  Irish  committee  also  contracted  for  16,000  shirts, 
16,000  pairs  of  stockings,  and  16,000  pairs  of  shoes.^ 
This  seems  to  show  that  there  was  only  one  shirt 
allowed  for  each  man,  the  number  of  shirts  ordered  being 
the  same  with  the  number  of  suits  of  clothes. 

John  Lilburne  had,  as  has  been  before  mentioned,  been 
committed  to  the  Tower  on  the  28th  of  March  by  an  order 
of  the  Council  of  State,  "  upon  suspicion  of  high  treason, 
for  beinfif  the  author  of  a  scandalous  and  seditious  book 
intituled  England's  New  Chains  Discovered."^  On  the  1 7th 
of  July  Lilburne  had  addressed  a  letter  to  Lord  Grey  of 
Groby,  Henry  Marten,  and  two  other  members  of  Par- 
liament, stating  that  his  son  had  died  of  the  small-pox  the 
day  before,  and  that  his  wife  and  two  other  children  were  ill, 
and  desiring  to  be  allowed  a  few  days'  liberty  to  visit  them. 
On  the  following  day,  the  18th  of  July,  Henry  Marten 
moved  the  House  that  he  should  be  liberated  on  security. 
This  motion  was  granted,  and  Lilburne  was  liberated. 
But  again,  on  the  19  th  of  September,  an  order  of  the 
Council  of  State '  was  made  for  his  imprisonment  in  the 
Tower,  in  order  to  his  trial  on  the  charge  of  new  attempts 
to  raise  up  mutiny  in  the  army,  and  overturn  the  Govern- 
ment. 

Great  preparations  were  now  made  for  the  trial  of  John 

1  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  tomey- General  having  given  the  Coun- 
State,  30th  October,  1649.  MS.  State  cil  satisfaction  that  he  hath  evidence 
Paper  Office.  sufficient  against  him  to  witness  him 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  guilty  of  offending  the  late  Act  of  Par- 
State,  28th  March,  1649.  MS.  State  liament  declaring  treasons."  —  Order 
Paper  Office.  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  £t  Meri- 

3  *'That  Mr.  John  Lilburne  shall  be  die,  19  Sept.  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
committed  prisoner  in  the    Tower  of       Office. 

London,  in  order  to  his  trial,  Mr.  At- 


142 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


Lilburne  on  these  charges.  Forty-one  persons  of  station, 
including  one  of  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  great 
seal,  eight  of  the  judges,  three  serjeants-at-law,  the  Lord 
Mayor  of  London,  and  nine  aldermen,  were  appointed  the 
commissioners  of  this  extraordinary  commission  of  Oyer  and 
Terminer.^  Four  counsel  were  appointed  assistants  to 
Prideaux  the  Attorney  General.^  The  following  minutes 
of  the  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State  further  show 
the  extraordinary  anxiety  of  the  Government  to  rid  them- 
selves of  this  active  and  troublesome,  if  not  formidable, 
assailant. 

"  That  letters  be  sent  to  the  several  judges  who  are  out 
of  town  to  repair  to  this  town  to  attend  the  service  of  the 
commonwealth  for  the  trying  of  some  grand  offenders 
according  to  the  late  Act.  And  they  are  to  be  here 
within  1 4  days  after  the  date  hereof  ^ 

"That  Mr.  Ambrose  and  Andrew  Broughton  be  sent 
unto  to  repair  unto  this  town  to  attend  upon  the  Attorney 
General  and  receive  directions  from  him  for  the  carrying 
on  of  a  charge  against  Mr.  John  Lilburne,  who  is  to  be 
tried  according  to  a  late  act  for  treasons,  and  that  Mr. 
Nutley  shall  be  solicitor  for  this  cause.''  * 

"  That  letters  be  written  to  the  militia  of  London  and 
Westminster  to  cause  sufficient  guards  to  be  in  a  readiness 
on  Wednesday  next  to  prevent  any  trouble  that  may  arise 
upon  the  occasion  of  the  trial  of  John  Lilburne."  ^ 

"  To  write   to  the  Sheriffs  of  London  to  prepare  a  fit 


*  See  the  names  of  the  41  Commis- 
sioners in  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  pp. 
1269,  1270. 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  a  Meridie,  19  Sept.  1649.  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 

'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,    a    Meridie,   19th  Sept.    1649. 


MS.  State  Paper  Office. 

*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
a  Meridie,  19th  Sept.  1649.  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 

^  Order  Book  of  the  Coiincil  of 
State,  Die  Saturni,  20  Octobris,  1649. 
MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


1649.] 


NEW   LAW   OF  TREASON. 


143 


place  in  Guildhall,  for  the  trial  of  Lt.-Col.  John  Lilburne, 
and  for  the  accommodation  of  the  Council  of  the  Common- 
wealth." ^ 

"  That  the  letter  now  presented  to  the  Council  to  be 
sent  to  Major-General  Skippon  for  keeping  the  peace  and 
preventing  danger  at  Guildhall  upon  the  trial  of  John 
Lilburne  be  signed  and  sent."  "^ 

The  "  late  act  for  treasons,"  referred  to  in  the  minutes 
above  recited,  was  "An  Act  of  the  14th  of  May  1649 
declaring  what  offences  shall  be  adjudged  treason." 
There  was  another  Act  of  1 7th  July,  1G49  which  was 
the  same  as  the  former,  with  the  addition  of  a  clause 
respecting  coining.  Now,  while  the  old  English  law 
of  treasons  required  that  there  should  be  an  attempt  to 
subvert  the  Government,  manifested  by  an  overt  act,  this 
new  law  of  treasons  of  the  Government,  which  styled 
itself  the  Commonwealth,  enacted  that  words  affirming 
by  writing  or  otherwise  that  the  government  settled  in 
the  form  of  a  Commonwealth  is  tyrannical,  usurped, 
or  unlawful,  or  that  the  commons  assembled  in  Parlia- 
ment are  not  the  supreme  authority,  shall  be  treason — 
thereby  creating  a  change  in  the  old  constitutional  laws 
of  England,  which  was  considered  generally  a  tyrannical 
innovation.  It  is  evident  that  the  Parliament  and  Council 
of  State  committed  a  great  blunder  in  tlie  whole  of  this 
proceeding,  both  in  the  change  of  the  law  of  treason,  and 
in  the  extraordinary  constitution  of  the  tribunal,  which 
they  created  for  the  trial  of  an  obnoxious  individual,  whom 
they  thereby  raised  to  an  eminence  and  importance  which 
probably  his  own  abilities,  though  far  greater  than  modern 


*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Die  Lunse,  22  Octobris,  1649. 
MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Die  Martis,  23  Octobris,  1649. 
MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


144 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


writers  have  supposed,  could  never  have  obtained  for  him. 
And  yet,  whatever  judgment  may  be  formed  of  his  abilities, 
a  man  who  was  a  more  popular  pamphleteer  than  Milton, 
who  could  thwart  and  irritate  such  statesmen  as  Vane  and 
CromweU,  and  baffle  all  their  efforts  for  his  destruction, 
naturally  excites  some   curiosity   respecting   his  character 
and  history.     It  is  also  important  towards  &.  clear  under- 
standing of  the  nature  of  the  government   then  existing 
in  England  to  enter  into  some  of  the  details  of  this  trial, 
from  which    it  will    appear  that   the   law-officers  of  the 
government  called    the  Commonwealth,  both  counsel  and 
judges,   did    not  exhibit    much,    if    any,   greater  fairness 
towards  the  prisoner  than  was  exhibited  by  the   counsel 
and  judges  of  the  most  despotic  times  of  the  Tudors  and 

the  Stuarts. 

Lilburne  was  by  birth  a  gentleman,  though  Clarendon 
in  his  account  of  him,  which  contains  more  misstatements 
than  it  does  sentences,  says  of  him  "  this  man  before  the 
troubles  was  a  poor  bookbinder."^     So  far  is  this  state- 
ment from  the  truth,  that  John  Lilburne  was  descended^  of 
an  ancient  family,  (quite  as  ancient  and  as  good  as  Hyde's), 
that  possessed  estates  in  the  county  of  Durham.     He  was 
the  second  son,  (his  elder  brother  Robert  being  a  colonel,  as  he 
was  a  lieutenant-colonel  in  the  army  of  the  Parliament), 
of  Richard  Lilburne  of  Thickney  Puncharden  in  the  county 
of   Durham,    where    John    Lilburne  was   born  in    1618. 
His  father  Richard  Lilburne,  besides  the  estate  of  Thickney 
Puncharden,  was  possessed  of  lands  to  a  considerable  value 
in  the  county  of  Durham.      John  Lilburne,  according  to  a 
custom  at  that  time   very  prevalent  with  regard  to   the 
younger  sons  of  good  families,  for  whom  the  colonies  and 
the  Indian  Empire  did  not  then  afford  a   provision,  had 

1  Clar.  Hist.  vol.  vii.  p.  44,  Oxford,  1826. 


1649.]      CLARENDON'S  MISSTATEMENTS  AS  TO  LILBURNE.        145 

been  put  apprentice  at  twelve  yeare  of  age  to  an  eminent 
wholesale  clothier  near  Londonstone  ;  ^  which  may  account 
for  what  he  said  on  his  trial  that  he  did  not  know  Latin 
or  any  other  language  but  English. 

John  Lilburne  was  fully  aware,  and  even  rather  more 
than  reasonably  proud,  of  the  importance  in  that  age  of 
being  of  a   good  family.      For   he   is   reported   to    have 
assigned  as  one  reason  for  refusing  to  submit  to  the  domi- 
nation of  Cromwell  that  he  was  "  as  good  a  gentleman, 
and   of   as  good  a  family."     And   though   such   men  as 
Cromwell  and  Bonaparte   could  well  afford   to  lauc^h  at 
such  reasons  for  refusing  allegiance  to  them,  and  content 
themselves  with  the  reflection  that  their  nobility  began  at 
Naseby  and  Monte  Notte  ;  this  reverence  for  family  anti- 
quity is  one  cause  of  the  stability  of  hereditary  kingship 
m  an  old  country.     Great  would  have  been  John  Lilburne's 
wrath  could  he  have  returned  from   the  grave  and  seen 
the  contemptuous  terms  in  which  Hyde  presumed  to  speak 
of  him  ;  of  him  wliose  courage  or  whose  folly,  unlike  the 
wisdom  and  discretion  of  Hyde,  always  made  him  defy  a 
living  enemy  to  his  face  ;  and  not  wait  for  the  time  when  he 
could  safely  blacken  his  memory.     For  Lilburne  knew  so 
little  of  fear,  that  he  was  ready  on  all  occasions  to  fight 
against  any  odds.    Lilburne  said  in  the  course  of  this  trial, 
"  I  bless  God  I  have  learnt  to  die,  having  always  carried  my 
life  in  my  hand,  ready  to  lay  it  down  for  above  this  twelve 


1  Biog.  Brit.,  art.  Lilburne,  John. — 
*'When  John  Lilburne's  cause  was 
pleaded  at  the  bar  of  the  House  of 
Lords  in  1640,  among  other  aggrava- 
tions of  the  cruelty  of  the  sentence 
passed  upon  him  by  the  Judges  of  the 
Star  Chamber  in  1637,  it  was  urged  by 
the  managers  in  his  behalf  that  he  was 
descended   from  an  ancient  family  in 


the  north,  a  town  in  Northumberland 
still  bearing  the  name  of  Lilburne, 
or  rather  Leisle-boume,  by  reason  of 
the  water  called  the  Bourne  that  was 
about  it ;  and  that  the  arms  belonging 
to  the  family  are  three  water- budgets, 
which  is  an  ancient  bearing  of  arms." 
— Ibid.f  note  (a). 


L 


146 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


years  together."     This  was  true  to  the  letter,  for  he  had 
begun  his  struggle  against  tyranny  in  1  637,  when,  though 
only  nineteen  years  of  age,  for  his  undaunted  defence  of  the 
constitutional  rights  of  Englishmen,  he  was  fined  ^oOO, 
and  fiirther  ordered  to  be  whipt  through  the  streets,  and 
set  in  the  pillory.     The  punishment  was  inflicted  with  the 
utmost  severity.     But  nothing  could  subdue  the  spirit  of 
John  Lilburne.     While  in  the  pillory  he  inveighed  bitterly 
against  the  tyranny  of  the  bishops,  and  the  government  of 
Charles,  and  scattered  pamphlets  among  the  people,  which 
the  Star  Chamber  then,  like  the  Council  of  State  now,  pro- 
nounced to  be  seditious.     The  Star  Chamber  also,  having 
heard  of  his  speaking  in  the  pillory,  ordered  him  to  be 
gao-cred     The  joker  of  the  Long  Parliament,  Henry  Marten, 
is  reported  to  have  said   of  John  Lilburne,  that  '^if  there 
was  none  Hving  but  himself,  John  would  be  against  Lil- 
burne,  and  Lilburne  against  John/' 

On  Monday,    the   22nd  of  October,   1649,  there  is  a 
minute  in  the  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  "  That 
Colonel  Robert  Lilburne  be  called  in  to  hear  what  he  hath 
to  propound  to  the  Council."^     Though  no  further  infor- 
mation  is  afi^orded  by  the  Order  Book  as  to  what  Colonel 
Robert  Lilburne  had  to  propound  to  the  Council  of  St^te, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  his  business  with  the  Coimcil  related 
to  a  proposition  made  by  his  brother,  John  Lilburne.     On 
that  same  day  a  petition  from   Colonel  Robert  Lilburne, 
and   Elizabeth   Lilburne,    the    wife    of    Lieut. -Col.    John 
Lilburne,  was   presented   "to    the    right    honourable    the 
supreme  authority  of  this  nation,  the  Commons  of  England 
in    Parhament    assembled,    in    the  behalf    of    Lieut.-Col. 
John  Lilburne,  prisoner  in  the  Tower  of  London."     It  is 

1  Rushworth,  vol.  ii.  p.  468.  State,  Die   Luna.,   22  Octobris,  1649. 

2  Order    Book    of   the    Council    of      MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


1649.]  PETITION   OF  COLONEL  ROBERT  LILBURNE.  14? 

good  evidence  in  favour  of  the  private  character  of  John 
Lilburne,  that  both  his  wife  and  his  brother  Robert  were 
most  devotedly  attached  to   him.     In  this    petition    the 
petitioners  say  "  considering  his  principles  are  a  burthen  to 
this  State,  they  do  most  humbly  present  their  assurance 
and  confidence  of  his   purpose  to   withdraw   himself  into 
some  foreign   country,  desiring  he  may  have  his  money, 
which  is  necessary  to  his  and  his  family's  subsistence  in 
their  transplantation,  and  convenient  time  to  prepare  him- 
self  to  go.'' '      This  petition  was  however  altogether  fruit- 
less.    The  proposition  which  Colonel  Robert  Lilburne  had 
to  make  to  the  Council  of  State  on  the  22nd  of  October, 
referred  to  in  the  minute  of  that  date,  was  a  proposition  of 
John  Lilburne  entituled    "The  Innocent   Man's  Second  ^ 
Proffer:  made  unto  his  present  adversaries,  Oct.  22,  1649, 
and  communicated  unto  them  by  his  loving  Brother,  Col! 
Robert  Lilburne. "    This  proposition  is  in  the  form  of  a  letter 
to  his  brother,  dated  -  Tower  Oct.  22  ]  649,"  and  thus  com- 
mences, "  Brother ;  In  answer  to  your  late  letter,  I  can  make 
no  other  proposition,  besides  what  is  in   my  letter  to  Mr. 
Hevenningham  of  the  20th  present,  than  this.  That  seeing 
myself,  and  the  principles  I  profess,  are  a  burthen  to  the 


*  State  Trials,  vol.   iv.  pp.    1424, 
1425. 

2  "The  Innocent  Man's  First  Proffer" 
was  a  proposition  of  Lt.-Col.  John 
Lilburne  in  the  form  of  a  letter  dated 
Tower  of  London  Oct.  20,  1649  to 
William  Hevenningham,  Esq.  of  He- 
venningham, in  Suffolk,  a  member  of 
the  Council  of  State,  to  submit  the 
judgment  of  his  cause  to  a  tribunal 
composed  of  one  of  the  twelve  judges 
chosen  by  himself  and  such  of  the 
other  eleven  as  his  adversaries  shaU 
choope,  provided  the  hearing  be  public, 
and  the  judges  give  their  judgment  in 


writing  with  their  reasons  for  it,  and 
provided  he  may  choose  two  friends  to 
take  notes  of  all  the  proceedings  with- 
out danger  to  their  persons,  liberties  or 
estates.  The  letter  thus  commences  : 
"Honoured  Sir;  Having  sometimes 
the  opportunity  to  discourse  with  you, 
there  appeared  that  in  you  unto  me, 
that  gives  me  encouragement  to  pick 
you  out  above  all  men  that  now  remain 
sitting  in  your  House,  to  write  a  few 
lines  unto,  in  as  moderate  a  way  as  my 
condition  and  provocations  will  permit 
Dae." — State  TnaU^  vol.  iv.  pp.  1421- 
1423. 

L    2 


148 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


men  in  present  power,  therefore  (for  peace  and  quietness' 
sake  only),  I  will  engage,   (enjoying  my  money  and  my 
immediate  liberty),    that  I   will  within  six  months'  time 
transport  myself  into  some  part  of  the  West  Indies/'     He 
then    adds    a    proviso    that    all    those    that    are    free 
and    willing    to    go    with  him,  of   what    quality    soever, 
may    have    free    liberty    to     go,    and    may    have    their 
arrears  or  money  lent  to  the  public  paid  to  them.     He 
concludes  by  saying  that  seeing  he  knows  no  plantation 
already  planted,  he  would  sooner  choose  to  be  cut  to  pieces 
in  England  than  engage  singly  to  go  alone.  »      This  propo- 
sition    was    as  fruitless  as   the  petitions  of  his  wife  and 

brother.  •  •  «  ti 

On  the    23rd   a   remarkable   petition,    entituled    "The 

humble  petition  of  the  well-affected,  in  and  about  the  city 

of  London,  Westminster,  and  parts  adjacent,"  was  offered 

to  the  House,  with  most  earnest  and  importunate  solicitation 

to  have  it  received,  but  neither  the  serjeant-at-arms,  nor  any 

member  would  so  much  as  touch  it,  the  former  telling  the 

petitioners  that  the  House  would  not  receive  any  petition 

in  Lieut.-Col.  Lilburne's  behalf ;  although  they  had  them- 

selves  declared  that  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  of  England 

to  petition,  and  their  duty  to  receive  petitions,  even  though 

against  law  established.     Some  passages  of  this  petition 

srt  some  of  the  proceedings  of  the  existing  Government  in 

a  very  striking  light. 

"  Every  one  believed,"  say  the  petitioners,  "  that 
after  the  expulsion  of  the  greater  number  of  the  mem- 
bers of  this  honourable  House  (as  betrayers  of  their 
trust)  a  new  representation  should  immediately  have  been 
ordered,  according  to  that  model  of  an  Agreement  of 
the  People,  tendered  by  the  Council  of  the  Army,  or  in 

•  State  TrUls,  vol.  iv.  p.  1426. 


1649.] 


PETITION  FOE  A  NEW  PARLIAMENT. 


149 


some  other  way.  And  that  because  that  honourable  Coun- 
cil in  their  declaration  of  December  last,  declared  '  That 
they  should  not  look  on  the  remaining  part  as  a  former 
standing  power  to  be  continued  ;  but  in  order  unto  and 
until  the  introducing  of  a  more  fuU  and  formal  power  in  a 
just  representative  to  be  speedily  endeavoured  by  an 
Agreement  of  the  People.' 

"  And  we  were  the  more  confident  hereof,   because  they 
had    formerly    declared    also,    'That    where    the    supreme 
authority  was  fixed  in  the  same  persons  during  tlieir  own 
pleasure,  it  rendered  that  Government  no  better  than  a 
tyranny,  and  the  people  subject  thereunto,  no  better  than 
vassals :  That  by  frequent  elections  men   come  to  taste  of 
subjection  as  well  as  of  rule,'  (and  are  thereby  obliged  for 
their  own  sakes  to  be  tender  of  the  good  of  the  people),  so 
that  considering  those  expressions,  and  those  extraordinary 
things  done  (declaredly)  for  a  speedy  new  elected  Parlia- 
ment ;  how  it  should  come  not  only  to  be  wholly  deferred, 
but  to  be  matter  of  blame  for  us,  or  any  of  our  friends, 
earnestly  to  desire  what  is  so  evidently  just  and  necessary 
in  itself,  and   so  essential  to  the  liberties   of  the   nation 
perplexeth  us  above  measure  ;  and  we  intreat  some  satis- 
faction  therein. 

"  And  truly,  when  you  had  voted  the  people  under  God 
to  be  the  original  of  all  just  power,  and  the  chosen  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people  the  supreme  authority,  we  con- 
ceived that  you  did  it  to  convey  those  righteous  principles 
(which  we  and  our  friends  long  laboured  for)  to  the  next 
full  and  formal  representative,  and  not  that  you  intended  to 
have  exercised  the  supreme  law-making  power.  Much  less 
that  such  ensnaring  laws  should  ever  have  issued  from 
a  House  of  Commons,  so  often  and  so  exceedmgly  purged 
(intentionally  by  the  army)  for  the  freedom  of  the  Com- 


Ii8 


HISTORY   OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


in  present  power,  therefore  (for  peace  and  quietness' 
lake  only),  I  will  engage,  (enjoying  my  money  and  my 
immediate  liberty),  that  I  will  within  six  months'  time 
tmnHport  myself  into  some  part  of  the  West  Indies."  He 
then  adds  a  proviso  that  all  those  that  are  free 
and  willing  to  go  with  him,  of  what  quality  soever, 
may  have  free  liberty  to  go,  and  may  have  their 
arrears  or  money  lent  to  tlie  public  paid  to  them.  He 
concludes  by  saying  that  seeing  he  knows  no  plantation 
already  planted,  ho  would  sooner  choose  to  be  cut  to  pieces 
in  England  than  engage  singly  to  go  alone.  »  This  propo- 
sition   was   as  fruitless  as   the  petitions  of  his  wife  and 

brother. 

On  the   23rd   a  remarkable   petition,    entituled    "The 
bumble  petition  of  the  welUaffected,  in  and  about  the  city 
of  London,  Westminster,  and  parts  adjacent,"  was  offered 
to  the  House,  with  most  earnest  and  importunate  solicitation 
to  have  it  received,  but  neither  the  serjeant-at-arms,  nor  any 
member  would  so  much  as  touch  it,  the  former  telling  the 
petitioners  that  the  House  would  not  receive  any  petition 
in  Lieut.-Col.  Lilbume's  behalf ;  although  they  had  them- 
selves  declared  that  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  of  England 
to  petition,  and  their  duty  to  receive  petitions,  even  though 
against  law  established.     Some  passages  of  this  petition 
set  some  of  the  proceedings  of  the  existing  Government  in 
a  very  striking  light. 

"  Every  one  believed/'  say  the  petitioners,  '*  that 
afler  the  expulsion  of  the  greater  number  of  the  mem- 
bers of  this  honourable  House  (as  betrayers  of  their 
trust)  a  new  representation  should  immediately  have  been 
ordered,  according  to  that  model  of  an  Agreement  of 
the  People,  tendered  by  the  Council  of  the  Army,  or  in 

'  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1426. 


1649.] 


PETITION  FOR  A  NEW  PARLIAMENT. 


149 


some  other  way.  And  that  because  that  honourable  Coun- 
cil in  their  declaration  of  December  last,  declared  '  That 
they  should  not  look  on  the  remaining  part  as  a  former 
standing  power  to  be  continued  ;  but  in  order  unto  and 
until  the  introducing  of  a  more  full  and  formal  power  in  a 
just  representative  to  be  speedily  endeavoured  by  an 
Agreement  of  the  People.' 

"  And  we  were  the  more  confident  hereof,  because  they 
had  formerly  declared  also,  'That  where  the  supreme 
authority  was  fixed  in  the  same  persons  during  their  own 
pleasure,  it  rendered  that  Government  no  better  than  a 
tyranny,  and  the  people  subject  thereunto,  no  better  than 
vassals :  That  by  frequent  elections  men  come  to  taste  of 
subjection  as  well  as  of  rule,'  (and  are  thereby  obliged  for 
their  own  sakes  to  be  tender  of  the  good  of  the  people),  so 
that  considering  those  expressions,  and  those  extraordinary 
things  done  (declaredly)  for  a  speedy  new  elected  Parlia- 
ment ;  how  it  should  come  not  only  to  be  wholly  deferred, 
but  to  be  matter  of  blame  for  us,  or  any  of  our  friends, 
earnestl}^  to  desire  what  is  so  evidently  just  and  necessary 
in  itself,  and  so  essential  to  the  liberties  of  the  nation 
perplexeth  us  above  measure  ;  and  we  intreat  some  satis- 
faction therein. 

"  And  truly,  when  you  had  voted  the  people  under  God 
to  be  the  original  of  all  just  power,  and  the  chosen  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people  the  supreme  authority,  we  con- 
ceived that  you  did  it  to  convey  those  righteous  principles 
(which  we  and  our  friends  long  laboured  for)  to  the  next 
full  and  formal  representative,  and  not  that  you  intended  to 
have  exercised  the  supreme  law-making  power.  Much  less 
that  such  ensnaring  laws  should  ever  have  issued  from 
a  House  of  Commons,  so  often  and  so  exceedingly  purged 
(intentionally  by  the  army)  for  the  freedom  of  the  Com- 


150 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


1649.] 


PETITION  FOR  A  NEW  PARLIAIVIENT. 


151 


monwealth,  as  is  your  Act  against  treason,  wherein,  con- 
trary to  the  course  of  former  Parliaments  and  to  Magna 
Charta,  so  many  things  are  made  treason,  that  it  is  ahnost 
impossible  for  any  to  discourse  with  any  affection  for  per- 
formance of  promises  and  engagements,  or  for  the  liberties 
of  the  nation,  but  he  is  in  danger  of  his  life,'  if  judges  and 
juries  should  take  it  for  good  law,  which  God  forbid. 

"Also  your  Act  for  continuance  and  receipt  of  excise, 
(which  everyone  hoped  upon  the  prevaiUng  of  the  army 
would  have  had  a  final  end),  to  trade  more  oppressive  than 
all  the  patents,  projects,  and  ship-money  put  together. 

"Also  your  Act  for  continuance  and  strict  receipt  of 
customs  was  exceeding  cross  to  exportation,  that  and  the 
other  for  excise  being  esteemed  most  destnictive  to  all 
kinds  of  commerce,  shipping,  and  navigation,  and  are  so 
chargeable  in  the  receipt,  as  that  if  what  is  disbursed  to 
oflficers  and  collectors  were  raised  in  an  ordinary  way  of 


*  The  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State   furnishes    full    confirmation  of 
this  statement  in  the  frequent  orders 
for  proceedings  against  persons  on  the 
charge   of   speaking  against  or  using 
menacing  words  against  the  Parliament 
and  Council  of  State,  and  on  suspicion 
of    treason.      There    are    also    many- 
minutes  relating  to  the  taking  down 
obnoxious    placards    that    have    been 
fixed  on  churches  and   public  places. 
Thus  on  the  22nd  of  November  1649 
we  find  the  following  ordere  :    "That 
George  Wharton  be  committed  to  New- 
gate for  suspicion  of  treason  and  that 
a  wanant  be  issued  for  that  purpose." 
*'  That  a  wan'ant  do  issue  for  the  ap- 
prehending of  John  Wingfield  for  speak- 
ing menacing  words  against  the  Parlia- 
ment and  Council  of   State." — Oi'der 
Book  of   the   Council  of    State,  Die 
Jovis,  22  Novenibris  1649.     MS.  State 
Paper  Office.     On  the  following  day  a 


warrant  is  issued  for  the  apprehension 
of  Francis  Leyton  of  the  Charterhouse 
"for  speaking  of  words  dangerous  to 
the  Commonwealth."— /6icZ.,  Die  Vene- 
ris,  23  Nov.   1649.     Warrant  for  ap- 
prehending one  John  Hinde  for  speak- 
ing  opprobrious  language  against  the 
Parliament.— /6^fZ.,  30  Octobris  1642. 
"That    the  printed  paper  that  was 
taken    down   from    the    church    door 
in  Covent  Garden  and  brought  to  this 
Council  be  reported  to  the  House  by 
Col.  Wauton."     "That  the  marshalls 
be  directed  to  pull  down  all  scandalous 
papers  that  they  shall  find  posted  up 
and   to  apprehend   all   such   as  shall 
countenance   the    same." — Ihid.,    Die 
Saturni,  17  Novembris  1649.      A  man 
like   their  Attorney- General  Prideaux 
would  perhaps  have   sought  to  make 
out  reading  or  even  looking  at  these 
posters    to    be     "  countenancing    the 
same." 


% 


subsidies,  it  would  go  very  far  towards  the  public  charge, 
which  it  was  hoped  you  would  have  seriously  laid  to  heart, 
and  have  prepared  a  way  to  have  eased  the  nation  of  both, 
and  to  have  raised  all  public  moneys  by  way  of  subsidies.* 

*'  It  was  also  expected  upon  the  prevailing  of  the  army, 
and  the  reduceraent  of  this  honourable  House,  that  the 
printing  presses  should  have  been  fully  opened  and  set  at 
free  liberty,  for  the  clear  information  of  the  people,  the  stop- 
ping of  them  having  been  complained  of  as  a  great  oppression 
in  the  bishops'  times,  and  in  the  times  of  the  late  unpurged 
Parliament,  rather  than  such  an  Act  against  all  unlicensed 
printing,  writing,  or  publishing,  as  for  strictness  and 
severity  was  never  before  seen  in  England,  and  is  ex- 
tremely dissatisfactory  to  most  people. 

"  What  a  sad  thing,  we  beseech  you,  is  it,  that  it  should 
be  thus  in  this  nation,  in  the  first  year  of  England's  liberty, 
(as  you  would  have  it  esteemed),  which  in  our  apprehension 
exceeds  in  misery  and  thraldom  the  worst  of  England's 
bondage.  For,  besides  what  hath  been  mentioned,  what  is 
more  frequent  than  to  examine  men  against  themselves,  to 
imprison  men  by  votes  of  committees,  to  seize  upon  men's 
persons  by  pursuivants  and  messengers,  to  swear  men 
against  themselves  ;  taxes  and  impositions  never  so  high, 
and  soldiers  ^  (not  civil  ofiicers)  set  to  gather  them,  to  the 
terror  of  the  people ;  and,  upon  the  least  denial,  either 
violence  or  an  imprisonment  certainly  ensueth  ;  lawyers  in 
eiffect  are  said  to  rule  all,  the  laws  are  trod  under  foot  by 


*  The  celebrated  Marquis  of  Halifax 
in  a  tract  intituled  "  An  Essay  upon 
Taxes  calculated  for  the  present  Junc- 
ture of  Affairs,  1693,"  endeavours  to 
show  the  mischievous  as  well  as  unjust 
nature  of  the  excise,  in  place  of  which 
method  of  raising  money  he  proposes 
' '  that  of  the  antient  way  of  subsidy, 


upon  a  true  pound  rate,  according  to 
the  wisdom  and  constant  practice  of 
our  ancestors,  as  the  most  equal,  most 
reasonable,  and  most  suitable  to  our  con- 
dition," 

2  I  have  given  some  instances  of  this 
from  the  minutes  of  the  Order  Book  of 
the  Council  of  State. 


152 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


tbem,  and  wrested  to  what  sense  they  please/  and  law- 
suits extended  beyond  all  reason,  in  respect  of  time  and 
charge  ;  then  (as  is  verily  supposed)  having  evaded  the 
clear  intentions  of  this  House,  and  perverted  the  just  in- 
tentions of  the  army,  poor  impotent  prisoners  for  debt  and 
small  oiFences  abound,  and  starve  in  prisons,  through 
poverty  and  the  cruelty  of  lawyers  and  gaolers,  and  the 
poor  abroad  even  perish  for  want  of  employment,  and 
through  the  excessive  price  of  food,^  and  few  or  none  lay 
these  things  to  heart ;  and  if  any  do,  and  become  pas- 
sionately affected  therewith,  and  but  speak  their  minds 
freely  thereof,  or  (as  hath  been  usual  and  commendable) 
endeavour  to  get  people  together  in  meetings,  and  propose 
petitions  for  redress,  the  Puritans  were  never  more 
reproached  in  the  bishops'  times,  nor  the  Independents  and 
Anabaptists  in  the  late  defection  of  Parliament  than  now 
all  such  are,  with  more  odious  titles  (or  the  same  in 
a  more  odious  form)  as  Atheists,  Levellers,  Libertines,  in- 
troducers of  monarchy,  anarchy,  and  confusion  ;  which 
are  poisoned  arrows  shot  principally  at  us  and  our 
friends,  though  most  unjustly,  none  hating  or  abhorring 
either  the  principles  or  the  practice  more  than  we  or 
our  relations. 

"  To  om*  understandings  this  is  truly  our  miserable 
condition,  and  the  sad  condition  of  the  Commonwealth, 
and  which  is  the  more  grievous,  because  in  a  time  when 
upon  promise  in  the  presence  of  God  and  with  appeals  to 
His  most  righteous  judgments,  we  justly  expected  the 
clearest  and  largest  freedoms,  with  even  a  total  redress  of 
all    grievances,   and  which  is  no   small    addition    to    our 

*  Some  remarkable  examples  of  this  ^  These    statements    are   confirmed 

will  be  seen  in  the  trial  of  Lilburne       by  the  evidence  of  various  minutes  in 
which  follows.  the    Order    Book   of    the   Council  of 

State. 


1649.] 


PETITION  FOR  A  NEW  PARLIAMENT. 


153 


sorrow,  that  we  are  wounded  thus  sorely,  by  the  hands 
whence  we  expected  our  most  perfect  cure. 

"  So  that  w^hat  to  say  or  do,  we  are  exceedingly  to  seek, 
and  therefore  we  most  humbly  and  ardently  beseech  the 
divine  goodness  to  vouchsafe  you  a  true  Christian-like 
spirit  of  condescension,  whereby  you  may  be  inclined  to 
appoint  some  impartial  persons  to  inform  our  understand- 
ings aright  of  many  things  here  complained  of,  that  if  we 
be,  we  may  appear  to  have  been  mistaken,  professing  from 
our  consciences,  that  as  yet  we  are  confirmed  in  these  our 
apprehensions  of  things,  not  only  from  our  own  reasons, 
but  from  the  declarations,  promises,  and  engagements  of 
parliaments ;  and  we  trust,  this  way  of  reasoning  out  of 
differences  will  appear  more  like  unto  the  ways  of  God, 
than  by  force  or  threats  to  stop  our  mouths,  or  suppress 
our  understandings. 

"  Also  that  God  will  soften  your  hearts,  that  you  may 
instantly  look  back  from  whence  you  are  fallen,  to  the 
just  ends  for  which  the  army  reserved  you  together,  and 
then  we  would  beseech  you  to  render  up  unto  the  people 
their  long  withheld  right  of  new  elections,  and  a  new 
elected  parliament ;  and  to  fulfil  your  promises  concerning 
Magna  Charta,  and  the  Petition  of  Right.''  ^ 

On  the  same  day,  the  23rd  of  October,  Colonel  Robert 
Lilburne  presented  another  petition  from  himself,  in  which, 
after  alluding  to  the  failure  of  the  petition  presented  the 
day  before  in  his  own  and  his  sister's  name  in  behalf  of 
his  dear  brother,  and  adding,  "  yet  so  strong  are  my 
afiections  towards  him,  not  only  as  a  brother,  but  as  con- 
fident of  his  integrity,  and  that  he  hath  been  very 
serviceable  formerly  in  his  generation,  though  possibly 
accompanied  with   human   frailties,   but    also  exceedingly 

»  State  Trials,   vol.    iv.   pp.   1427-1430. 


154 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


afflicted  Tvith  the  long-continued  sufferings  of  his  faithful, 
dear,  and  now  almost  distracted  wife,"  and  further  stating 
his  belief  that  if  the  proceedings  against  his  brother  should 
be  suspended  for  some  reasonable  time  he  should  be  able  to 
prevail  with  him  to  give  no  further  disturbance  to  the 
Government,  he  says :  "  And  therefore  as  an  humble 
servant  and  faithful  soldier  of  yours,  for  whose  safety  and 
preservation  I  have  often  readily  adventured  my  life,  I 
have  taken  the  boldness  again  to  presume  upon  your 
serious  affairs,  and  most  humbly  and  earnestly  to  entreat, 
as  the  only  favour  that  ever  you  intend  towards  me,  that 
you  would  be  pleased  to  vouchsafe  upon  this  my  humble 
suit,  that  my  dear  brother's  trial  may  for  some  reasonable 
time  yet  be  suspended."  ^ 

Upon  the  delivery  of  this,  Mrs.  Lilburne,  perceiving 
that  nothing  would  satisfy  them  but  her  husband's  life, 
and  having  been  extremely  shocked  by  the  revilings  and 
threats  of  the  members,  but  especially,  says  the  contem- 
porary report,  "old  Mr.  Valentine  that  used  her  most 
unworthily  and  basely,"  went  home  to  the  Tower  to  her 
husband  in  a  half-distracted  condition,  and  with  much  im- 
portunity, in  the  bitterness  of  her  spirit,  besought  her 
husband  to  stoop  as  low  as  possibly  he  could  for  the  safety 
of  his  life,  in  the  preservation  of  which  hers  was  locked 
up.  "  Her  bitter  mourning  and  crying  "  says  the  report, 
"  and  the  beholding  the  anguish  of  spirit  of  her  that  had 
been  so  faithful  and  hazardous  a  yoke-fellow  to  him  in  his 
above  seven  years'  sorrow,  wrung  from  him,  with  much 
a-do,"  a  letter  to  the  Speaker  which  is  dated  from  the 
Tower  24th  Oct.  1649,  and  in  which  he  says,  *'  Honoured 
Sir ;  As  a  man  being  somewhat  at  present  confounded  in 
myself,  through  a  strong  confidence  in  my  own  innocency 

»  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  pp.  1431,  U32. 


1649.] 


JOHN  LILBURNE'S  LETTER  TO  THE  SPEAKER. 


155 


(having   suffered    above    measure,   but  intentionally  done 
injury  to  none)  and  pressed  under  with  the  importunity  of 
friends,   especially    with  the   heart-breaking  sighs  of    my 
dear,   but  even   half- distracted  wife  ;    as    when    my    late 
children  lay  in  a  most  disconsolate  condition  (which  ended 
their  lives)  your  House  did  me  the  favour  to  grant  me  my 
liberty  to  visit  them,  which  I  think  was  the  saving  of  her 
life  :   So  now  greater   importunities  lying  upon  me  from 
divers,  and  her  that  is  dearer  to  me  than  many  lives,  I  as 
earnestly  entreat  you  to  move  your  House,  in  the  most 
effectual  manner  you  can,  that  my  trial    (so   suddenly  in- 
tended) may  for  some  reasonable  time   be  suspended,  that 
so  I  may  have  time  to  hear   and  consider  what  many  of 
them  say  they  have  to  offer  by  way  of  reason   and  argu- 
ment to  persuade  me  to  what  at  present  my  conscience  is 
not  convinced  of  ....... 

Upon  the  knowledge  of  the  acceptance  of  which,  during 
all  that  time  of  suspension  of  trial,  I  do  hereby  faithfully 
promise  not  in  the  least  to  disturb  those  that  shall  grant 
me  this  favour."  ^  This  letter  however  was  of  no  avail, 
and  only  added  to  his  wife's  sorrow.  So  that  Lilburne 
got  his  friends  to  prevail  on  her  to  go  into  the  city  and 
there  to  keep  her  till  his  trial  was  over. 

I  have  repeatedly  had  occasion  to  notice  the  sensitiveness 
of  the  Government  on  the  subject  of  the  expression  of  any 
opinions  except  such  as  were  favourable  to  themselves.  In 
regard  to  the  liberty  of  the  press  they  had  all  along  been 
as  arbitrary  and  tyrannical  as  Henry  the  Eighth  or  Arch- 
bishop Laud ;  but,  in  the  atrocious  act  which  has  been 
cited,  and  which  adjudged  what  by  the  English  law  was 
merely  liable  to  the  punishment  of  libel  to  be  high  treason, 
they  not  only  went  beyond  any  former  English  tyrant,  but 

»  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  pp.  1432,  1433. 


156 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


beyond  themselves.  What  the  Star  Chamber,  directed  by 
the  savage  intolerance  of  Laud,  had  punished  with  the 
pillory,  and  mutilation,  they  punished  with  death ;  at  least 
they  sought  to  punish  with  death,  for  they  found  that  an 
English  jury  would  not  carry  out  their  law,  and  this  very 
fact  proves  that  the  people  were  disposed  so  far  to  take 
Lilburne's  advice  as  "  not  to  side  with  or  fight  for  the 
chimeras,  fooleries,  and  pride  of  the  present  men  in  power/' 
And  chimeras  they  were,  the  imaginations  that  those  men 
or  any  of  them  entertained  that  the  government  they  had 
established  was  a  republic,  and  that  it  would  last.  I  do 
not  say  that  an  actual  republic — a  democracy— such  as 
Lilburne  and  his  friends  denominated  the  Levellers  aimed  at 

would  have  secured  the  end  of   good  government— but 

it  would  at  least   have  had   the   merit   of   being   what  it 
called  itself.     It  might  have  been  a  tyranny  no  less,  or  it 
might  have  fallen  to  pieces  at  once  ;  but  it  would  not  have 
been  an  ohgarchical  tyranny  under  the  name  of  a  republic. 
Moreover  there  is  one  thing  that  seems  a  little  strange. 
Even  the  panegyrists  of  Vane  and   Marten   do  not   claim 
more  for  them  than  that,  after  the  battle  of  Worcester,  to- 
wards the  close  of  the  third  year  of  their  Commonwealth, 
they  began  to  have  doubts  respecting  Cromwell's  designs. 
Now  long  before  that  time,  more  than  two  years  before,  Lil- 
burne had  declared,  in  several  of  his  publications  that  the 
"  false  Saint  Oliver/'  as  he  calls  him,  was  aiming  at  the 
supreme  power.     His  very  words  read  against  him  at  this 
trial  in  October  1649  actually  came  to  pass  to  the  very 
letter,  three  or  four  years  after  they  were  written  and  pub- 
lished.    "The  present  contest  of  the  present  dissembling 
interest  of  Independents  for  the  people's  liberties  in  general" 
-   he  says  *'  is  merely  no  more  but  self  in  the  highest,  and  to 
set  up  the  false  saint,  and  most  desperate  apostate,  mur- 


1649.]    LILBURNE'S  PREDICTIONS  RESPECTING  CROMWELL.        157 

derer/  and  traitor,  Oliver  Cromwell,  by  a  pretended  elec- 
tion of  his  mercenary  soldiers,  under  the  false  name  of  the 
godly  interest,  to  be  King  of  England,  (that  being  now  too 
apparently  all  the  intended  Hberties  of  the  people  that  ever 
he  sought  for  in  his  life) ;  that  so  he  might  rule  and  govern 
them  by  his  will  and  pleasure,  and  so  destroy  and  evassalize 
their  lives  and  properties  to  his  lusts  :  which  is  the  highest 
treason  that  ever  was  committed  or  acted  in  this  nation  in 
any  sejise  or  kind;  either,  1.  in  the  eye  of  the  law:  or, 
2.  in  the  eye  of  the  ancient  (but  yet  too  much  arbitrary) 
proceedings  of  Parliament  :  or,  3.  in  the  eye  of  their  own 
late  declared  principles  of  reason  (by  pretence  of  which, 
and  by  no  rules  of  law  in  the  least,  they  took  away  the 
late  king's  head)."  ^ 

Now  Lilburne  published  this  in  the  summer  of  1649, 
and  the  very  men,  who  now  in  October  1649  sought  to 
destroy  him  for  promulgating  such  opinions,  such  men  as 
Bradshaw,  Vane,  Marten,  Scot,  when  at  last  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  memorable  20th  of  April  1653    opened  their 


*  In  his  *'  Legal  Fundamental  Liber- 
ties of  England,"  p.  1,  Lilburne  says, 
"  I  positively  accuse  Mr.  Oliver  Crom- 
well for  a  wilful  murderer  for  murder- 
ing Mr.  Richard  Arnold  near  Ware." 
To  which  the  Attorney-Greneral's  answer 
was,  '  *  Which  man,  my  lord,  was  con- 
demned for  a  mutineer  by  a  council  of 
war,  where  the  Lord- Lieutenant  of  Ire- 
land was  but  one  member  ;  and  the 
Parliament  gave  him  and  the  rest  of 
the  Council  thanks  for  shooting  that 
mutinous  soldier  to  death  ;  and  yet 
Mr.  Lilburne  calls  him  murderer  there- 
fore ;  and  this  is  laid  to  my  Lord- 
Lieutenant's  charge  for  his  part."  In 
answer  to  the  Attorney- General  Lil- 
burne talked  of  the  Petition  of  Right, 


and  cited  the  case  of  the  Earl  of  Straf- 
ford, which  in  fact  is  not  a  pamllel 
case. — State  Trials^  vol.  iv.  pp.  1367, 
1368.  This  charge  of  murder  against 
Cromwell  is  one  of  the  weakest  points 
of  Lilburne's  case. 

2  From  * '  An  Impeachment  of  High 
Treason  against  Oliver  Cromwell,  and 
his  son-in-law  Henry  Ireton,  esquires, 
members  of  the  late  forcibly-dissolved 
House  of  Commons  ;  presented  to  pub- 
lic view,  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  John 
Lilburne,  close  prisoner  in  the  Tower 
of  London,  for  his  real,  true  and 
zealous  affections  to  the  liberties  of 
his  native  country,"  page  5,  cited  in 
State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  pp.  1359,  1360. 


^ 
Tt 


158 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


1649.] 


''SELF  IN  THE  HIGHEST." 


159 


eyes,   must  have  been    forced    to    admit    that    Lilburne^s 
opinion  of  Cromwell  was  right  and  that  theirs  was  wrong. 
Marten,  when  he  saw  his  beloved  oligarchy,  which  he  called  a 
republic,  destroyed,  precisely  as  Lilburne  had  predicted  four 
years  before,  might  feel  when  too  late  that,  when  making 
jokes  on  John  Lilburne  for  the  amusement  of  CromweU,  he 
somewhat  resembled  the  fowl  comfortably  at  roost  on  the  boa 
constrictor,  though  destined  for  part  of  that  animal's  supper. 
The  cause  of  Lilburne's  seeing  the  truth   so  much   sooner 
may  have  been  this.      Lilburne,  who  was  unquestionably 
an  acute,  observing,  clear-sighted  man,  had  occasion  to  see 
Cromwell  under  circumstances  more  calculated  to  bring  out 
his  whole  character  than   those  under   which    the   parlia- 
mentary men  who  were   not  soldiers   saw   him.     To   the 
latter  he  could  wear  a  mask,  or  even  a  mask  within  a  mask. 
Now  it  would  happen  at  times  that   all   his   masks    would 
drop  off  or  be  thrown  aside  in  the  tumult  of  those  stormy 
debates  that  sometimes   occurred  in  the  councils  of   the 

officers  of  the  army. 

Lilburne   has   himself    described   one   of   those    stormy 
scenes  in  a  passage  which  has   an  instructive  significance, 
and  which  hke  that  already  quoted  is   one   of    those  pro- 
duced against  him  at  his   trial   by  the   Attorney- General 
"  But  alas,  poor  fools  ! "  he  says,  "  we  were  merely  cheated 
and  cozened,  it  being  the  principal  unhappiness  to  some  of 
us,  as  to  the   flesh,  to   have   our  eyes   wide  open,  to   see 
things  long  before  most  honest  men   came  to   have    their 
eyes  open.     And  this    is  that  which  turns  to   our    smart 
and  reproach,   and   that   which    we    commissioners  feared 
at   the  first,   viz.        That  no  tie,    promises,    nor    engage- 
ments   were    strong    enough   to    the  grand  jugglers   and 
leaders    of    the    army,   was  now   made  clearly  manifest; 


for  when  it  came  to  the  Council,  there  came  the  general, 
Cromwell,  and  the  whole  gang  of  creature-colonels,  and 
other  officers,  and  spent  many  days  in  taking  it  all  to 
pieces,  and  there  Ireton  showed  himself  an  absolute  kino- 
if  not  an  emperor  ;  against  whose  will  no  man  must  dis- 
pute. And  then  Shuttlecock,  Eoe  their  scout,  Okey,  and 
Major  Barton  (where  Sir  Hardress  Waller  sat  president) 
began  in  their  open  council  to  quarrel  with  us,  by  givin^y 
some  of  us  base  and  unworthy  language  ;  which  procured 
them  from  me  a  sharp  retortment  of  their  own  baseness 
and  unworthiness  unto  their  teeth,  and  a  challenge  from 
myself  into  the  field.  Besides,  seeing  they  were  like  to 
fight  with  us  in  the  room  in  their  own  garrison,  which 
when  Sir  Hardress  Waller  in  my  ear  reproved  me  for  it,  I 
justified  it,  and  gave  it  him  again,  for  suffering  us  to  be  so 
affronted.  And  within  a  little  time  after,  I  took  my 
leave  of  them  for  a  pack  of  dissembling,  juggling  knaves, 
amongst  whom  in  consultation  ever  thereafter  I  should  scorn 
to  come  (as  I  told  some  of  them)  ;  for  there  was  neither 
faith,  truth,  nor  common  honesty  among  them.  And  so 
away  I  went  to  those  that  chose  and  entrusted  me,  and 
gave  publicly  and  effectually  (at  a  set  meeting  appointed 
on  purpose)  to  divers  of  them,  an  exact  account  how  they 
had  dealt  with  us,  and  cozened  and  deceived  us  ;  and  so 
absolutely  discharged  myself  from  meddling  or  making  any 
more  with  so  perfidious  a  generation  of  men,  as  the  Great 
Ones  of  the  army  were  ;  but  especially  the  cunningest  of 
Machiavehans,  commissary  Henry  Ireton.''  ^ 

If  Lilburne's  view  of  the  character  of  Ireton  be  accepted 
as  the  true  one,  Ireton's  ulterior  designs  must  be  considered 
as   not  less   fatal   to  constitutional    liberty  than  those  of 

1  From  Lilburne's    "Legal  Funda-       and  vindicated,"  page  35,  cited  in  State 
mental  Liberties  of  England  asserted       Trials,  vol.  iv.  pp.  1368,  1369. 


160 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


Cromwell.     But  I  am  still  of  the  opinion  expressed  in  a 
former  page  that  Ireton  was   sincere   in  his  profession  of 
political  faith,  and  that  though   a  fanatic  in  his  way,  "  self 
in  the  highest,''  to  use  Lilburne's  happy  expression,  was 
not  his  god  as  it  was  that  of  Cromwell.      In   regard   to 
Cromwell  "  the  grand  juggler,"  and  his  "  gang  of  creature- 
colonels,''  there  is,  as  I  have  said,  an  instructive  significance 
in  the  passage   I   have  quoted  above.      Cromwell's  whole 
nature  was  so  thoroughly  imbued  with  craft,  that  when  we 
consider  that  his  unsleeping  vigilance  in  the  contrivance  of 
snares  was  assisted  by  great  natural  sagacity  and  astute- 
ness,   by  promptitude   of  decision  and  unbounded  daring, 
we  see  that  he  gradually  must  have  enveloped  the  men  who 
sat  and  talked   at  Westminster   in  net  within  net,  like  so 
many  flies  in  the  wide-spread  and  powerful  web  of  a  huge 
and  active  spider.      The  fact  is,  that  even  with   much  less 
employment  of   spider   machinery    Cromwell  might    have 
accomplished  his  end.     The  victorious   general  of  an  army 
which  has  rendered  itself  all-powerful  can  always   make 
himself  supreme  if  he  be  so  minded.      Washington  might 
have  done  so,  if  "  self  in   the   highest "   had  been  his  god. 
In  1782,  AVashington  refused,  "with  great  and  sorrowful 
surprise  "    (these  were  his  words)   the   supreme  power  and 
the  crown,  which  certain  discontented  officers  offered  him. 
A  far  greater  soldier  than  either  Washington  or  Cromwell, 
Hannibal,  might  have  had,  according  to  the  worshippers  of 
successful  crime,  a  more  glorious  end,  if,  after  the  battle  of 
Cann^,  he  had  turned  his  victorious  army  to  the  destruction 
of  his  own  country's  constitution,   such  as   it  was.      But 
Hannibal,  though  making  no  pretensions,  like  Cromwell,  to 
saintship,  was  content   to  employ  his  unequalled   strategic 
genius  in  overreaching  and  destroying  enemies  who  were  on 
their  guard  against  him,  not  in  overreaching  and  destroying 


1649.] 


"SELF  IN  THE   HIGHEST." 


161 


friends  and  colleagues  who  trusted  him.  And  in  strancre 
contrast  to  the  English  Christian,  the  Carthaginian  heathen 
to  borrow  the  eloquent  words  of  Arnold,  -  from  his  child- 
hood to  his  latest  hour,  in  war  and  in  peace,  through  glory 
and  through  obloquy,  amid  victories  and  amid  disappoint- 
ments,  ever  remembered  to  what  purpose  his  father  had 
devoted  him,  and  withdrew  no  thought  or  desire  or  deed 
from  their  pledged  service  to  his  country. "^ 

There  is   an  English  word,  treachery,  which  means  per- 
fidy,  that  IS,  breach  of  faith,  or  breach  of  trust.     There  is 
another  English  word,   treason,  which  means  a  breach  of 
faith  or  of  trust  against  the  State,  in  other  words  treachery 
not  against   a  private  individual,   but   against   the  public 
individual,  or  body  of  individuals,  as  representing  all  the 
individuals  composing  the  State  or  nation.     But  there  is  a 
particular  kind  of  this  treachery,  perfidy,  or  breach  of  trust 
agamst  the  State,  for  which  the  English   language  happily 
has  no  name,  but  which  in  the  French  language  ha^  received 
the  name  of  coup  d'etat     The  particular  act  which  has 
received  this  fine  name  is  an  act  of  perfidy,  treachery    or 
breach  of  trust  against  the  State,  performed  by  some  i^di- 
vidual  placed  in  a  position  of  special  trust,  and  therefore  of 
extraordmary  power  ;  which  position  oflen  enables  him  to 
make  his  treachery  or  treason  successful.     Charles  I    at- 
tempted some  acts  of  this  kind,  but  his  brains  were  far  from 
equal  to  the  successful  performance  of  them.    Now,  although 
to  overreach  and  destroy  friends  who  trust  you  and  are  off 
their  guard  is  a  far  easier  business,  and  requires  far  smaller 
abilities,  than  to  overreach  and  destroy  armed  enemies,  who 
are  watching  all  your  slightest  movements,  it  still  requires 
a  certain  portion  of  ability,  chiefly  of  that  kind  which  can 
simulate  friendliness,   frankness,   and  truthfulness  towards 


*  AmoUl's  History  of  Rome,  vol.  iii.  p.  .387. 


M 


162 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


men  whom  you  intend  to  destroy.    Of  this  fa<iulty  there  are 
many  degrees.     The  man,  who  possesses  it  in  the  highest 
degree  will  not  use  any  more  falsehood  than  is  absolutely 
necessity  for  the  attainment  of  his  ends.    He  wUl  not,  like 
Jonathan  Wild  in  Fielding's  story,  put  his  hands  into  his 
friend's  pockets,  even  when  he  knows  there  is  nothing  in 
them,  or,  like  the  Count,  pack  the  cards,  when  he  knows  his 
adversary  ha^  no  money.     He  will  not  be  a  habitual  bar, 
quack,  or  renegade,  whom  no  man  of  common-sense  would 
trust.     Oa  the  contrary,  he  will  be  a   man  with  qualities 
that,  besides  making  him  loved  by  his  wife  and  children, 
will  make  him  liked,  honoured,  and  trusted  by  many  politt- 
cal  and  military  comrades,  with  whom  he  wUl  live  for  many 
years  on  terms  of  confidence  and  friendship,  and  then,  when 
his  time  comes,  wiU  some  day  suddenly  turn  round  upon 
them  and,  with  the  name  of  the  God  of  Truth  on  his  lips, 
ruin   them  and    their   cause.     Such    a   man    was    Oliver 

Cromwell. 

It  will  be  more  convenient  to  give  the  narrative  of  the 
trial  of  John  Lilburne  in  a  separate  chapter.     But  in  con- 
nection with  that  trial  I  will  observe  here  that,  although  I 
have  compared  the  Council  of  State  in  some  points  to  the 
Star  Chamber,  I  should  be  doing  an  act  of  gross  injustice 
if  I   did  not  also  carefully  mark  the  essential  points  of 
difference.     The  Star  Chamber  took  what  may  be  called  a 
mean  as  well  as  cruel  revenge  on  those  who  opposed  its 
tyranny    The  Council  of  State  was  tyrannical  too  and  vin- 
dictive agaiast  what  appeared  to  it  the  audacity  with  which 
Lilburne    disowned    and    defied   its    authority.     But    the 
members  of  the  Council  of  State  were  honourably  distm- 
guished   from   all  the   other   tyrants  whom  history   has 
recorded.  The  Star  Chamber  scourged,  mutilated,  imprisoned 
in  distant  fortresses,  and  dared  not  submit  their  cause  to  a 


-...■li^i-iiM.'te-.*.  .■».rf.<!i.'-iAiaabfc-Jt.rfiftrt»-.»  JteaBfeisaMW^aaaw'feiia  t« 


1649.] 


THE  COUNCIL   OF  STATE. 


163 


jury  of  Englishmen.     The  tyrants  of  other  countries  and 
other  times  rid  themselves  of  troublesome  opponents  by 
secret  assassination,  as  well  as  judicial  murder.     The  men 
of  the  Council  of  State  of  1649  in  England  pursued  their 
revenge  in  a  different  fashion.     They  had  high,   brave, 
English  hearts  ;  and  what  they  did,  whether  for  good  or 
evil,  they  did  like  men,   not  like  ignoble  wild  beasts   or 
assassins.    Even  in  England  before  their  time,  the  captivity 
of  a  king  or  of  a  king's  son  was  but  a  step  distant  from 
his  assassination.     But  though  with  them  too  the  king's 
captivity  was  the  path  to  his  grave,  and  though  his  trial 
was  not  an  act  of  justice,  his  execution  was  the  act  of  brave 
men,   not    of    cowardly   assassins,    like    the    murders   of 
Edward  II.,  of  Kichard  II.,  and  of  the  sons  of  Edward  IV. 
Those   men    erred,    and  in  some  points  grievously;    and 
grievously   did   some  of  them  answer  for    their  errors  ; 
nevertheless  Englishmen  will  never  forget  that  they  raised 
England  from  what  the  Stuarts  had  made  it,  a  name  of 
scorn  among  the  nations,  to  be  a  name  to  call  up  very  dif- 
ferent emotions,  a  name  that,  humanly  speaking,  connoted 
invincibility,    a   name    "famous   and    terrible    over    the 
worid." » 

Besides  their  exertions  against  open  enemies,  such  as  the 
KoyaUsts  in  arms,  and  political  adversaries,  such  as  John 
Lilburne,  the  CouncU  of  State  had  abundance  of  other  work 
on  their  bands.  There  are  minutes  from  time  to  time 
about  the  "  scavengery  "  of  the  streets,  aud  "  the  nuisance 
—the  common  sewer."  The  streets  being  undrained  as 
well  as  unpaved,  the  rain  descending  in  small  torrents  from 
the  waterspouts  and  mingling  with  the  filth  and  offal  from 
the  houses,  converted  them  into  a  quagmire.  The  project- 
ing upper  stories  of  the  houses  in  the  lanes,  and  in  many 

■  These  are  the  words  applied  by  Clarendon  to  the  Parliamentanr  army. 

M    2 


164 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


parts  even  of  the  maia  streets,  almost  meeting  overhead 
shut  out  both  light  and  air.  The  consequences  were 
stanch,  disease,  and  death,  the  plague  being  then  never 
altogether  out  of  London. 

But  the  Council  of  State  had  other  nuisances  to  contend 
with.      Amid   the  fogs  and  darkness  of    the  month    of 
November,   1649,  which  succeeded  Lilburne's  trial,  "rob- 
bers and  thieves  "  appear  to  have  given  them  much  trouble. 
After  nine  o'clock  even  in  ordinary  times  during  the  early 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century  it  was  unsafe  to  walk  the 
streets   of   London.       Passengers    were    insulted,    robbed, 
wounded,   and  sometimes  killed.       A  sheriffs  officer    m 
making  a  civil  arrest,  had  often  to  be  backed  by  a  band  of 
well-armed  followers  ;  and  the  night-watchmen  and  con- 
stables  had   an    office    proportionately   dangerous.      Such 
bein..  the  case  in  ordinary  times,  the  evil  was  necessarily 
much  increased  by  the  long  civil  wax,  which  had  taken 
many  persons  from   their  usual  occupations,  and  thrown 
them  loose  to  swell  the  numbers  of  those  who  lived  upon 
be.-ary  or  plunder.     The  disorders  of  times   long  past, 
handed   down  upon   doubtful  or   imperfect  evidence,   and 
exaggerated  or  coloured  by  writers  who,  like  certam  rheto- 
ricians, are  content  to  draw  upon  their  imaginations  for 
their  facts,  are  apt  to  be  sometimes  discredited  altogether, 
or  considered  as  belonging  only  to  the  romance  of  history. 
However,  of  the  condition  of  London  and  the  surrounding 
districts  in  this  month  of  November,  1649,^  the  minutes 
of  the  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State  furnish  a  pic 
ture  which,  that  I  may  not  be  tempted  in  the  smallest 


1  "That  an  order  be  drawn  up 
against  to-morro>v  in  the  afternoon  for 
the  prohibiting  of  the  walking  in  the 
streets  after  [blank  in  orig.]  of  the 
night."— Orrfe?-  Book  of  the  Council  of 


State,  Die  Jovis,  22  November,  1649. 
MS.  State  Paper  Office.  The  hour 
after  which  the  streets  were  unsafe 
specified  in  Somers'  Tracts  and  other 
authorities  was  9  o'clock. 


^^smmiBgm^ 


1649.] 


BUSINESS  OF  THE  COUNCIL  OF  STATE. 


165 


degree  to  colour  or  exaggerate  it,  I  will  give  in  the  words 
of  the  original. 

A  minute  of  the  14th  November  1649  sets  forth  the 
following  facts  and  provisions  '  respecting  those  facb?. 

"  Whereas  there  are  daily  great  robberies  and  outrages 
committed  not  only  in  the  highways  on  passengers  travelling 
on  their  lawful  occasions,  but  also  many  houses  broken  open 
and  murders  committed,  whereby  the  very  trade  atid  com- 
merce of  this  commonwealth  is  in  danger  to  be  ruined  : 
for  prevention  therefore  of  such  mischiefs  in  the  future  it  is 
ordered  that  the  directions  following  be  put  in  due  execution. 

"  1 .  That  of  the  two  regiments  upon  the  guards  for 
London  and  Westminster  the  officers  take  care  to  send  out 
ten  men  out  of  every  troop  daily  eight  miles  to  scour  the 
roads  about  London,  viz.  Kumford,  Epping,  Waltham, 
Barnet,  Uxbridge,  Brentford,  Shooter's  Hill,  Kingston,  and 
Croydon  roads. 

"  2.  That  twenty  horse  ^  be  upon  the  guard  upon  every 
road  in  two  several  guards  which  are  to  correspond  one 
with  another  by  scouts. 

"  That  every  constable  provide  an  able  guide  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  several  roads  and  ways  and  an  able  horse 

»  By    a    former    minute    of    24th  Council  to  be  from  them  presented  to 

October  1649  it  is  ordered  ''that  it  be  the    House."  —  Order  Book    of   tJte 

referred  to  the  committee  that  consults  Council  of   State,   Die    Mercurii,    24 

with  the  officers  of  the  army,  to  whom  October,  1649.  MS.  Stat«  Paper  Office, 
are  to  be  added  for  this  purpose  only  2  j^  describing  in  a  former  page  the 

the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Great  arms  of  the  "horse,"  I  ought  to  have 

Seal,  the  Chief  Justices  of  both  benches,  added   that   they   sometimes   at   least 

and  the  Lord  Chief  Baron,  to  consider  were  armed  with  musquetoons  as  well 

how  the  soldiers  may  be  assistant  to  as  pistols,  as  appears  from  the  foUow- 

the  civil  power  for  preventing  of  the  ing  passage  of  Ludlowe's  Memoirs  :- 

robberies  murthers  and  outrages  com-  *'  The  committee  of  Irish  affairs  raised 

mitted    upon    the    highways  and    in  also  a  troop  consisting  of  a  hundred 

houses,  and  to  consider  of  some  reward  horse  to   accompany  me,  and   armed 

and  encouragement  to  be   given  them  them  with  back,  breast,  head-pieces, 

for  that  purpose,  and  that  they  also  pistols,  and  musquetoons."— i/iM^^o^g'i 

draw  up  an  Act  to  be  offered  to  the  McTnoirs,  p.  128,  folio.    London,  1751. 


166 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


to  the  end  the  said  guide  so  accommodated  may  (upon  any 
robbery)  give  speedy  notice  to  the  next  guards  and  so  con- 
duct them  in  pursuit  of  the  robbers  as  occasion  may  require, 
and  that  upon  notice  the  justices  of  peace  respectively  give 
order  to  the  constables  for  the  doing  thereof,  the  charge  of 
the  same  to  be  borne  by  the  respective  towns. 

"3.  That  no  soldier  pass  above  five  miles  from  his 
quarter  but  by  a  pass  from  the  field  officer  or  chief  officer 
present  with  the  regiment. 

"  4.  That  the  officer  of  every  troop  and  party  that  shall 
have  the  charge  of  any  guard  for  this  service  give  order 
every  night  to  all  innkeepers  alehouse-keepers  or  victuallers 
that  shall  lodge  travellers  to  give  an  account  to  the  officer  of 
the  guard  in  writing  of  the  number  of  all  guests  that  lodge 
in  every  such  inn  and  alehouse  or  victualling-house  with 
a  description  of  their  wearing  clothes,  with  the  marks  and 
colour  of  the  horse  of  every  person  to  be  set  down  in  writing. 
"  .5.  That  the  captain  of  every  guard  give  order  to  all 
innkeepers  that  lodge  guests  before  they  depart  such  place 
that  they  show  themselves  to  the  captain  of  the  guard  to 
be  examined  by  the  said  captain  ;  and  the  said  captain  is 
to  secure  aU  suspicious  persons  to  be  further  examined  by 
the  next  justice  of  the  peace. 

«  6.  That  the  quartering  of  the  rest  of  the  regiments  of 
horse  upon  the  several  roads  in  this  commonwealth  for  the 
purpose  aforesaid  be  referred  to  the  special  and  speedy  care 
of  his  Excellency  and  the  Council  of  War. 

«  7.  That  his  Excellency  and  Council  of  War  be  desired 
to  appoint  such  and  so  many  troops  as  by  them  shall  be 
thought  requisite  for  securing  the  highways  kc.  within 
fifty  miles  of  London  more  or  less  as  they  shall  see  cause, 
and  the  places  of  their  abode  with  such  particular  direc- 
tions and  orders  as  to  them  shall  seem  fit.     No  trooper  or 


a-n*   ^it'— .■  "-TmAaA 


fcatfcAia  ^ytj-^W.  ^yStTtS^ZSX^^iJ&a&gi  xjiSiAJ>i:wlSlKu»3i;aS^;s:i^i^ 


1649.] 


BOBBERS,  THIEVES,  AND  PIRATES. 


167 


foot  soldier  stirring  from  the  place  he  shall  be  quartered 
in  above  one  mile,  or  to  the  next  market  town,  upon  pain 
to  be  punished  by  a  Council  of  War,  unless  he  have  a  pass 
from  his  field  officer  or  the  chief  officer  then  present  with 
the  regiment ;  and  the  said  officers  eveiy  week  are  to  give 
an  account  in  writing  to  his  Excellency  and  Council  of 
War  of  their  proceedings  therein."  ^ 

While  a  portion  of  the  land  forces  was  thus  employed 
against  robbers,  a  portion  of  the  fleet  was  employed 
against  pirates.  Thus  on  the  24th  of  August  1649  Col. 
Popham  is  informed  by  the  Council  of  State  of  the  depre- 
dations committed  on  the  eastern  coast  upon  merchant 
ships,  which  are  carried  into  Dunkirk  and  Ostend  contrary 
to  treaty  ;  and  he  is  desired  "  to  go  over  to  that  coast, 
making  use  of  the  countenance  of  those  great  ships  which 
are  now  going  out,  and  to  expostulate  the  business  with 
the  governors  of  those  places.''  And  again  on  the  3rd  of 
Sept.  1649  it  is  ordered  "That  a  letter  be  written  to  the 
generals  of  the  fleet  with  information  of  some  pirates  pre- 
paring to  come  out  of  Dunkirk  to  spoil  the  fishermen." 
It  further  appears  from  the  Order  Book  that  the 
Court  of  Admiralty  was  a  good  deal  occupied  with  the 
business  of  trying  pirates,  who  abounded  considerably  in 
those  days.^ 

The  officers  of    the  Council   were   often   wounded  and 
sometimes  killed  in  the  execution  of  their  duty.      The  fol- 


*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  14  Nov.  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office.  As  a  further  illustration  of 
the  spirit  with  which  the  Council  of 
State  acted  I  am  tempted  to  give  here 
the  minute  that  immediately  follows  in 
the  Order  Book.  "  That  the  forms  of 
the  medals  which  are  now  brought  in  to 
be  given  to  the  several  mariners  who 
have  done  good  service  this  last  sum- 


mer be  approved  of — viz.  the  arms  of 
the  Commonwealth  on  one  side  with 
Meruisti  written  above  it  and  the  pic- 
ture of  the  House  of  Commons  on  the 
other." — Order  Bool:  of  the  Council  of 
State,  15  Nov.  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
24th  August,  and  3rd  and  11th  Sept. 
1649.     MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


168 


HISTOEY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


lowing  minute  describes  a  case  of  this  kind.  "  That  it  be 
reported  to  the  Parliament  that  there  hath  been  two  of 
the  officers  of  this  Council  slain  while  they  were  about 
the  execution  of  a  warrant  of  this  Council  for  the  appre- 
hension of  a  malefactor,  and  one  other  wounded,  and  all 
these  by  a  dagger,  and  that  the  Council  making  inquiry 
thereinto  do  find  that  use  of  daggers  and  pocket-pistols  do 
grow  very  common  and  the  danger  thereby  be  great : — to 
desire  the  House  to  consider  of  a  way  to  prevent  that 
mischief  by  forbidding  the  making  or  the  use  of  daggers, 
stilettos,  or  pocket-pistols."  ^ 

There  are  various  other  minutes  throwing  light  on  the 
condition  of  London  at  that  time,  and  showing  that  though 
this  government  of  a  Council  of  State  held  its  power  and 
place  by  virtue  of  a  victorious  army,  its  position  w^as  by 
no  means  one  that  indicated  a  settled  and  tranquil  state  of 
society.  The  following  minutes  and  orders  of  30th 
August  1649  may  be  given  as  evidence. 

"  That  it  be  reported  to  the  House  that  Sir  Kenelm 
Digby  is  now  in  England  without  licence  for  aught  that 
is  known  to  the  Council  and  that  they  conceive  him  a 
dangerous  man,  and  to  desire  the  House  to  declare  their 
pleasure  concerning  him." 

"  That  the  same  report  be  made  concerning  Mr.  Walter 

Montague."  ^ 


*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Die  Mercurii,  13th  Feb.  16fg. 
By  the  time  Oldham  wrote  his  imita- 
tion of  the  third  satire  of  Juvenal, 
1682,  pocket  pistols  had  become  the 
ordinary  weapon  of  the  robber.  When 
the  shops  are  closed,  he  says 
*'  Hither  in  flocks  from  Shooter's  Hill 

they  come, 
To  seek  their  prize  and  booty  nearer 

home  : 


'Your  purse  !'  they  cry  ;  'tis  mad- 
ness to  resist, 
Or  strive,   with  a  cocked  pistol  at 

vour  breast. 
And  these  each  day  so  strong  and 

numerous  grow, 
The  town  can  scarce  afford  them  jail- 
room  now." 
2  Order    Book    of    the    Council  of 
State,  30th  August,  1649.     MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 


1649.]       THE  KING'S  PLATE   CONVERTED   INTO   COIN,  &c.         169 

"  That  a  warrant  be  issued  for  the  seizing  of  a  cabinet  in 
the  custody  of  Mrs.  Sbepheard  [wife  of  a  tailor]  in  Wliyte 
Fryars  belonging  to  some  of  Sir  Robert  Heath's  sons."  ^ 

"  That  all  the  keys  of  all  the  gates  and  doors  of  St. 
James's  Park  and  of  all  back  doors  into  the  same  be 
delivered  unto  Colonel  Pride;  and  that  all  the  doors 
belonging  to  private  houses  that  come  into  the  park  be 
also  railed  up;  and  that  a  warrant  be  also  issued  to 
Colonel  Pride  for  that  purpose."  ^ 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Earl  of  Pembroke  to 
let  him  know  of  what  course  is  taken  about  the  doors  of  St. 
James's  Park ;  and  that  it  is  done  for  the  safety  of  the 
Council  that  there  may  be  no  attempt  upon  the  garrison."  ^ 

On  the  following  day  there  was  an  order  that  the  late 
king's  plate  be  melted  down  and  converted  into  coin  ;  and 
that  the  gilt  plate  be  improved  to  the  best  advantage.  The 
hangings,  carpets,  chairs,  stools,  and  beds  were  ordered  to  be 
reserved  for  furnishing  the  lodgings  of  the  Council  of  State. 
It  was  also  ordered  at  the  same  time  "  That  rooms  at  Hamp- 
ton Court  be  reserved  furnished  for  the  use  of  the  Common- 
wealth " ;  *  i.  e.  for  the  use  of  some  score  or  two  of  indi- 
viduals who  called  themselves  the  Commonwealth. 

On  the  20th  of  September  a  sort  of  Committee  of 
Safety  was  appointed  for  six  months  with  extraordinary 
powers  for  apprehending  suspected  persons.  This  com- 
mittee consisted  of  the  Lord  General  (Fairfax),  the  Lord 
President  of  the  Council  of  State  (Bradshaw),  Mr.  Scott, 
and  Sir  William  Armyue."  ^ 


*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  30th  August,  1649.  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 

*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  30th  August,  1649.  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 

*  Order    Book    of    the  Council    of 


State,  30th  August,  1649. 

*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  31st  August,  1649. 

*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  20th  Sept.  1649.  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 


170 


HISTORY   OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


This  government  of  England  in  the  year  1649,  which 
year  they  were   pleased  to  denominate  "  the  first  year  of 
England's    liberty/'     determined,  like    other    despotisms, 
whether    of  one  or  of  a  few  or  of  many,  to   be  its  own 
news  writer.     On  the  21st  of  September  it  was  ordered 
by    the   Council     of    State      "That    Mr.     Frost      (their 
secretary)  shall  be   the  person   whom  the    Council    doth 
authorize  to  publish  intelligence  every  week  upon  Thursday 
according  to  an    Act    of    Parliament    to  that  purpose.''^ 
Only    two  days    before    they    had    issued    a    warrant  to 
apprehend  Charles  Collins  "for  publishing  a  treasonable 
and     seditious   libel  intituled   The    Outcry    of    the    Ajp- 
prentices,''  ^      It  may  be  superfluous  to  say  that  Milton's 
noble  defence  of  the  freedom  of  the  press,  of  the  liberty 
of  unlicensed  printing,  had    no   influence   on   the  Parlia- 
ment   to    whom    it  was    addressed.      It  was  treated  by 
them    pretty    much    as   John    Knox's    arguments    for  a 
suitable  provision  for  the  Church  of  Scotland  were  treated 
by  the    nobility  of   Scotland.      In  such    times   the    argu- 
ments of  men,  who  do  not  wield  the  sword  as  well  as  the 
pen,  avail  nothing.      Indeed  it  may  be  contended  on  the 
part  of  those  statesmen  who  then  governed  England,  that 
at  such  a  time  they  had  no  choice,  and  that,  if  they  had 
not  done  all  that  was  in  their  power  to  hinder  the  press 
from  being  employed  in  the  service  of  their  adversaries, 
they  would    have  shown  themselves  to    be   pedants   and 
dreamers   and  not  statesmen.      But  however  this  may  be, 
there  can  be  no  question  that  they  committed  a  blundering 
as  well  as  a  tyrannical  act,  when  they  attempted  to  make 
bare  words  treasonable  and  punishable  with  death. 

If,  what  with  political  adversaries,  with  pirates,  robbers, 

»  Order    Book    of    the   Council  of  ^  Qrder    Book    of    the  Council    of 

State,  21st  Sept.  1649.      MS.  State        State,  19th  Sept.  1649. 
Paper  Office. 


1649.]    LODGINGS  IN  WHITEHALL  FOR  COUNCIL  OF  STATE.    I7l 

and  thieves,  and  with  unscavengered  streets,  the  members 
of  the  Council  of  State  did  not  live  at  home  altogether  at 
ease,  while  Cromwell,  Ireton,  Michael  Jones,  and  others 
roughed  it  in  Ireland,   they  evidently  took  thought  how 
to   make   themselves  as  comfortable  as  circumstances  per- 
mitted.     I  do  not  think  Mrs.  Hutchinson  has  thought  fit 
to  make  any  mention  of  such  matters  as  the  following  : 
"  That  all  the  members  of  the  Council  of  State  that  have 
lodgings  in  Whitehall  shall  have  hangings  and  accommoda- 
tions   for  those    lodgings  out  of  the  £10,000    worth    of 
goods  (the  late  king's)  reserved  for  the  use  of  the  State.''  • 
"  That  the  Earl  of  Pembroke  be  added  to  the  committee 
for  providing  accommodation  in  Whitehall  for  the  members 
of  this  Council."  ^     «  That  several  warrants  be  issued  to 
Mr.    Kinnersley  to  furnish   the   lodgings  of  Col.    Wanton 
and  Col.    Hutchinson   in  Whitehall  out  of  the   dt^l  0,000 
worth  of  goods  reserved  for  the  State.''  ^     "That  the  door 
into  the  gallery  out  of  St.  James's  Park  be  made  up  and 
a  lock  set  upon  the  door."  *     "  That  all  the  members  of 
the  Council  shall   have  keys  of  the  garden  at  Whitehall. 
That    the    secretary  shall    also    have   a    key   to   the  said 
garden .     That  Mrs.  Hamden  (sic)  shall  have  a  passage  into 
St.   James's    Park  and  that    she  be    desired    to    have  a 
care  who  passes  through  by  means  of  that  key."  *     John 
Milton  appears   to  have  been   in  especial  favour  with  his 
masters,  the  Council  of  State.      On  the  ]  9th  of  November 
164i9    it  is    ordered    "That    Mr.    Milton   shall  have   the 


1  Order    Book 

of    the 

Council  of 

State,    8th   Nov. 

1649. 

MS.    State 

Paper  Office. 

2  Order    Book 

of    the 

Council   of 

State,   8th    Nov. 

1649. 

MS.  State 

Paper  Office. 

3  Order    Book 

of   the 

Council    of 

State,   8th    Nov. 

1649. 

MS.    State 

Paper  Office. 

*  Order    Book    of   the   Council    of 
State,  Die  Mercurii,  24  Octob.  1649. 
This  I  suppose  was  the  raised  gallery 
that  crossed  the  street. 

^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  15th  Sept.  1649.  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 


172 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


lodgings  that  were  in  the  hands  of  Sir  John  Hippesley  in 
Whitehall  for  his  accommodation,  as  being  secretary 
to  the  Council  for  foreign  languages/'^  The  following 
minute  corroborates  what  appears  from  other  minutes,  and 
shows  that  Milton's  duties  as  secretary  were  not  con- 
fined to  foreign  languages.  "  That  a  warrant  be  issued  to 
Mr.  Milton  and  to  Mr.  Sergeant  Dendy  to  view  the 
books  and  papers  of  Mr.  Clement  Walker  that  are  seized 
at  Kensington  and  such  others  as  he  hath  here  in 
Westminster  or  elsewhere  and  to  report  what  they  find 
therein  to  the  Council/'^ 

This    Clement  Walker,   who,    as    one  of   the   secluded 
Presbyterian    members,  was  violently  exasperated  against 
the     Independents,    that    is,     the    sitting    part    of    the 
Parliament,    is    the   writer   upon   whose    authority  Hume 
states^   that    the  Parliament  from  the   commencement  of 
the    war    had    levied   in   five   years  above  forty  millions. 
Hume    does   indeed    add    that    these     computations    are 
probably  much  exaggerated.    But  whilst  he  gives  this  absurd 
and  incredible  statement  on  the  authority  of  a  writer  whose 
authority  he  says  is  very  considerable  from  his  "  being  a 
zealous  parliamentarian,"  and  omits  to  mention  that  when 
Walker  wrote  he  had  been  secluded  and  had  become  most 
bitterly  exasperated  against  the  Parliament,  his  remark  is 
none  the  less  just  that  the  taxes  and  impositions  were  far 


1  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Die  Lunse,  19th  November,  1649. 
On  the  same  day  it  is  ordered  '*  That  a 
commission  be  drawn  up  for  Charles 
Vane,  Esq.  brother  to  Sir  Henry  Vane 
to  be  his  deputy  as  he  is  treasurer  to 
the  navy  and  that  it  be  brought  in  this 
afternoon."  It  is  stated  by  Sikes  the 
friend  and  biographer  of  Sir  Henry 
Vane  that  having  been  appointed  sole 
treasurer  of  the  navy  and  considering 


the  fees,  amounting  in  time  of  war  to 
little  less  than  £20,000  a-year,  as  too 
much  for  a  private  subject,  he  gave  up 
his  patent  which  he  had  for  life  from 
King  Charles  to  the  Parliament  desiring 
only  that  £1000  a  year  should  go  to 
his  deputy  and  the  remainder  be  ap- 
plied to  the  use  of  the  State. 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Die  Mercurii,  24  Octob.  1649.. 

a  Chap.  59. 


1649.] 


EXCISE,  &c. 


173 


higher  than  in  any  former  state  of  the  English  govern- 
ment. One  of  the  worst  consequences  of  this  war  was 
the  imposition  of  the  excise,  a  grievous  and  oppressive 
mode  •  of  taxation  unknown  to  and  contrary  to  the 
principles  of  the  English  constitution.  In  a  report  to 
the  Parliament,  contained  in  the  Order  Book  of  the 
Council  of  State  "  concerning  the  moneys  arising  out  of 
the  receipt  of  the  grand  excise,''  it  appears  by  an  abstract 
of  the  accounts  delivered  to  the  Council  of  State  by  tlie 
Commissioners  of  the  Excise  "  that  there  hath  been  made 
of  the  excise  (salaries  and  other  charges  not  deducted) 
the  three  years  last  passed,  beginning  29th  Sept.  1646 
unto  29th  Sept.  1649  as  follows  ; — 


**  From  Sept.  29,  1646  to  Sept.  29,  1647    . 
Do.  1647  to        do.      1648    . 

Do.  1648  to        do.      1649    . 


.  £357,423  11  8 
.  266,094  4  10 
.     277,917    6    6*'» 


In  the  same  report  the  amount  of  "custom  and 
subsidy"  from  2Gth  March  1G49  to  8th  October  1649 
is  .£>1 38,463  5s.  O^d.  Although  it  may  be  impossible 
to  obtain  a  completely  accurate  account  of  the  money 
raised  by  the  Government  about  this  time,  it  is  evident 
that  the  abstract  given  by  Sir  John  Sinclair  in  his 
history  of  the  public  revenue,  who  considers  Walker's 
account  to  be  a  great  exaggeration,  is  much  above  the 
truth,  since,  to  take  one  item,  the  excise,  which  may 
be  considered  as  correctly  stated  above  for  three  years, 
he  estimates  the  excise  at  .^500,000  per  annum  ^  which 
is  almost  double  the  amount  set  forth  in  the  above 
quoted  official  abstract.  The  Council  of  State  appear 
from  various  minutes  in  their  Order  Book  to  have  been 
themselves  sufficiently  aware  of  the  extraordinary  charges 

»  Order    Book    of    the   Council    of  2  Sinclair's  History  of   the   Public 

State,    Die   Martis,   23  Octob.    1649.       Revenue  of  the  British  Empire,  vol.  i. 
MS.  State  Paper  Office.  p.  284. 


174 


HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


of   tlieir    government,    charges    which    were    in    a    great 
measure    unavoidable    by  reason    of   the  wars   in    which 
they  were  constantly  engaged.     In   the   afternoon  of  the 
same  day  in  which  the  above  abstract  of  the  receipts  of 
the  excise  was  laid  before   them  they  made  the  following 
minute  :  "  That  an  eifectual  letter  be  written  by  the  Council 
to  the  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland  to  let  him  know  what 
charge  we  have   been  at,  what  preparation  we  have  made 
for  Ireland,  and  how  our  treasury  is  drawn :   and  to  desire 
his  special  care  and  diligence  to  improve   the  revenue  of 
Ireland  for   the  carrying  on   of  that  service.''^      It   was 
probably  in  reference   to   the  letter  written  in  accordance 
with  this  minute  that  Cromwell  says,  in  one  of  his  des- 
patches from  Ireland  : — "  Sir,  I  desire  the  charge  of  Eng- 
land as  to  this  war  may  be  abated  as  much  as  may  be,  and 
as  we  know  you  do  desire  out  of  your  care  to  the  common- 
wealth ;  but  if  you  expect  your  work   to  be   done,  indeed 
it  will  not  be  for  the  thrift  of  England,  as  far  as  England 
is  concerned  in  the   speedy  reduction   of    Ireland,   if  the 
marching  army  be  not   constantly  paid.      The  money  we 
raise  upon  the  counties  maintains  the  garrison  forces,  and 
hardly  that ;  if  the  active  force  be  not  maintained,  and  all 
contingencies  defrayed,  how  can  we  expect   but  to   have  a 
lingering  business  of  it  ?     Surely  we  desire  not  to  spend  a 
shilling  of  your   treasury  wherein  our   consciences  do  not 
prompt  us.     We  serve  you,  we  are  willing  to  be  out  of  our 
trade  of  war,  and  shall  hasten   (by  God's   assistance  and 
grace)  to  the  end  of  our  work,  as  the  labourer  doth   to  be 
at  his  rest.     This  makes  us  bold  to  be  earnest  with  you  for 
necessary  supplies,   that   of  money  is   one  ;  and  there  be 
some  other  things  which   indeed  I    do  not  think  for  your 

^  Order   Book   of    the    Council    of      MS.  State  Paper  Office. 
State,   23    Octob.    1649,    a   Meridie. 


1650.] 


ESTIMATE  OF  THE   FLEET   FOR   1650. 


175 


service  to  speak  of  publicly,  which  I  shall  humbly  represent 
to  the  Council  of  State,  wherewith  I  desire  we  may  be 
accommodated."  CromweU  then  winds  up  after  his  fashion 
with  an  exhortation  "to  fear  the  Lord,  to  fear  unbelief  and 
self-seeking/'  Was  this  hypocrisy  ?  Or  did  Cromwell 
really  believe  that  there  was  no  self-seeking  in  him  ?  Or, 
being  a  clear-sighted  man  and  knowing  that  it  abounded  in 
him,  did  he  sincerely  pray  to  God  to  be  delivered  from  it  ? 
If  he  did,  it  would  appear  that  his  prayers  as  regarded  that 
particular  were  unheard  or  unheeded. 

In  the  beginning  of  the   month  of  January  1 6f§  an 
estimate  was  brought  in  of  the  charge  of  fitting  and  setting 
out  a  fleet  of    44    men-of-war  and   28   merchant    ships, 
manned  with  8082  men,^  to  serve  for  eight  months  on   the 
narrow  seas,  as  a  summer's  guard  for  the  year  1650.     The 
House  approved  of  this  estimate,  amounting  to  <£'886,220, 
and  ordered  the  commissions  of  their  three  admirals.  Pop- 
ham,  Blake,  and  Deane,  to  be  renewed  for  the  whole  year. 
The  names  of  all  the  ships  intended  for  this  summer's  guard 
are  entered  on  the  journals.     Three  of  these  ships  being 
styled  the  PHnce,  the  Charles,  and  the  Mary,  the  House 
ordered  that  it  be  referred  to  the  Council  of  State  to  give 
other  fit  names  to  those  ships.^     If  their  care  for  constitu- 
tional liberty  was  open  to  many  doubts,  they  were  deter- 
mined to  extinguish  all  traces  of  the  monarchy  which  they 
had  abolished. 

The  Parliament    having   received    letters   from   General 
Cromwell,  lord-lieutenant  of  Ireland,  from  Major-General 


*  Some  estimate  may  be  formed  of 
the  number  of  men  in  each  of  the 
larger  ships  from  a  minute  of  the 
Council  of  State  which  specifies  "  4  of 
the  great  ships  appointed  by  this  Coun- 
cil to  be  set  to  sea  manned  with  the 


number  of  1000  men." — Order  Booh 
of  the  Council  of  State,  22  March, 
:64|.  MS.  State  Paper  Office.  I 
suppose  this  means  1000  men  for  the 
4  great  ships— 250  men  for  each  ship. 
'  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  p.  1344. 


176 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


Ireton,  and  from  Lord  BrogliiU,  dated  at  Cork,  the  18tli 
and  1 9th  of  December,  passed  a  resolution  on  the  8th  of 
January,  that  the  said  Lord-Lieutenant  be  desired  to  come 
over,  and  give  his  attendance  in  Parliament :  and  that  the 
Council  of  State  do  prepare  a  letter  to  be  read  to  him  for 
that  purpose,  to  be  signed  by  the  Speaker;  and  at  the 
same  time  to  render  him  the  thanks  of  the  House  for  his 
great  service  and  faithfulness  to  the  Commonwealth.      On 
the  same  day  a  Bill,  which  had  been  some  time  depending, 
for  settling  certain  lands  upon  Cromwell  and  his  heirs,  was 
reported  to  the  House  and  ordered  to  be  read  a  second  time.^ 
Cromwell's  services  may  certainly  be  said  to  have  been  far 
greater  than  either  Ireton's   or  Vane's.     Nevertheless  the 
contrast  between  his  conduct  and   theirs  in  regard  to  the 
acceptance  of  Parliamentary  grants  cannot  be  overlooked. 
While   Cromwell  readily  accepted   votes  of  ^^6500^    per 
annum  in  land,  a  handsome  residence  at  Whitehall,  the  use 
of   the  palace   at  Hampton    Court,  and    other  provisions 
from  the  Parliament,  Ireton  absolutely  refused  the  grant  of 
c£>2000  per  annum  in  land,  and  Vane  voluntarily  gave  up 
in  consideration  of  his  country's  necessities  his  very  lucra- 
tive appointment  of  treasurer  of  the  navy,  and  even  refunded 
<£>2500,  being  the  moiety  of  what  he  had  received  from  the 
time  the  Parliament  had  made  him  sole  treasurer.^     Such 


1  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  p.  1345. 

'  This  would  make  at  that  time  one 
of  the  largest  rentals  in  the  possession 
of  a  subject.  The  Duke  of  Bucking- 
ham's rental,  which  was  reckoned 
exorbitant,  is  stated  by  Pepys  in  1669 
to  have  been  £19,600  a  year.  Pepys 
gays  "  The  Duke  of  Buckingham's  con- 
dition is  shortly  this  :  that  he  hath 
about  £19,600  a-year  of  which  he 
pays  away  about  £7000  a  year  in 
interest,  about  £2000  in  fee  farm-rents 
to  the  King,  about  £6000  in  wages  and 


pensions,  and  the  rest  to  live  upon  and 
pay  taxes  for  the  whole."— Pep^/s' 
Diary,  Feb.  14,  1668-9.  It  may  be 
mentioned  as  an  example  of  the  gross 
inaccuracy  of  satirists  that  Pope  in  a 
note  on  his  lines  on  this  Duke  oi 
Buckingham,  erroneously  describing 
him  as  dying  '4n  the  worst  inn's 
worst  room,"  describes  him  as  *' having 
been  possessed  of  about  £50,000  a 
year." 

3    Sikes,    after  saying  that  at  the 
beginning   of   the   war  with   Holland 


1650.]      PARLIAMENT   OF   COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.         177 

is  the  effect  always  when  «  self  in  the  highest "  predomi- 
nates. We  see  it  in  many  forms.  But  it  presents  itself 
very  prominently  in  the  spectacle  of  what  a  politician,  a 
lawyer,  and  sometimes  but  far  more  rarely  a  soldier  will  do 
that  they  may  have  money  enough  to  support  the  dignity 
of  a  peerage. 

On  the  10th  of  January  the  House  ordered  their 
Attorney-General  to  prepare  a  patent  to  be  passed  under  the 
great  seal  of  England,  appointing  Major-General  Ireton  to 
be  President  of  the  province  of  Munster,  he  observing  such 
instructions  as  should  be  given  him  by  the  Parliament, 
Council  of  State,  or  the  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland  for  the' 
time  being.^ 

On  the  30th  of  January,  upon  the  Lord  Grey's  report 

from  the  Council  of  State,  that  they  had  agreed  that  the 

style  to  be  used  in  all  transactions  with  foreign  Powers 

should  run  thus,   -  Reipublic^  Anglicanse  Ordines,"  unless 

the  Parliament  thought  fit  to  appoint   any  other ;    after 

debate  it   was  resolved,    "  That    in    aU  negotiations    and 

transactions  with  foreign  States,  the  style  or  title  to  be 

used  should  be,  '  Parliamentum  E^ipublicse  Anglise  : '  that 

the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  great  seal  be  required  to 

pass,  under  the  great  seal  of  England,  several  commissions 

m  common  form,   mutatis  mutandis,  to  the  two  agents  ap. 


Vane  resigned  his  treasureship  of  the 
navy  which  during  that   Dutch   war, 
would  have  amounted  to  near  £20,000 
a  year,  adds— "  He  had  also  long  before 
this,  upon  the  self-denying  ordinance 
(little  observed   by  others)    refunded 
five  and  twenty  hundred  pounds,  for 
public  uses,   being  the  moiety  of  his 
receptions  in  the  said  office,  from  such 
time  as  the  Parliament  had  made  him 
sole  treasurer,   who,   before  the  war, 
was  joined   with   another   person."— 
Life  and  Death  of  Sir  Henry  Vane, 


Knight,  1662.  Ludlowe  says  he  was 
very  much  blamed  by  his  good  friend 
Sir  Henry  Vane  for  preventing  the  sale 
of  Hampton  Court.  Vane  said  *'that 
such  places  might  justly  be  accounted 
amongst  those  things  that  proved 
temptations  to  ambitious  men,  and 
exceedingly  tend  to  sharpen  their 
appetite  to  ascend  the  throne." — Lud- 
lowe's  Memoirs,  p.  258,  folio.  Lon- 
don, 1751. 

»  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  p.  1345. 


N 


178 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


pointed  by  the  Council    of  State,  to  be  employed  to  Spain 
and  Portugal :  and  tLat  the  style  and  title  of  every  address 
to  the  Parliament  from  foreign  princes  and  States  shall 
be,  '  The  Parliament  of  the  Commonwealth   of  England, 
and  no  other  style  or  title  whatsoever." ' 

On  the  31st  of  January  the  House  received  letters  from 
the  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  at  Cork,  advising  that  several 
garrisons  in  Munster  had  surrendered  to  the  Parliament  s 
forces  without  blood,  or  striking  a  strike ;  and  that  the 
army  was  in  so  good  health  that  regiments  which  lately 
marched  only  400  men,  now  marched  800  or^900;  and 
that  the  horse  were  disposed  of  into  garrisons.' 

The  time  appointed  for  the  continuance  of  the  present 
Council  of  State  expiring  about  the  middle  of  February, 
16*-^    the  House  proceeded   to    the    election   of    a  new 
Council  of  State  for  the  ensuing  year.     They  first  agreed 
that  the  number,  as  before,  should  not  exceed  41.      They 
next  read  over  a  list  of  the  names  of  the  present  Council, 
and  proceeded  to  put  the  question  upon  every  single  person ; 
when  they  were  all  re-elected  except  the  Earl  of  Mulgrave, 
the  Lord  Grey  of  Warke,  and  Sir  John  Danvers.     Besides 
these  three  vacancies,  however,  there  were  two  more  caused 
by  the   deaths   of  the  Earl  of  Pembroke   and  Alderman 
Eowland  Wilson.     There  were   thus  five  vacancies  to  be 
filled  up      The  filling  up  of  these  vaxjancies  in  the  Council 
of  State  gave  occasion  to  much  debate  and  many  divisions 
of  the  House.     On  such  occasions  the  contest  for  place 
and   power    caused    the   number    of   members  present  to 
amount  to  more  than  double  the  number  which  met  for  the 
dispatch   of    ordinary   business.       On    this    occasion   the 
number  present  was  98  ;  and   the  following  five  persons 
we  nominated  of  the  Council  of   State    for   the   year 


1  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  ui.  P-  1345. 


2  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  p.  1845. 


1650.]  ELECTION  OF  COUNCIL   OF  STATE  FOK  1650.  179 

ensuing,  Mr.  Thomas  ChaUoner,  Mr.  John  Gurdon,  Col 
Herbert  Morley,  Sir  Peter  Wentworth,  the  Lord  Howard. 
"The  question  being  propounded  that  Sir  Henry  Yane 
senior,  be  one  of  the  CouncH  of  State  for  the  year  ensuing  ;' 
and  the  question  being  put,  ("the  previous  question -),  that 
that  question  be  now  put ; 

"  The  House  was  divided. 

"  The  Noes  went  forth. 


"  Colonel  Ludlow 
"  Colonel  Martin 
'*  Sir  William  Armyn, 
"  Sir  John  Trevor, 


54 


44 


TeHers  for  the  Noes:) 
"With  the  Noes, 

Tellers  for  the  Yeas  : 
1  With  the  Yea.s, 
"So  it  passed   with  the  negative."     Philip    the   new 
Earl  of  Pembroke  was  rejected  without  a  division. ' 

The  Parliament,  as  before  mentioned,  having  desired 
CromweU  to  come  over  into  England,  made  an  order  on 
the  25th  of  February,  "That  His  ExceUency  have  the 
use  of  the  Ibdgings  called  the  Cockpit,  the  Spring  Garden, 
St.  Jameses  House,  and  the  command  of  St.  James's 
Park.'' 

During  the  months  of  April  and  May  the  Parliament 
signahsed    themselves  by  legislation  on  which  it  will  be 
necessary    to    make   some    observations.      In    April    they 
passed  an  Act  "  For  inflicting  certain  Penalties  for  breach 
of  the  Lord's  Day  and  other  Solemn  Days."     By  this  Act 
no  person  was  to  use  or  travel  with  boat,  horse,  coach,  or 
sedan,    except   to    church,    upon  pain   of   IO5.     The  like 
penalty  was  inflicted  for  being  in  a  tavern,   alehouse,  &c. 
Where  distress  could  not  be  found  sufficient  to  satisfy  the 
respective  penalties,  the  offender  was  to  sit  in  the  stocks 


*  Commons'  Journals,  Die  Mercurii, 
20°  Februarii,  16*1.  This  division 
is  given   here   partly  to  show  to  the 


general  reader  the  meaning  of  what 
is  called  ''Tub  Previous  Question  " 
which  is  often  misunderstood. 

N    2 


180 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


six  houi-s      In  May  an  Act  was  passed  for  suppressing  the 
detestable    sins    of  incest,   adultery,  and  fornication      Of 
this  Act  the  most  material  provisions  were  these :  That  all 
persons  guilty  of  incest  shaU  suffer  death,  without  benefit 
of  clercry  ;  that  incestuous  marriages  shall  be  void,  and  the 
chMvm  illegitimate :  that  adultery  shall  also  be  deemed 
felony,    and  punished    with    death ;    but    this    shall   not 
extend  to  every  man  who,  at  the  time  of  committing  such 
offence,  did  not  know  the  woman  to  be  married  ;  nor  to 
any  woman  whose  husband  shall  be  three  years  absent  from 
her  so  a.s  she  did  not  know  him  to  be  living.     In  case  of 
formication,  both  parties,  for  the  first  offence,  were  to  suffer 
three   months'   imprisonment  without  bail,   and  also  give 
security  for  their  good  behaviour  for  one  whole  year  after. 
Every    common  bawd,  for   the  first   offence,   was   to  be 
openly  whipped,  set  in  the  pillory,  and  there  marked  with 
a  hot  iron  in  the  forehead  ;  also  to  be  committed  to  the 
house  of  correction  for  three  years  without  bail,  and  until 
sufficient  security  be  given  for  good  behaviour  during  life  : 
and  the  persons  a  second  time  found  guilty  of  the  la^t 
recited  offences  were  to  suffer  death.  ^ 

In  addition  to  this,  the  Long  Parliament  put  down  all 
public  amusements  whatever.     There  might  undoubtedly  be 
much  that  was  objectionable  in  bear-baiting   as  weU  as  m 
sta-e-plays ;    but  they   did  not   consider    sufficiently    the 
necessary  consequences  of  their  purblind  fanatical  tyranny. 
And  yet  they  might   have   reflected,  from  what  they  had 
themselves  seen  only  some  ten  years  before  in  the  fate  of 
Archbishop   Laud's  attempt   to  enforce   conformity  to  his 
notions    of   religious   doctrine   and    discipline,    what    was 
likely  to  be  the  ultimate  fate  of  a  similar  attempt  on  their 
part.     In  some  points  too  their  attempt  was  even  more 

1  Scobell,  121. 


1660.] 


PURITAN  LEGISLATION. 


181 


dangerous   than  his.     For   if  amusements  are   prohibited, 
vices   are  apt  to  take  their  place.      Where  the  theatre  is 
closed  and  all  public  amusements  are  put  down,  the  tavern 
takes  the  place  of  the  theatre,  and  cards  and  dice  are  sub- 
stituted   for    stage-plays    and    farces.^     I   have  no    doubt 
that  such    consequences    followed    the   legislation    of    the 
Long    Parliament  —  I    mean    among    the    people   during 
the  period    before    the   Restoration — for  with    regard    to 
the   irruption    of    profligacy    that    made    its    appearance 
at   the    Restoration    in    the    Court    circle,    that    I    think 
had    a    remoter    origin    than    the    Puritan  legislation    of 
the  Long  Parliament;  though  that  legislation  may  have 
undoubtedly   had    its    effect  in   giving    to    it  an  added 
impulse. 

Every  one  with  the  least  experience  of  life  must  have 
known  cases  of  some  of  the  greatest  reprobates  having  been 
those  who  were  subjected  in  their  youth  to  such  discipline 
as  formed  the  Puritan  code.  There  is  one  case  of  this  kind 
belonging  to  this  time  which  has  a  curiously  melancholy 
interest,  and  furnishes  another  illustration  of  the  remark 
that  truth  is  stranger  than  fiction. 

There  was  a  certain  Presbyterian  divine,  by  name 
Stephen  MarshaU,  who  was  held  in  high  repute  among  the 
leading  men  of  the  Long  Parliament,  and  bore  a  prominent 
part  in  those  long  prayers,  aud  still  longer  preachings,  with 
which  that  Parliament  diversified  their  secular  business. 
When  John  Pym  lay  on  his  deathbed,  Stephen  Marshall 
attended  him,  and  also  preached  the  sermon  at  Pym's 
funeral,    in    which    he   gave  a   narrative  of  some  of  the 


*  When  Prynne  wrote  his  Histrio- 
mastix  and  condemned  utterly  the 
theatre  as  an  amusement,  he  should 
have  recollected  that  every  man  had 
not  like   himself  an  amusement  that 


never  failed  in  writing  a  sheet  for 
every  day  of  his  life.  Between  the 
tyranny  of  the  Stuarts  and  the  tyranny 
of  th«  Puritans  it  was  rather  a  hard 
choice. 


182 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


particulars     of    the    great    parliamentary     leader's    last 
moments,   telling  his  audience,   which   included    all    the 
members    of  Parliament  in    London,    with    what    "  clear 
evidence  of  God's  love  in  Jesus  Christ  and   subjection  to 
God's  will "  Pym  met  death  ;  and  how  he  declared  to  him 
(Marshall)  "  that  if  he  died  he  should  go  to  that  God  whom 
he  had  served,  and  who  would  carry  on  his  work  by  some 
others.''^      Some  twenty  years  after  this  time,  when  a 
strange  change  had  come  over  the  aspect  of  England  since 
that  day,  we  6nd  some  facts  recorded  by  Pepys  respecting 
two  daughters  of  Stephen  Marshall  which  were  enough  to 
make  their  father's  bones  move  with  horror  in  their  grave. 
Pepys  in    his    Diary    frequently   mentions    as    celebrated 
actresses  of  that  evil  time,  when  actress  and  courtesan  were 
convertible  terms,  Anne  Marshall  and  her   younger   sister 
Becke.^     Their  career  was  probably  the  effect,  so  often  ob- 
served, as  to  be  called  the  natural  effect,  of  religious  exercises 
carried  to  an  immoderate  excess  to  the  total  exclusion  of  all 
even  innocent  amusements.     The  result  of  such  a  course  of 
discipline  is  intense  disgust  for  the  discipline  itself,  and  a 
violent  desire,  amounting  to   a   sort   of  insane  passion,  to 
rush  into  the  very  worst  of  all  the  long   and   sternly-for- 
bidden  pleasures.     This  is  an  extreme,  at  least  a  remark- 
able case  :  since  the   daughters  were  as  celebrated  as  act- 
resses at  a  time  when   as  Lord  Macaulay  has   said,  ''  the 
comic  poet  was  the  mouthpiece  of  the  most  deeply-corrupted 
part  of  a  corrupted  society,"  as  the  father  had  been  as  a 


^  Stephen  Marshall's  sermon  preached 
before  the  Parliament  at  the  funeral  of 
Mr.  Pym,  4to,  1644.  This  Stephen 
Marshall  is  the  first  of  the  five  minis- 
ters (Stephen  Marshall,  Edmund  Ca- 
lamy,  Thomas  Young,  Matthew  New- 
coraen,  William  Spinstow)  of  whose 
names  the  first  letters  made  the  word 


Smectymnuus,   celebrated  in  the  con- 
troversies of  those  times. 

2  Under  date  Oct.  26th,  1667, 
Pepys  says,  "Mrs.  Pierce  tells  me  that 
the  two  Marshalls  at  the  King's 
house  are  Stephen  Marshall's  the  great 
Presbyterian's  daughters." 


iiaaaB.ija'^tf^Sjnfl  a  -■■!'.'  -aaf-m"  ■■,^'X  J^iifo.-*.^  laaS'i 


1650.]  TWOFOLD  CHARACTER  OF  THE  PURITAN  REBELLION.      183 

Puritan  divine  and  preacher.  But  even  the  average  result 
would  be  that  the  bending  the  bow  so  forcibly  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  conventicle  would  be  its  rebounding  as  forcibly 
in  the  opposite  direction. 

It  seems  to  be  a  law  of  human  nature  that  all  govern- 
ments, unless  when  under  strong  pressure  from  without, 
should  make  a  job  of  appointments,  that  is,  should  appoint 
persons  to  offices  for  other  reasons  than  their  fitness  for  such 
offices.  There  is  reason  to  think  that  even  Oliver  Cromwell, 
who  knew  better  than  most  men  the  value  of  the  right 
jnan  in  the  right  place,  when  the  brunt  of  the  war  was  over, 
in  the  disposal  of  any  considerable  officer's  place,  looked  not 
so  much  at  the  man's  valour  as  at  his  opinions.^  And  the 
two  greatest  rulers  that  England  ever  had,  Queen  Elizabeth 
and  Oliver  Cromwell,  in  the  selection  of  a  successor,  showed 
no  more  discrimination  and  foresight  than  the  feeblest  and 
most  short-sighted  of  the  sons  or  daughters  of  Adam. 
Elizabeth  had  an  intelligent  agent  at  the  Court  of  James 
in  Scotland  who  kept  her  well  informed,  as  his  despatches 
prove,  of  what  passed  there,  and  she  must  have  known 
what  manner  of  man  she  was  imposing  as  a  king  upon 
England.  Yet  such  was  her  prejudice  in  favour  of  kings 
that  she  considered  all  men  not  bom  kings  as  "rascals''  in 
her  phraseology,  and  declared  that  "no  rascal"  but  the 
thing  which  at  tliat  time  in  Scotland  "  the  semblance  of  a 
kingly  crown  had  on  "  should  be  her  successor  on  the  throne 
of  England.  And  Oliver  Cromwell,  although  he  knew 
that  he  with  all  his  capacity  and  valour  could  hardly  keep 
his  seat,  so  far  forgot,  we  may  say,  all  his  former  self  as  to 
imagine  that  his  son  Richard  could  succeed  him.  It  took 
a  struggle  of  near  a  hundred  years*  duration  to  repair  the 
mistake  of  Elizabeth,   for  it  was  supported    by  a  gigantic 

1  Richard  Baxter's  Life  by  Himself.     Part  I.  p.  57,  folio.     Loudon,  1696. 


184 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


array  of  blind  and  barbarous  prejudices  that  carried  with 
them  the  force  of  an  old  religion.  Oliver's  mistake  as 
far  as  it  regarded  the  choice  of  his  son  Eichard  was 
repaired  in  almost  as  many  hours,  but  as  it  regarded 
wider  interests  than  those  of  the  ftxmily  of  CromweU, 
it  left  consequences  lasting  and  disastrous,  and  will 
remain  to  all  time  one  of  the  most  remarkable  "  foUies 

of  the  wise." 

Though   the    stringent    legislation    of  the    Long    Par- 
liament   against  immorality  and  against  stage-plays    and 
other  amusements  had  undoubtedly  the  effect  which  attends 
all  such  legislation,   the  deeply-corrupted  state  of  society 
which  prevailed  after  the   Eestoration  in  England  cannot 
be  justly  viewed  as  altogether  due  to  that  legislation,  but 
must  be  considered  not  as    an  innovation,   as  has  been 
usually  supposed,  but  only  as   a  restoration.     The  great 
puritan  rebellion  had    a  twofold    character.     It    was    an 
insurrection  against  tyranny  and  it  was  also  an  insurrection 
against  vice — vice  in  the  revolting  and  infamous  shape  it 
had  assumed  at  the  Court  of  James  the  First.     It  was  this 
latter  feature  of  the  insurrection  which  gave  to  it  so  much 
of  the  character  of  interfering   with    matters  beyond    its 
reach,  of  attempting  to  make  men  saints  by  Act  of  Par- 
liament, instead  of  being  content  to  confine  its  authority  to 
the    legitimate    object    of  protecting    religion    and  public 
morals  from  insult.    As  it  was,  when  the  Royalists  returned 
to  power,  a  Court  more  resembling  that  of  James  the  First 
than    that    of    Charles    the    First    returned    with    them. 
Although  the  personal  character  of  Charles  II.  difiered  very 
much  from  the  personal  character  of  James  I.,  contemporary 
writers  describe  the  character  of  the  Court  of  Charles  in 
language  very  similar  to  that  applied  by  contemporaries  to 
the  Court  of  James.      In   one    place    Pepys   writes  "  Mr. 


1649.] 


REINFORCEMENTS  FOR  IRELAND. 


185 


Povey  says  *  of  all  places,  if  there  be  hell,  it  is  here,  [at 
Court].'  "  ^  And  again  under  date  July  27th,  1667.  "He 
[Fenn]  tells  me  that  the  king  and  Court  were  never  in  the 
world  so  bad  as  they  are  now  for  gaming,  swearing, 
women,  and  drinking,  and  the  most  abominable  vices  that 
ever  were  in  the  world.''  ^  This  was  not  a  new  deluge  of 
vice,  the  creation  of  the  Puritan  legislation.  It  was  the 
fiend  returned  to  his  abode  with  all  his  evil  passions  and 
appetites  only  strengthened  by  his  temporary  expulsion, 
during  which  he  had  wandered  through  dry  places  seeking 
rest  and  finding  none. 

During  the  winter  Cromwell  received  considerable  rein- 
forcements from  England.  On  the  19th  of  October,  the 
"  report  of  the  recruits  of  foot  for  Ireland  "  having  been 
brought  in  to  the  Council  of  State,  it  was  ordered  "  That 
the  5000  recruits  be  divided  into  5  regiments.  That  for 
the  raising  and  conducting  of  each  of  the  said  regiments 
to  the  waterside  and  so  into  Ireland  there  be  appointed  by 
the  Lord-General  out  of  the  several  regiments  of  the  army 
1  major,  4  captains,  5  lieutenants,  20  sergeants,  10  drums. 
That  as  soon  as  the  said  men  are  landed  in  Ireland,  they 
are  to  be  taken  into  the  several  regiments  there,  and  receive 
pay  as  other  the  soldiers  there.  That  the  ports  where  they 
are  to  ship  the  said  men  be  Appledore  and  Minehead  for 
the  west,  Milford  Haven  for  South  Wales  and  counties  adja- 
cent ;  Liverpool  and  Chester  for  those  that  shall  march  from 
London  and  so  northward,  and  Anglesey  for  North  Wales. 
That  the  Council  give  order  that  moneys  be  sent  down  to 
the  several  ports,  to  be  there  delivered  to  the  several 
treasurers  for  the  payment  of  quarters  and  providing  of 

*  Pepys's  Diary,  vol.  i.  p.  436.     1st  *  Pepys's  Diary,  vol.  ii.  p.  99. 

4to  edition,  1825. 


186 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


shipping  and  victuals  for  transportation  as  aforesaid,  viz. 

To 

"Appledorej       ^  ^  ^  ^  ^1330 

"  Minehead  ) 

"Milford  ....  <^570 

"  Chester 


"  Liverpool 
"Anglesey  ^ 

Total 


,£>2850 


j^4750 


i>  1 


It  appears  from  the  minutes  cited  below  that  the  Coun- 
cil of  State  granted  blank  commissions  for  the  officers  who 
were  to  conduct  the  recruits  over  to  Ireland,  and  that  the 
Lord-General  had  the  power  of  filling  up  the  names    of 
the  blank  commissions  granted  by   the  Council  of  State.^ 
The  following  minute  furcher  shows  the  care  of  the  Council 
of  State  formerly  noted  to  guard  against  oppression  in  the 
way  of  soldiers'  quarters.     "  In  respect  of  the  season  of 
the  year  and  the  former  sufferings  of  the  country  by  soldiers, 
that  there  be  an  allowance  of  ScZ.  per  diem  [instead  of  6cZ. 
per  diem]  to  pay  their  quarters."  '     Colonel  Pride  was  ap- 
pointed   to    command    the    recruits    in   chief.*      On   the 

*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
19  and  25  October,  1649.     MS.  State 


Paper  Office. 

2  **  That  the  charge  of  transportation 
of  the  5000  recruits  for  Ireland  shall 
be  borne  out  of  the  deans  and  chapters' 
lands— and  that  my  Lord  General  be 
desired  to  give  out  commissions.*'  — 
Ibid.  19  October,  1649. —  "  That 
hlank  commissions  for  the  officers 
that  are  to  conduct  the  recruits  now 
to  be  sent  over  to  Ireland  be  granted 
by  the  Council  of  State."  —  Ihid. 
20  October,  1649.  Another  minute  of 
the  same  date  shows  the  principle  of 


paying  officers  adopted  by  the  Council 
— "That  the  Scout  -  Master  -  General 
shall  have  £4  per  diem  when  there  is 
any  action  in  the  field  as  he  hath  had 
hitherto.  But  for  that  there  is  no 
action  at  present  [i.  e.  in  England] 
that  he  shall  have  20s.  a  day  during 
the  time  there  is  no  action  in  the  field." 
Ihid.  20  October,  1649. 

3  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
23  October,  1 649,  a  Meridie. 

*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
23  October,  1649.  Further  by  a  mi- 
nute of  the  25th  of  the  same  month 
it  was  ordered   "  Tiiat  £200   be   im- 


1649.] 


REINFORCEMENTS  FOR  IRELAND. 


187 


8rd  of  November  a  warrant  was  issued  to  Charles 
Walley,  Esq.,  treasurer  for  the  paying  of  quarters  at 
Chester,  to  impress  all  ships  belonging  to  or  coming  into 
any  of  the  ports  of  Lancashire,  Cheshire  and  North  Wales 
for  this  service.^ 

Besides  the  5000  foot,  a  reinforcement  of  horse  was 
also  sent  to  Ireland.  On  the  15th  of  November  it  was 
ordered  "  That  the  Report  brought  in  by  the  committee  for 
the  affairs  of  Ireland  be  approved  of,  viz. 

"  That  it  be  reported  to  the  Council  in  order  to  the 
sending  of  recruits  of  horse  into  Ireland  out  of  e/ery 
troop  of  the  several  regiments  following,  viz. 

''  The  Lord  General's  regiment  of  horse. 

"  Major-General  Lambert's  regiment  of  horse 


"  Col.  Whalley's 

do. 

do. 

*'  Col.  Fleetwood's 

do. 

do. 

"  Col.  Rich's 

do. 

do. 

"  Col.  Tomlinson's 

do. 

do. 

"  Col.  Twisleton's 

do. 

do. 

"  Col.  Robert  Lilburne's 

do. 

do. 

"  Col.  Desbrow's 

do. 

do. 

«  Col.  Sanders' 

do. 

do. 

prested  to  Colonel  Pride  toward  the 
conduct  of  the  soldiers  to  the  water- 
side. That  sergeants  shall  have  12g?, 
per  diem  in  place  of  ^d.  and  that 
drums  shall  have  Qd.  in  place  of  6rf." 
On  the  same  day  it  was  ordered  **  That 
Mr.  Frost  do  write  unto  Mr.  Parker 
secretary  to  the  army  in  Ireland  to 
take  care  that  a  constant  knowledge 
may  be  given  to  the  Council  of  State 
of  all  matter  of  fact  which  passeth  in 
Ireland." — Order  Book  of  the  Council 
of  State,  25°  Octobris,  1649.  On  the 
following  day  there  is  an  order  "To 
write  to  Mr.  Walley  to  dispatch  away 
the  foot  of  Colonel  Moore  and  Colonel 


Fenwicke  with  all  expedition  to  Belfast 
if  he  can  and  with  them  so  many 
musquets  as  he  can  in  regard  there 
are  no  arms  there — but  if  it  cannot 
be  done  thither  or  that  you  cannot  arm 
them,  then  let  them  l>e  sent  to  Carling- 
ford,  to  which  place  if  they  go,  there 
will  be  no  need  of  the  said  arms.  We 
leave  it  to  you  there  to  do  it  in  such 
manner  as  you  conceive  may  be  best 
for  the  service,  but  to  send  them  away 
with  all  expedition." — Order  Book  of 
the  Council  of  State,  26°  Octob.1640. 
*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
3°  Novemb.  1649.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 


188 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


«  1.  That  there  be  20  troopers  reduced  out  of  every 
troop  of  the  said  several  regiments. 

«  2.  That  the  said  horsemen  so  to  be  reduced  be  taken 
on  for  recruits  to  go  into  Ireland,  or  so   many  of  them  as 

are  willing  to  go. 

<'  3.  That,  instead  of  such  of  the  said  recruits  of  horse 
as  shall  refuse  to  go  recruits  as  aforesaid,  the  officer  or 
officers  to  be  appointed  to  take  the  charge  of  marching 
them  to  the  waterside  and  so  into  Ireland  may  have  power 
to  entertain  any  other  well-affected  person  or  persons  that 
shall,  well  furnished  with  horse  and  arms,  be  willing  to  go 
until  the  number  be  completed. 

«4.  That  a  captain,  lieutenant,  quartermaster,  three 
corporals,  and  two  trumpets  be  chosen  by  the  colonel  of 
every  regiment  to  take  the  charge."  ^ 

Further  directions  are  added  that  the  colonels  take 
especial  care  that  the  men  save  their  pay  to  discharge  their 
quarters  tHl  they  be  shipt.  Wexford  is  appointed  as  the 
port  where  they  are  to  land  in  Ireland.  Letters  are  also 
ordered  to  be  written  to  Colonel  Blake  and  Colonel  Deane 
to  provide  convoys  at  the  several  ports  and  to  assist  the 
treasurer  for  paying  quarters  at  those  ports  to  press  and 

provide  shipping. 

On  the  1 6  th  of  November  there  is  a  minute  "  That  the 
committee  for  the  affairs  of  Ireland  do  take  care  to  advance 
^20  to  a  messenger  who  is  to  be  sent  over  into  Ireland 
express  to  the  Lord-Lieutenant  according  to  what  Mr.  Scot 
hath  moved  in  that  behalf."  '  Mr.  Scot,  whom  John  Lil- 
burne  called  their  Secretary  of  State,  was  a  very  active 
member  of  the  Council  of  State,  and  among  other  business 
committed  to  him  had  the  charge  of  the  secret  service. 

»  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 

15°  Novemb.  1649.     MS.   State  Paper      16°  Novemb.  1649.     MS.  State  Paper 


Office. 


Office. 


1650.]       IRETON  APPOINTED  LORD  DEPUTY  OF  IRELAND.         189 


CromweU  having  allowed  his  troops  to  remain  in  winter 
quarters  about  two  months,  again  took  the  field  early  in 
February.  He  made  himself  master  of  Kilkenny  and 
Clonmel,  and  many  other  places  of  less  importance.  At 
Clonmel  he  met  with  a  vigorous  resistance.  "We 
found  in  Clonmel,'*  says  one  of  his  officers,  "  the  stoutest 
enemy  that  our  army  has  encountered  in  Ireland,"  Thus 
Cromwell  had  reduced  the  greater  part  of  Ireland  to  sub- 
jection in  the  spaoe  of  about  ten  months,  from  the  middle 
of  August  1649  till  May  1650,  "a  time  inconsiderable'' 
says  a  contemporary  writer,^  "  respect  had  to  the  work 
done  therein,  which  was  more  than  ever  could  be  done  in 
ten  years  before  by  any  king  or  queen  of  England.  Queen 
Elizabeth,  indeed,  after  a  long  and  tedious  war  there,  at 
last  drove  out  the  Spaniards  that  came  in  to  the  assistance 
of  the  rebellious  natives,  but  could  never  utterly  extin- 
guish the  sparks  of  that  rebellion."  When  Cromwell  was 
recalled  from  Ireland,  there  remained  only  Limerick,  Water- 
ford,  and  some  few  inconsiderable  garrisons  to  be  reduced. 
This  business  was  left  to  the  charge  of  Ireton,  who  was 
appointed  Cromwell's  successor  in  Ireland  with  the  title  of 
Lord  Deputy,  and  performed  the  work  assigned  to  him 
with  great  ability  and  success. 

There  is  an  anecdote  preserved  by  tradition  respecting  a 
certain  bridge  in  a  remote  part  of  Ireland  which  gives  a 
very  vivid  idea  of  the  impression  which  Cromwell  left 
behind  him  in  Ireland — an  impression  not  dissimilar  to 
that  he  made  on  the  boy  Bill  Spitfire  in  Woodstock,  who 
described  his  face  as  "  a  face  one  would  not  like  to  say  No 
to."  Cromwell  seeing  the  importance  of  a  bridge  at  the 
particular  point  to  which  the  story  refers,  and  knowing 
something  of  the  habits  of  the  people  of  the  neighbour- 

'  Perfect  Politician. 


190 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  III. 


hood,  told  them  that  if  there  was  not  a  bridge  built  there 
by  the  time  he  returned  to  that  place,  he  would  hacg  a 
man  every  hour  till  the  work  was  completed.  "  They 
knew,"  says  the  story,  -  that  the  ould  villain  was  a  man 
of  his  word,  and  so  they  took  care  to  have  the  bridge 
built  by  the  time  he  came  back." 


ft^MirtJ'Ma-ttiBfjt 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE   TRIAL   OF   LIEUT. -COL.    JOHN    LILBURNE. 

On  Thursday  the  25th  of  October  1  649,  John  Lilburne 
was  brought  to  trial  at  Guildhall  before  the  extraordinary 
tribunal  specially  appointed  for  his  destruction.  The  trial 
lasted  two  days.  But  the  first  day  was  entirely  consumed 
in  preliminary  discussion  between  the  prisoner  and  the 
judges,  and  the  jury  were  not  sworn  till  the  second  day. 
At  the  opening  of  the  Court  on  the  first  day  the  Lieutenant 
of  the  Tower  of  London  brought  up  the  prisoner,  who  was 
guarded  by  a  special  guard  of  soldiers.  When  he  was 
brought  to  the  bar,  the  sheriffs  of  London  were  directed  to 
take  him  into  custody.  Lilburne  being  ordered  to  hold  up 
his  hand,  turned  to  Keble,  one  of  the  commissioners  of  the 
Great  Seal,  and  President  of  the  Court,  and  made  a  long 
speech,  in  the  course  of  which  he  introduced  some  passages 
of  his  life  that  have  a  public  interest. 

"  I  have  several  times,"  he  said  **  been  arraigned  for 
my  life  already.  I  was  once  arraigned  before  the 
House  of  Peers  for  sticking  close  to  the  liberties  and 
privileges  of  the  nation,  and  those  that  stood  for 
them,  being  one  of  those  two  or  three  men,  that  first 
drew  their  swords  in  Westminster  Hall  against  Col. 
Lunsford  and  some  scores  of  his  associates.  At  that 
time  it  was  supposed  they  intended  to  cut  the  throats 
of  the  chiefest  men  then  sitting  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons.'' On  that  occasion,  he  said,  when  arraigned  before 
the     House    of     Peers    he    had    free    liberty    of    speech. 


192 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


Again,  he  said,  with  reference  to  the  affair  at  Brentford 
when  he  as  yet  only  served  as  a  volunteer,  "  we  were  but 
about  700  men  at  Brentford,  that  withstood  the  king's 
whole  army  in  the  field  above  five  hours  together,  and 
fouf^ht  it  out  to  the  very  sword's  point,  and  to  the  butt-end 
of  the  musket ;  and  thereby  hindered  the  king  fi'om  then 
possessing  the  Parliament's  train  of  artillery,  and  by  con- 
sequence the  City  of  London,  in  which  very  act  I  was 
taken  a  prisoner,  without  articles  or  capitulation,  and  was 
by  the  king  and  his  party  then  looked  upon  as  one  of  the 
activest  men  against  them  in  the  whole  company,  yet,  said 
Lord  Chief  Justice  Heath"  (at  his  trial  at  Oxford  for 
levying  war  against  the  king)  "  we  will  not  take  advan- 
tage of  that  to  try  you  by  the  rules  of  arbitrary  martial 
laws,  or  any  other  arbitrary  ways ;  but  we  will  try  you 
by  the  rules  of  the  good  old  laws  of  England  :  and  what- 
soever privilege  in  your  trial  the  laws  of  England  will 
afford  you,  claim  it  as  your  birthright  and  inheritance,  and 
you  shall  enjoy  it  with  as  much  freedom  and  willingness, 
as  if  you  were  in  Westminster  Hall,  to  be  tried  amongst 

your  own  party And  accordingly  he    gave 

me  liberty  to  plead  to  the  errors  of  my  indictment,  before 
I  ever  pleaded  Not  Guilty  ;  yea  and  also  became  willing 
to  assign  me  what  counsel  I  pleased  to  nominate,  fi-eely  to 
come  to  prison  to  me,  and  to  consult  and  advise  with  me, 
and  help  me  in  point  of  law.  This  last  he  did  imme- 
diately  upon  my  pleading  to  the  indictment  before  any 
fact  was  proved :  all  which  is  consonant  to  the  declared 
judgment  of  Sir  Edward  Coke,  that  great  oracle  of  the 
laws  of  England,  whose  books  are  published  for  good  law 
by  special  orders  of  Parliament,  dated  May  12,  1  641,  and 
June  3,  1642."^ 

^  State  Trials,  rol.  iv.  pp.  1271,  1272,  1273. 


njJM'iaiaiigfflaaaEAt-iaawtA'.si 


,  4fA- 


1649.]        LILBURNE  SHOWS  BKADSHAWS  INCONSISTENCY.        193 

Lilburne  then  went  on  to  say—"  By  the  laws  of  this 
land  all  courts  of  justice  always  ought  to  be  free  and  open 
for  all  sorts  of  peaceable  people  to  see  and  hear  and  have 
free  acce.ss  unto;  and  no  man  whatsoever  ought  to  be 
tried  in  holes  or  corners,  or  in  any  place,  where  the  gates 
are  shut  and  barred,  and  guarded  with  armed  men :  and 
yet,  sir,  as  I  came  in,  I  found  the  gates  shut  and  guarded, 
which  is  contrary  both  to  law  and  justice." 

"Judge  Keble.     Mr.   Lilburne,   look   behind    you,  and 
see  whether  the  door  stands  open  or  no." 

"Lt.-Col.  Lilburne.     WeU  then,  sir,  I  am   satisfied  as 
to  that." 

The  prisoner  then  entered  into  a  long  argument  against 
the  legality  of  a  special  commission  of  Oyer  and  Terminer, 
and  also  of  the  constitution  of  the  Court  before  which  he' 
was  now  brought  for  trial.     He  also  attempted  to  show 
the    inconsistency    of    the   pre.sent    proceedings    of    some 
membei-s  of  the  present  Government  with  their  former  pro- 
ceedings,  thus.     "  I  say  and  aver,  1  ought  to  have  had  the 
process  of  the  law  of  England,  due  process  of  law  accord- 
ing to  the  fore-mentioned  statutes  and  precedents ;  for  I 
never  forcibly  resisted  or  contended  with  the  Parliament  • 
and  therefore  ought  to  have  had  my  warrant  served  upon 
me  by  a  constable,  or  the  like  civil  officer ;  and  upon  no 
pretence  whatsoever,  ought  I  to  have  been  forced  out  of 
my  bed  and  house  by  mercenary  armed  officers  and  soldiers 
But,  sir,  coming   to  Whitehall,  I  was  there  also  kept   by 
armed  men,  contrary  to  all  law  and  justice  ;  and  by  armed 
men  against  law,  I  was  by  force  carried   before  a  company 
of  gentlemen  sitting  at  Derby  House,   that  looked  upon 
themselves  as  authorized  by  the  Parliament  to   be  a  com- 
mittee or  Council  of  State,  (who  by  the  law  I  am  sure  in 
any  kind  had  nothing  at  all  to  do  witli  me  in  cases  of  pre- 


194 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


X      i,„-^  T   was  brought  before  Mr.   John 
tended  treasons)  where  I  was   oroug 
Bradshaw    sometime  a  counsellor  for    myself  before   the 
lottorLords.  against  my  uniust  Star-Chamber  judges; 
^  Hhere   in   my^  behalf,  Feb.   1^45     did  urge  a^m 

re   lord,    of  the  Star-Chamber,    as  the   highest    crimes 
the   lords    ot  ^^^^   ^^^j^  ^^^    ^ 

•rialcUber     should   censure    -    ^  ^e    ^^^^^^^^^ 
piUoryed,  &c.,    for    no    other   cause   but  for  r^^^^, 
answer  their  interrogatories  against   myselj      A  ^ 

T    was    brought    before    the     said     Council    ^^     *= 

laid  unto  my  charge   was  s\x.  i^  ^ui.ouc^h  I  am 

Cook  were  my  ^^^  _^^j  vehemently 

:  ll::::  ^H^tuUo.  eo.aem„  .e^^s  o^  - 

freemen,  m  ««"'""°f  ^^^^^     ^^.^  yet  notwithstanding 

questions  concerning  themse    es  ,  y  ^^^^ 

talked  with  his  dealing  with  me  in  tl^^jery       p 
Lmerly  he  had  bitterly  condemned  in  the  Star-Chamber 

'"SC   Judge   Jermin   interrupted    him,  saying-"  Mr. 
ilere   uuu„  Bradshaw  is  now   de- 

Lilbume,  you  very  well  know  Mr    c 
nominated  by  another  name,  namely.  Lord  ^~* 
Council  of  Stat,  of  England  ;  and  it  wouM  wjU  become 
vou  in   your   condition   so   to   have   styled   him.       mt 

SLl  W-.  ...n.  »y ...»  -- ;»;  r  :^ 

_-By  their  power   and   will   I    had   my   v 

I  state  Trials,  vol.  iv.  PP.  1279,  1280. 


1649.] 


LILBURNE'S  CHARGE  AGAINST  HASELRIG. 


195 


L 


% 


chamber  ^  searched  to  find  out  advantages  against  me ; 
and  was  also  locked  up  close  prisoner,  with  centinels  night 
and  day  set  at  my  door,  and  denied  the  access  and  si^rht  of 
my  wife  and  children  for  some  certain  time  ;  and  for 
about  twenty  weeks  together  in  the  heat  of  summer  kept 
close  prisoner,  and  denied  the  liberty  of  the  prison,  and  my 
estate  with  a  strong  hand  taken  away  from  me,  without 
any  pretence,  or  due  process  of  law,  to  the  value  of  almost 
dg'SOOO,  that  was  legally  and  justly  vested  in  me,  and  in 
my  possession.  But  being  I  will  avoid  (at  this  time 
especially)  provocations  as  much  as  I  can,  I  will  name  no 
person  by  whose  power  and  will  it  hath  been  done,  although 
he  be  notoriously  known ;  ^  but  the  gentleman  that  took 
it  away  by  his  pleasure,  without  all  rules  of  law  or  justice, 
told  my  father  to  this  purpose.  That  I  was  a  traitor,  and 
under  the  Parliament's  displeasure  :  and  therefore  he  would 
secure  it  from  me,  although  I  were  not  in  the  least  con- 
victed of  any  crime,  neither  in  law  then,  or  for  many 
months  after  had  I  the  least  pretence  of  crime  laid  unto 

»  ^'  That  a  warrant  be  issued  to  the  by  Lilbume,  whose  property  was  in 
Berjeant  at  arms  to  search  Lt.-Col.  that  part  of  England.  Keble  the 
Lilbume,    Mr.  Walwin,  Mr.  Overton,       president  of    the   Court  in  reference 

and  Mr.  Prince,  their  chambers,  closets,  to  this  charge,  said  ''If  there  be  any- 

trunks,  boxes,  and  other  places  to  them  thing  that  hath  been  done  by  others 

belonging,  for  all  treasonable,  seditious,  in  the  north,   there   is   no   man  here 

and  scandalous  books,  papers,  and  other  that  will  justify  them  in  their  evil  " 

writings  and  seal  them  up  and  bring  —State    Trials,    vol.    iv.    p     1285 

them  to  this  Council. "-Ord^r  ^00^0/  Now    if    Lilburne's     charge     against 

the  Council  of  State,  4th  July,  1649.  Haselrig  had  been  notoriously  the  crea- 

MS.   State    Paper    Office.         This    is  ture  of  his  own  busy  brain,  the  judge 

exactly  what  when  done  by  Charles  I.  would  not  have  referred  to  it  in  such 

led  to  the  civil  war.  terms.     M.  Guizot  in   his    Essay  on 

The  individual  here    alluded    to  Monk  describes  Haselrig  as  **arapa- 

was  Sir  Arthur  Haselrig.      The' state-  cious,      headstrong,     and      conceited 

ment  in  "  The  Mystery  of  the  Good  agitator."     He  had  more,  however    of 

Old  Cause"  charges  Haselrig  with  great  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent  than  poor 

rapacity  in  the  neighbourhood  of  New-  John  Lilbume,   whose  unresting  agi- 

castle,  of  which  town  he  was  govemor  tation   was  productive  of    much   nc 

under  the  Rump ;   and    this   lends  a  toriety  but  little  profit  to  himself, 
colour  to  the  charge  made  against  him 

o  2 


]96 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


my  charge.  And  although  my  own  estate  by  force, 
against  law,  was  taken  from  me,  yet  was  I  also  denied  in 
my  close  imprisonment  that  legal  allowance  that  should 
have  kept  me  alive  ;  for  in  all  this  miserable  condition  I 
never  yet  received  a  penny  of  my  legal  allowance."  * 

By  way  of  answer  to  Lilburne's  objections  to  the  com- 
mission, Judge  Jermin  said  :  "  For  the  commission  itself, 
it  is  in  general  for  the  trial  of  all  treasons  whatsoever.  But 
the  grand  inquest  have  found  out  no  other  traitor,  that 
they  may  accuse,  but  Master  John  Lilburne,  who  is  now 
here  at  the  bar.  But  it  is  not  a  bare  accusation,  but  it  is 
the  solemn  verdict  of  almost  a  double  jury  that  hath 
appeared  upon  the  roll ;  and  upon  their  oaths  do  conceive 
those  crimes  of  treason  that  are  laid  against  you,  to  be  of 
so  dangerous  consequence  against  the  State  and  Common- 
wealth, that  they  do  call  for  justice  against  you  as  a 
traitor  already  found  guilty.  And  therefore  I  do  require 
you,  as  you  are  an  Englishman,  and  a  rational  man,  that 
you  do  conform  yourself  and  tell  us  plainly  what  you  will 
do,  as  in  reference  to  your  putting  yourself  upon  your 
trial  by  the  law,  and  hear  with  patience  those  offences  of 
treason  that  are  laid  to  your  charge.'*^ 

But  Lilburne  fought  every  point.  He  had  desired  to 
hear  the  commission  by  which  the  court  was  instituted 
read.  *'  But,"  he  said,  "  you  have  positively  denied  me 
that.  And  therefore  I  desire  all  my  friends,  and  all  the 
people  that  hear  me  this  day,  to  bear  witness,  and  take 
notice,  that  you,  contrary  to  reason  and  common  equity, 
denied  me  to  let  me  hear  read  your  commission,  by  virtue 
of  which  you  go  about  to  take  away  my  life  ;  which  I 
cannot  choose  but  desire  them  to  take  notice,  I  declare   to 


*  State  Trials,    vol.   iv.    pp.   1280, 
1281. 


2  State  Trials,  toI.  iv.  p.  1287. 


1649.]  LILBURNE  OBJECTS  TO  THE   COMMISSION. 


197 


be  very  hard  measure. — But,  sir,  to  save  myself  from 
your  forelaid  snares  and  desired  advantage  against  me,  1 
will  come  a  little  closer  to  the  business.  You  demand  I 
should  hold  up  my  hand  at  the  bar  ;  and  I  know  not  what 
it  means,  neither  what  in  law  it  signifies.  It  is  true,  I 
have  read  the  most  part  of  the  laws  that  are  in  English, 
which  I  take  to  be  the  foundation  of  all  our  legal  English 
privileges  ;  and  in  them  I  cannot  find  anything  that  doth 
clearly  declare   unto   me   the  full  signification   or  meaning 

of  a  man's  holding  up  his  hand  at  the  bar 

In  which  regard,  for  me  to  hold  up  my  hand  at  the  bar 
before  I  understand  the  true  signification  of  it  in  law, 
(which  tells  me  it  is  in  itself  a  ticklish  thing),  were  for  me 
to  throw  away  my  own  life  upon  a  punctilio  or  nicety 
that  I  am  ignorant  of ;  and  therefore  truly  I  think  I  should 
be  a  very  fool,  in  my  own  ignorance,  to  run  that  danger. 
And  therefore,  sir,  I  humbly  desire  the  clear  explanation  of 
the  meaning  of  it  in  law,  and  after  that  I  shall  give  you  a 
fair  and  rational  answer. 

"  Lord  Keble.  Mr.  Lilburne,  you  shall  see  we  will  deal 
very  rationally  with  you,  and  not  ensnare  you  in  the  least 
manner,  if  that  be  all.  The  holding  up  of  your  hand,  we 
will  tell  you  what  it  means  and  signifies  ^  in  law.  The  call- 
ing the  party  to  hold  up  his  hand  at  the  bar  is  no  more  but 
for  the  special  notice  that  the  party  is  the  man  enquired  for, 
or  called  on ;  and  therefore  if  you  be  Mr.  John  Lilburne, 
and  be  the  man  that  we  charge,  do  but  say  that  you  are 
the  man,  and  that  you  are  there,  and  it  shall  suffice. 

''Lilburne.     Well  then,    sir,    according  to   your  own 


'  The  Judge  and  Lilburne  both  use 
two  words  of  equivalent  meaning — 
*' means  and  signifies" — which,  like 
'*  love  and  affection,"  so  much  used  in 
English  deeds,  may  perhaps  be  ascribed 


to  the  same  cause,  the  notion  that  it 
was  proper,  if  not  necessary,  to  have  a 
word  of  Saxon  and  a  word  of  Latin 
origin  to  express  the  same  idea. 


198 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


explanation,  I  say  my  name  is  John  Lilburne,  son  to  Mr. 
Eichard  Lilburne  of  the  county  of  Durham,  a  freeman  of 
the  city  of  London,  and  sometime  lieutenant-colonel  in  the 
Parhament's  army ;  and  if  you  will  not  believe  that  I  am 
the  man,  my  guardian  the  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower  there 
(pointing  to  him)  will  aver  that  I  am. 

"  Lord  Kehle.     So  then  you  are  the  man. 

"  Judge  Jermin,  Ask  him  again :  Hearken,  Mr. 
Lilburne,  hearken  what  he  says,  and  use  that  moderation, 
and  temper,  and  discretion  that  you  have  promised. 

"Lilburne.  One  word  more,  and  I  shall  have  done  ; 
and  that  is  by  the  law  of  England — ''  [But  being  in- 
terrupted he  cried  out]  "  With  your  favour,  sir,  I  will 
come  to  the  main  thing ;  I  hope  you  do  not  go  about  to 
circumvent  me,  therefore  hear  me,  I  beseech  you. 

"  Lord  Kehle,  Hear  the  Court,  Mr.  Lilburne,  there 
shall  be  nothing  of  circumvention  or  iuterruption :  but  as 
you  have  professed  to  be  a  rational  and  understanding 
man  in  words,  let  your  deeds  so  declare  you. 

"  Lilburne.  Sir,  I  beseech  you,  do  not  surprise  me 
with  punctilios  or  niceties,  which  are  hard  things  for  me 
to  lose  my  life  upon.  I  tell  you  again,  my  name  is  John 
Lilburne,  son  to  Mr.  Richard  Lilburne. 

"  Lord  Kehle.  Talk  not  of  punctilios  with  us,  nor  talk 
not  of  judges  made  by  the  laws  ;  you  shall  not  want  law  : 
but  if  you  talk  of  punctilios  here  in  this  room,  we  will 
stop  that  language. 

"  Lilburne.  Truly,  sir,  I  am  upon  my  life,  and  shall 
my  ignorance  of  the  formalities  of  the  law,  in  the  practic^ 
part  thereof,  destroy  me  ?  God  forbid  !  Therefore  give  me 
but  leave  to  speak  for  my  life,  or  else  knock  me  on  the 
head,  and   murder   me   where   I   stand  ;    which    is    more 

*  Practic  or  practick,  the  old  word  for  practical. 


aanmngsagtaE. 


1649.] 


ASKS  FOR  A  COPY  OF  THE  INDICTMENT. 


199 


righteous  and  just  than  to  do  it  by  pretence  of  justice. 
Sir,  I  know  that  Mr.  Bradshaw  himself.  President  of  the 
High  Court  of  Justice,  as  it  was  called,  gave  Duke 
Hamilton  (a  hostile  enemy)  leave  to  speak  to  the  punctilios 
of  the  law  ;  yea,  and  to  my  knowledge,  again  and  again 
made  an  engagement  unto  him,  and  the  rest  tried  with 
him,  that  the  Court  nor  he  would  not,  by  virtue  of  their 
ignorance  of  the  niceties  or  formalities  of  the  law,  take 
advantage  against  them,  to  destroy  them  ;  but  did  declare, 
again  and  again,  that  all  advantages  of  formalities  should 
be  totally  laid  aside,  and  not  in  the  least  made  use  of 
against  theui  to  their  prejudice.  And  I  hope  you  will 
grant  me,  that  have  often  been  in  arms  for  you,  but  never 
against  you,  as  much  favour  and  privilege  as  was  granted 
to  Duke  Hamilton,  never  of  your  party,  but  a  general  of 
a  numerous  army  against  you. 

"  Lord  Kehle,  Take  it  as  you  will,  we  have  had  patience 
with  you,  and  you  must  and  shall  have  patience  with  us. 
We  will  pass  over  all  that  is  by-past,  but  take  heed,  by 
your  surly  crossness,  you  give  not  advantage  in  the  face 
of  the  Court,  to  pass  sentence  against  you,  without  any 
further  proceedings,  or  proof  of  your  actions,  but  what  our 
own  eyes  see.  The  ceremony  is  for  your  advantage  more 
than  you  are  aware  of;  but  if  you  confess  yourself  to  be 
Mr.  John  Lilbm'ne,  we  have  done  as  to  that."  ^ 

Tlie  President  then  ordered  the  Indictment  to  be  read. 
Mr.  Broughton  the  clerk  of  the  Court  who  had  been  one 
of  the  two  clerks  of  the  Court  at  the  trial  of  King 
Charles,  and  had,  as  we  have  seen,  been  specially  appointed 
for  this  trial  of  Lilburne  by  an  order  of  the  Council  of 
State,  having  read  the  indictment,  put  the  question : 
"  What  say'st  thou,  John  Lilburne,  art  thou  guilty  of  this 

»  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  pp.  1288-1292. 


200 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


treason  whereof  thou  standesfc  indicted,  or  not  guilty  ? 
Here  a  new  struggle  ensued  between  the  Court  and  the  un- 
conquerable Lilburne,  who  instead  of  answering  "  Guilty  " 
or  "  Not  Guilty/'  as  the  Court  required,  asked  to  be  al- 
lowed counsel,  a  copy  of  the  indictment,  or  so  much  of  it 
as  he  might  ground  his  plea  upon,  and  reasonable  time  to 
consult  with  his  counsel,  although  it  were  but  eight  or  nine 
days.^ 


*  It  is  remarkable  how  often  in  the 
course  of  this  trial  Lilburne  showed  a 
more  accurate  knowledge  of  the  law 
than  the  Court  and  the  law  officers. 
The  following  is  one  example  of  this. 

"Judge  Thorp.  Mr.  Lilburne,  I 
desire  to  correct  a  mistake  of  yours  in 
the  law  :  You  are  pleased  to  condemn 
it  as  unjust,  for  the  Attorney-General's 
speaking  with  me  when  your  indict- 
ment was  a  reading  ;  you  are  to  know, 
he  is  the  prosecutor  for  the  State  here 
against  you,  and  he  must  confer  with 
us  upon  several  occasions,  and  we  with 
him,  and  this  is  law. 

*'  Lilburne.  Not  upon  the  bench, 
sir,  by  your  favour,  unless  it  be  openly, 
audibly,  and  avowedly,  and  not  in  any 
clandestine  or  whispering  way  :  And 
by  your  favour,  for  all  you  are  a  judge, 
this  is  law,  or  else  Sir  Edward  Coke  in 
his  3rd  Institute,  cap.  High  Treason, 
hath  published  falsehoods,  and  the 
Parliament  hath  licensed  them  ;  for 
their  stamp  in  a  special  manner  is  to 
that  book. 

*♦  Judge  Thorp.  Sir  Edward  Coke 
is  law,  and  he  says,  the  Attorney- Ge- 
neral, or  any  other  prosecutor  may 
speak  with  us  in  open  Court,  to  inform 
us  about  the  business  before  us  in  open 
Court. 

**  Lilburne.  Not  in  hugger-mugger, 
privately  or  whisperingly. 

"  Judge  Thorp.  I  tell  you,  sir,  the 
Attorney-General  may  talk  with  any  in 
the  Court,  by  law,  as  he  did  with  me. 


"  Lilburne.  I  tell  you,  sir,  it  is  un- 
just, and  not  warrantable  by  law,  for 
him  to  talk  with  the  Court,  or  any  of^ 
the  judges  thereof,  in  my  absence,  or 
in  hugger-mugger,  or  by  private  whis- 
perings. 

"Lord  Keble.  No,  sir;  it  is  no 
hugger-mugger  for  him  to  do  as  he  did  ; 
spare  your  words,  and  burst  not  out 
into  passion ;  for  thereby  you  will 
declare  yourself  to  be  within  the  com- 
pass of  your  indictment  without  any 
^TOoV State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1301. 
The  reader  may  easily  judge  whether 
the  Court  or  the  prisoner  declared  the 
law  accurately  by  reading  the  few 
words  that  follow.  Coke,  3rd  Inst, 
fol.  30,  says :—"  Hereupon  it  fol- 
loweth  that  if  the  peers  of  the  realm, 
who  are  intended  to  be  indifferent,  can 
have  no  conference  with  the  judges  or 
with  the  high  steward  in  open  Court  in 
the  absence  of  the  prisoner  :  d  fortiori 
the  king's  learned  counsel  should  not 
in  the  absence  of  the  party  accused, 
upon  any  case  put,  or  matter  showed 
by  them,  privately  preoccupate  the 
opinion  of  the  judges."  Any  doubt 
as  to  the  meaning  of  the  words  "in 
the  absence  of  the  party  accused  "  is 
removed  by  the  words  used  by  Coke  in 
another  place  (2nd  Instit.  fol.  49) — 
"  After  the  lords  be  gone  together  to 
consider  of  the  evidence,  they  cannot 
send  to  the  high  steward  or  ask  the 
judges  any  question  of  law,  but  in  the 
hearing  of  the  prisoner." 


r 


1649.] 


AND   TO   BE  ALLOWED   COUNSEL. 


201 


'^Lilburne.  Under  favour  thus,  for  you  to  come  to 
ensnare  and  entrap  me  with  unknown  niceties  and  forma- 
lities that  are  locked  up  in  the  French  and  Latin  tongue, 
and  cannot  be  read  in  English  books,  they  being  not  ex- 
pressed in  any  law  of  the  kingdom,  published  in  our  own 
English  tongue ;  it  is  not  fair  play  according  to  the  law  of 
England,  plainly  in  English  expressed  in  the  Petition  of 
Eight,  and  other  the  good  old  statute  laws  of  the  land. 
Therefore  I  again  humbly  desire  to  have  counsel  assigned 
to  me,  to  consult  with,  what  these  formalities  in  law 
signify  ;  so  that  I  may  not  throw  away  my  life  ignorantly 
upon  forms. 

"  Lord  Keble.  You  shall  have  that  which  is  according 
to  the  law ;  therefore,  Mr,  Lilburne,  I  advise  you  to  plead, 
and  you  shall  have  fair  play,  and  no  advantage  taken 
against  you  by  your  ignorance  of  the  formality  of  the  law. 

"  Lilburne.  Well  then,  sir,  upon  that  engagement, 
and  because  I  see  you  are  so  positive  in  the  thing —  this  is 
my  answer  :  That  I  am  not  guilty  of  any  of  the  treasons 
in  manner  and  form,  as  they  are  there  laid  down  in  that 
Indictment ''  (pointing  to  it).  "And  therefore  now,  sir, 
having  pleaded,  I  crave  the  liberty  of  England,  that  you 
will  assign  me  counsel. 

"  Mr.  Broughton.     By  whom  wilt  thou  be  tried  ? 

"  Lilburne,  By  the  known  laws  of  England,  and  a  legal 
jury  of  my  equals,  constituted  according  to  law. 

"  Mr.  Broughton.      By  whom  wilt  thou  be  tried  ? 

"  Lilburne.  By  the  known  laws  of  England,  I  mean, 
by  the  liberties  and  privileges  of  the  laws  of  England,  and 
a  jury  of  ray  equals  legally  chosen.  And  now,  sir,  I  again 
desire  counsel  to  be  assigned  me,  to  consult  with  in  point 
of  law,  that  so  I  may  not  destroy  myself  through  my  ig- 


# 


^'^^i'i^^^^i^t.^.^s^msmm^M^xt^-z 


200 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


■ 


treason  whereof  thou  standest  indicted,  or  not  guilty  ? 
Here  a  new  struggle  ensued  between  the  Court  and  the  un- 
conquerable Lilburne,  who  instead  of  answering  "  Guilty  " 
or  "Not  Guilty/'  as  the  Court  required,  asked  to  be  al- 
lowed counsel,  a  copy  of  the  indictment,  or  so  much  of  it 
as  he  might  ground  his  plea  upon,  and  reasonable  time  to 
consult  with  his  counsel,  although  it  were  but  eight  or  nine 
days.^ 


^  It  is  remarkable  how  often  in  the 
course  of  this  trial  Lilburne  showed  a 
more  accurate  knowledge  of  the  law 
than  the  Court  and  the  law  officers. 
The  following  is  one  example  of  this. 

' '  Judge  Thorp.  Mr.  Lilburne,  I 
desire  to  correct  a  mistake  of  yours  in 
the  law  :  You  are  pleased  to  condemn 
it  as  unjust,  for  the  Attorney-General's 
speaking  with  me  when  your  indict- 
ment was  a  reading  ;  you  are  to  know, 
he  is  the  prosecutor  for  the  State  here 
against  you,  and  he  must  confer  with 
us  upon  several  occasions,  and  we  with 
him,  and  this  is  law. 

"  Lilburne.  Not  upon  the  bench, 
sir,  by  your  favour,  unless  it  be  openly, 
audibly,  and  avowedly,  and  not  in  any 
clandestine  or  whispering  way  :  And 
by  your  favour,  for  all  you  are  a  judge, 
this  is  law,  or  else  Sir  Edward  Coke  in 
his  3rd  Institute,  cap.  High  Treason, 
hath  published  falsehoods,  and  the 
Parliament  hath  licensed  them  ;  for 
their  stamp  in  a  special  manner  is  to 
that  book. 

**  Judge  Thoyp.  Sir  Edward  Coke 
is  law,  and  he  says,  the  Attorney- Ge- 
neral, or  any  other  prosecutor  may 
speak  with  us  in  open  Court,  to  inform 
us  about  the  business  before  us  in  open 
Court. 

*'  Lilburne.  Not  in  hugger-mugger, 
privately  or  whisperingly. 

*'  Judge  Thorp.  I  tell  you,  sir,  the 
Attorney-General  may  talk  with  any  in 
the  Court,  by  law,  as  he  did  with  me. 


"  Lilburne.  I  tell  you,  sir,  it  is  un- 
just, and  not  warrantable  by  law,  for 
him  to  talk  with  the  Court,  or  any  of  ^ 
the  judges  thereof,  in  my  absence,  or 
in  hugger-mugger,  or  by  private  whis- 
perings. 

"Lord  Keble.  No,  sir;  it  is  no 
hugger-mugger  for  him  to  do  as  he  did  ; 
spare  your  words,  and  burst  not  out 
into  passion ;  for  thereby  you  will 
declare  yourself  to  be  within  the  com- 
pass of  your  indictment  without  any 
i^TooV— State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1301. 
The  reader  may  easily  judge  whether 
the  Court  or  the  prisoner  declared  the 
law  accurately  by  reading  the  few 
words  that  follow.  Coke,  3rd  Inst, 
fol.  30,  says :—"  Hereupon  it  fol- 
loweth  that  if  the  peers  of  the  realm, 
who  are  intended  to  be  indifferent,  can 
have  no  conference  with  the  judges  or 
with  the  high  steward  in  open  Court  in 
the  absence  of  the  prisoner  :  a  fortiori 
the  king's  learned  counsel  should  not 
in  the  absence  of  the  party  accused, 
upon  any  case  put,  or  matter  showed 
by  them,  privately  preoccupate  the 
opinion  of  the  judges."  Any  doubt 
as  to  the  meaning  of  the  words  *'in 
the  absence  of  the  party  accused  "  is 
removed  by  the  words  used  by  Coke  in 
another  place  (2nd  Instit.  fol.  49) — 
*'  After  the  lords  be  gone  together  to 
consider  of  the  evidence,  they  cannot 
send  to  the  high  steward  or  ask  the 
judges  any  question  of  law,  but  in  the 
hearing  of  the  prisoner." 


1649.] 


AND   TO   BE  ALLOWED   COUNSEL. 


201 


''Lilburne.  Under  favour  thus,  for  you  to  come  to 
ensnare  and  entrap  me  with  unknown  niceties  and  forma- 
lities that  are  locked  up  in  the  French  and  Latin  tono-ue, 
and  cannot  be  read  in  English  books,  they  being  not  ex- 
pressed in  any  law  of  the  kingdom,  published  in  our  own 
English  tongue  ;  it  is  not  fiiir  play  according  to  the  law  of 
England,  plainly  in  English  expressed  in  the  Petition  of 
Right,  and  other  the  good  old  statute  laws  of  the  land. 
Therefore  I  again  humbly  desire  to  have  counsel  assigned 
to  me,  to  consult  with,  what  these  formalities  in  law 
signify  ;  so  that  I  may  not  throw  away  my  life  ignorantly 
upon  forms. 

^'  Lord  Keble.  You  shall  have  that  which  is  accordinsj 
to  the  law ;  therefore,  Mr.  Lilburne,  I  advise  you  to  plead, 
and  you  shall  have  fair  play,  and  no  advantage  taken 
against  you  by  your  ignorance  of  the  formality  of  the  law. 

"Lilburne.  Well  then,  sir,  upon  that  engagement, 
and  because  I  see  you  are  so  positive  in  the  thing —  this  is 
my  answer :  That  I  am  not  guilty  of  any  of  the  treasons 
in  manner  and  form,  as  they  are  there  laid  down  in  that 
Indictment'"  (pointing  to  it).  "And  therefore  now,  sir, 
having  pleaded,  I  crave  the  liberty  of  England,  that  you 
will  assign  me  counsel. 

"  Mr.  Broughton.     By  whom  wilt  thou  be  tried  ? 

"  Lilburne,  By  the  known  laws  of  England,  and  a  legal 
jury  of  my  equals,  constituted  according  to  law. 

"  Mr.  Broughton.      By  whom  wilt  thou  be  tried  ? 

"  Lilburne.  By  the  known  laws  of  England,  I  mean, 
by  the  liberties  and  privileges  of  the  laws  of  England,  and 
a  jury  of  ray  equals  legally  chosen.  And  now,  sir,  I  again 
desire  counsel  to  be  assigned  me,  to  consult  with  in  point 
of  law,  that  so  I  may  not  destroy  myself  through  my  ig- 


202 


HISTOBY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


norance.  This  is  but  the  same  privilege  that  was  granted 
at  Oxford  unto  me,  and  the  rest  of  my  fellow-prisoners 
arraigned  with  me. 

"  One  of  the  Clerks.  You  must  say,  by  God  and  your 
country  ;  that's  the  form  of  the  law. 

^^Zilburne,     Why  must  I  say  so  ? 

Judge  Jermin  then  explained  to  him  the  meaning  of  the 
form  of  words — "  by  God  and  your  country  "' — by  God  as 
God  is  everywhere  present ;  by  your  country,  that  is  by 
your  country  or  neighbourhood,  by  a  jury  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood. 

**  Lilhurne.  Sir,  under  your  favour  thus  ;  then  in  the 
negative  I  say  God  is  not  locally  or  corporally  here  present 
to  try  me,  or  pass  upon  me ;  but  affirmative,  I  return  this 
answer.  That  I  desire  to  be  tried  in  the  presence  of  that 
God,  that  by  his  omnipotent  power  is  present  everywhere, 
and  beholds  all  the  actions  that  are  done  upon  the  earth, 
and  sees  and  knows  whether  any  of  your  hearts  be  pos- 
sessed with  a  premeditated  malice  against  me,  or  whether 
any  of  you  come  with  so  much  forethought  of  malice 
against  me,  as  that  in  your  hearts  you  intend  to  do  the 
utmost  you  can,  right  or  wrong,  to  destroy  me :  and  before 
this  all-seeing  God  I  desire  to  be  tried,  and  by  my 
country,  that  is  to  say,  by  a  jury  of  my  equals,  according 
to  the  good  old  laws  of  the  land. 

"  Justice  Thorp.     You  have  spoken  very  well. 

"  Lord  Kehle.  You  have  done  like  an  Englishman  so 
far  as  you  have  gone  ;  and  I  do  assure  you,  that  in  any 
formalities  (as  you  express  or  call  them)  there  shall  be  no 
advantage  against  you,  if  you  mistake  in  them.  Now 
what  you  have  the  next  to  think  upon,  is  your  jury  of 
your   countrymen     or     neighbours  of    your    equals ;    and 


^^^J^&*^,,fiass  -^SiSsS^ffiiMBM^^jj^S^v  -v 


1649.]   LILBURNE'S  ARGUMENT  IN  REGARD  TO  COUNSEL.         203 

I  promise  you,  we  will  take  care  of  that,  that  they  shall 
be  good  and  lawful  men  of  England.''  ^ 

But  here  Lilburne  entered  into  another  contest  with  the 
Court  as  to  the  matter  of  counsel.  There  is  great  force  in 
some  of  his  remarks,  a  force  which  proves  that  modern 
writers  have  underrated  his  abilities,  which  are  very  con- 
spicuous on  this  trial,  where  he  fought  singly  and  without 
a  legal  education  against  so  many  professional  lawyers  and 
judges.  He  showed  the  glaring  inconsistency  of  a  body  of 
men  who  pretended  to  be  the  instruments  of  introducing  a 
new  era  of  liberty  and  happiness  and  of  abolishing  the  old 
servitude  and  misery,  and  nevertheless  not  only  maintained 
when  it  suited  them  the  most  unjust  of  the  old  laws  of 
treason,  but  created  new  treasons  before  unheard  of.  "  I 
know  very  well,''  said  he,  **and  I  read  it  in  your  own 
law-books,  such  a  prerogative,  as  that  in  cases  of  treason 
no  counsel  shall  plead  against  the  king,  hath  been  some- 
times challenged  to  be  the  king's  right  by  law  ;  but,  let 
me  tell  you,  it  was  an  usurped  prerogative  of  the  late 
king,^  with  all  other  arbitrary  prerogatives  and  unjust 
usurpations  upon  the  people's  rights  and  freedoms,  which 
has  been  pretended  to  be  taken  away  with  him.  And,  sir, 
can  it  be  just  to  allow  me   counsel  to  help  me  to  plead  for 


»  State  Trials,  pp.  1292-1295. 

2  It  was  not  correct  to  say  that  this 
particular  prerogative  was  an  innova- 
tion of  the  late  king,  since  it  was  a 
rule  at  common  law  that  no  counsel 
should  be  allowed  a  prisoner  on  his 
trial  for  any  capital  crime,  unless 
some  point  of  law  should  arise  —  '*  a 
rule"  says  Blackstone,  '*  which  seems 
to  be  not  at  all  of  a  piece  with  the 
rest  of  the  humane  treatment  of  pri- 
soners by  the  English  law." — 4  Com. 
355.  But  Lilbume's  conclusion  was 
quite   correct  for,    whether   this   par- 


ticular tyranny  originated  with  Charles 
the  First  or  not,  it  was  a  strange  spec- 
tacle to  see  it  exercised  by  those  who 
styled  themselves  *  *  custodes  libertatis 
Anglise*'  and  who  ordered  the  king's 
statues  to  be  taken  down  and  the 
words  ' '  Exit  Tyrannus  Regum  ultimus, 
Anno  Libertatis  Anglise  restitutje 
primo — Anno  Domini  1648  (9).  Jan. 
30 "  to  be  inscribed  on  the  places 
where  they  stood.  The  *'  last  of  the 
kings,"  however,  was  evidently  not  the 
last  of  the  tyrants. 


204 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


my  estate,  the  lesser ;  and  to  deny  me  the  help  of  counsel 
to  enable  me  to  plead  for  my  life,  the  greater  ?  ^  Nay,  sir, 
can  it  be  just  in  you  judges,  to  take  up  seven  years'  time  in 
ending  some  suits  of  law  for  a  little  money  or  land,  and 
deny  me  a  few  days  to  consider  what  to  plead  for  my  life  ? 
Sir,  all  these  pretences  of  yours  were  but  all  the  prero- 
gatives of  the  king's  will,  to  destroy  the  poor  ignorant  and 
harmless  people  by,  which  undoubtedly  died  with  him ;  or 
else  only  the  name  or  title  is  gone  with  him,  but  not  the 
power  or  hurtful  tyranny  or  prerogative  in  the  least. 
Therefore  seeing  all  such  pretended  and  hurtful  prerogatives 
are  pretended  to  be  taken  away  with  the  king,  by  those 
that  took  away  his  life,  I  earnestly  desire  I  may  be  assigned 
counsel  to  consult  with,  knowing  more  especially  no  pre- 
tence wliy  I  should  be  denied  that  benefit  and  privilege  of 
the  law,  of  the  just  and  equitable  law  of  England,  having 
put  myself  upon  a  trial  according  to  the  privileges 
thereof'^ 

Lilburne  further  insisted  on  the  fact  that  when  he  ap- 
peared at  the  bar  at  Oxford  and  pleaded  '*  Not  Guilty  "  to 
his  indictment  and  made  exceptions  against  his  indictment, 
he  and  the  two  other  gentlemen  arraigned  with  him  had 
counsel  assigned  them  and  a  week's  time  to  consider  with 
their  counsel  what  to  plead  for  their  lives.  But  the  Court 
would  not  admit  that  what  was  done  at  Oxford  was  a  pre- 
cedent for  them,  declaring  that  they  knew  at  Oxford  that 
it  was  no  treason  and  also  knew  that  whatsoever  was  done 
to  any  of  those  fighting  for  Parliament,  the  like  would  be 

*  No  one  who  reads  this  trial  care-  assistance  be  denied  to  save  the  life  of 

fully   can    speak    slightingly    of    Lil-  a  man,  which  yet  is  allowed  him  in 

burne's  capacity.      About   a   century  prosecutions  for  every  petty  trespass  ? '* 

later  Blackstone  uses  in  his  Commen-  — 4  Com.  355. 

taries  an  argument  precisely  analogous  ^  State   Trials,   vol.    iv.  pp.   1301, 

to  Lil  burne's.    Blackstone  says — "  For  1302, 
upon   what  face  of   reason   can   that 


1649.] 


COUNSEL. 


205 


done  to  those  fighting  for  the  king  and  therefore  gave  them 
more  privileges  than  were  their  right  by  law.     This  opinion 
of  the  Court  is  partly  supported  by  Lilburne's  own  account 
of  the  use  he  made  of  the  week's  time  allowed  him  to  con- 
sult with  counsel.      "  In  which  time,''  he  said  "  being  freed 
of  my  irons,  and  of  my  close   imprisonment,  and  enjoying 
pen,  ink,  and  paper  at  my  pleasure,  by  special  order  fi-om  the 
other  two  gentlemen,  I  writ  a  letter  to  my  wife,  and  in  it 
inclosed  another  to  your  Speaker,  and  another  to  young  Sir 
Henry  Vane,  then  my  familiar  acquaintance  ;  all  which  I  sent 
in   post-haste   away  to   my  wife  by  the  hands  of  Captain 
Primrose's  wife,  which  Captain  Primrose  was  prisoner  there  ; 
and  his  wife,  who  brought  up  the  letter  to  my  wife,  is  now 
in  London.    Which  letter  my  wife  delivered  to  the  Speaker, 
&c.  and  by  her  importunate  solicitation  procured  the  decla- 
ration of  Lex  Talionis  ;  the  substance  of  which,  in  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Speaker,  my  wife  brought  down  to  Oxford,  and 
delivered  to  the  Lord  Heath's  own  hands  upon  the  Sun- 
day after   the   first   day  of   our  arraignment.       And  the 
third  day  before  we  were  to  appear  again,  my  wife  arrived 
at  Oxford  with  the  Speaker's  letter,  which  she  delivered  to 
Judge    Heath  himself ;  which  letter  taking   notice  of  our 
trial,  threatened  them  with  Lex  Talionis,  to  do  the  like  to 
their   prisoners  that  they  did  to  us,  or  any  of  us.      And 
they  having  many  of  their  great  eminent  men  prisoners  in 
the  Tower  and  in  Warwick  Castle,  and  other  places,  did 
induce   them  to  stop   all    further  prosecution   of    Colonel 
Vivers,  Captain  Catesby,  and  myself      And  if  it  had  not 
been  for  this  threatening  letter,  in  all  likelihood  we  had 
all  three   been  condemned  by  a  commission  of  Oyer  and 
Terminer,   and   executed  :    for   my   wife   did    hear    Judge 
Heath  say  to  some  of  his  associates,  at  the  reading  of  the 
letter,  that  as  for  all  the  threatening  part  of  it,  as  to  his 


206 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[CHiP.  IV. 


particular  self,  '  I  value  it  not ;  but '  said  he,  '  we  must  be 
tender  of  the  lives  of  the  lords  and  gentlemen  that  serve 
the  king,  and  are  in  the  custody  of  those  at  Westminster. ' 
And  that  clause  of  Lex  Talionis  put  a  stop  to  our  pro- 
ceedings, and  further  trials  at  law." ' 

Lilburne  then  desired  that  his  solicitor  might  speak 
two  or  three  words  for  him.  But  Mr.  Sprat,  his  solicitor, 
beginning  to  speak,  was  stopped  by  the  Court,  Judge  Jer- 
min  exclaiming  "  What  impudent  fellow  is  that,  that  dare 
be  so  bold  as  to  speak  in  the  Court  without  being  called  ? " 
and  proceeded  to  say  that  the  Court  would  allow  him 
counsel,  "if  matter  of  law,  upon  the  proof  of  the  fact, 
do  arise  :  but  for  any  other  counsel  to  be  assigned  you 
before  that  appear,  is  not  by  law  warranted :  we  shall 
tread  the  rules  of  justice." 

"  Lord  KebU.  And  this,  Mr.  Lilburne,  I  will  promise 
you,  that  when  there  comes  matter  in  law,  let  it  be  a 
lawyer,  or  yourself,  he  shall  speak  in  your  behalf;  but 
before  he  cannot. 

"  LiVmrTie.     Sir,  the  whole  indictment,  under  favour,  is 

matter  of  law;    and  the  great  question   that   will  arise 

(admit  the  fact  should  be  true,  and  admit  it  should   be 

granted)  is.  Whether  the  words  be  treason  in  law,  yea  or 

no  ?      And  also  it  is  matter  of  law  in  the  indictment, 

whether  the  matter  in  the  indictment  be  rightly  alledged 

as  to  matter,  time,  and  place.      And  it  is  matter  of  law  in 

the  indictment,  where  there  are  divers  several  pretended 

treasons  committed  in  divers  and  several  counties,  put  into 

one  and  the  same  indictment,  whether  that  be  legal,  yea  or 
no? 

"  Lord  KehU.  Upon  proof  of  the  matter  of  fact,  you  shall 
hear  and  know  whether  matter  of  law  will  arise ;  and  tiU 

'  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1304. 


1649.] 


COUNSEL. 


207 


the  words  be  proved,  we  cannot  say  whether  that  be  the 
law  that  you  suppose. 

"Lilburne.  Truly,  sir,  you  promised  me  a  fair  trial, 
and  that  you  would  not  take  advantages  of  my  ignorance 
in  the  law's  formalities ;  but  the  Lord  deliver  me,  and  all 
true-hearted  Englishmen,  from  such  unjust  and  unrighteous 
proceedings  as  I  find  at  your  hands,  who  go  about,  I  now 
clearly  see,  to  destroy  me  by  my  ignorance,  in  holding  me 
to  a  single  and  naked  plea,  which  is  purely  as  bad,  if  not 
worse,  than  all  the  prerogatives,  in  a  more  rigorous  manner 
than  they  were  used  in  his  lifetime,  to  be  thus  pressed 
upon  me  at  this  day,  after  he  hath  lost  his  life  for  pretended 
tyranny  and  injustice ;  liberty  and  freedom  in  public  decla- 
rations declared  to  the  kingdom :  I  say,  if  there  be  justice 
and  equity  in  this,  I  have  lost  my  understanding ;  and  the 
good  Lord  God  of  Heaven  deliver  me  from  all  such  justi- 
Claries  ! 

Then  came  some  of  the  stereotyped  eulogies  by  the  Court 
on  the  excellence  of  the  laws  of  England — that  "  the  law  of 
God  is  the  law  of  England  " — that  "  the  laws  of  God,  the 
laws  of  reason,  and  the  laws  of  the  land  are  all  joined  in 
the  laws  that  you  shall  be  tried  by ; ''  ^ — the  truth  of 
which  may  be  judged  of  by  the  fact  that  this  very  law  of 
which  Lilburne  justly  complained  and  which  the  judges 
extolled  was,  after  this  country  had  been  finally  delivered 
from  the  tyranny  of  the  Stuarts  as  well  as  that  of  those 
who  destroyed  the  Stuarts  but  retained  their  instruments  of 
tyranny,  altered  by  a  statute^  of  William  the  Third,  and 
that  measure  of  justice  was  granted  to  persons  indicted  for 
high  treason  for  which  Lilburne  had  pleaded  so  well  and  so 
bravely  in  vain.      When  Lilburne  found  that  he  pleaded  to 


*  State  Trials,  vol.    iv.   pp.   1305, 
1306. 


2  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1307. 

3  7  W.  3,  c.  3. 


208 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IY. 


1649.]  LILBURNE'S  PLEA  TO  THE  INDICTMENT. 


209 


no  purpose  for  counsel,  for  a  little  time  to  consult  with 
them  and  to  produce  his  witnesses,  and  for  a  copy  of  his 
indictment,  he  said  :  '*  Sir,  I  have  no  more  to  say.  It  is 
but  a  vain  thing  to  spend  any  more  words.  Sir,  I  have 
cast  up  my  account,  and  I  know  what  it  can  cost  me :  I 
bless  God  I  have  learned  to  die,  having  always  carried  my 
life  in  my  hand,  ready  to  lay  it  down  for  above  this  twelve 
years  together,  having  lived  in  the  favour  and  bosom  of 
God  ;  and  I  bless  his  name,  I  can  as  freely  die  as  live." ^ 

In  answer  to  Lilburne's  further  request  for  time  to  bring  in 
his  witnesses,  some  of  whom  he  said  lived  eighty  or  a  hundred 
miles  off,  and  others  were  parliament  men,  and  others  officers 
of  the  army  who  would  not  come  in  without  subpoenas,  Keble 
replied,  "  For  your  witnesses,  you  should  have  brought  them 
with  you  ;  we  will  give  you  leave  to  send  for  them  ;  we 
will  give  you  time  to  do  this,  and  to  consider  with  yourself 
what  to  say  for  yourself;  you  shall  have  till  seven  o'clock 
to-moiTOw  morning.*'  Accordingly  the  Court  adjourned 
till  the  next  morning,  and  the  prisoner,  after  humbly  thank- 
ing the  Court  for  what  favour  he  had  already  received,  was 
remanded  to  the  Tower.^ 

In  order  to  render  intelligible  what  follows  it  will  be 
necessary  to  state  here  that  general  orders  had  been  issued 
to  the  army  Feb.  22,  164^  forbidding  any  private  meet- 
ings of  officers  and  soldiers,  such  as  had  been  found  useful 
to  their  commanders  in  1647,  to  be  held  without  previous 
permission  from  the  Council  of  War.  And  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  consider  of  a  way  in  which  those  might 
be  punished  who  should  endeavour  to  breed  any  discontent 
in  the  army,  not  being  themselves  members  of  the  army.^ 
This    last    provision    was   expressly  pointed    against    Lil- 


i\ 


»  state  Trials,   vol.   iv.   pp.   1308, 
1309. 


2  State  .Trials,    pp.    1312—1314. 

3  Whitelock,  Feb.  22. 


burne,  who  was  not  then  a  member  of  the  army,  though 
he  had  been  formerly,  and  had  risen  by  his  own  merit  as 
one  of  its   best  soldiers  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel. 
And  by  the  acts  of  the  14th  of  May  1649,  and  I7th  July 
1649,  declaring  what  offences  shall  be  adjudged  treason, 
it  was  enacted  ''  that  if  any  person  shall  maliciously  pub- 
lish, by  writing,  printing,  or  openly  declaring,  that  the  pre- 
sent  Government  is  tyrannical,  usurped,  or  unlawful  ;  or  that 
the  Commons  in  Parliament  assembled  are  not  the  supreme 
authority  of  this  nation  ; ''    and  further,  "  if  any  person, 
not  being  an  officer,  soldier,  or  member  of  the  army,  shall 
,  plot,  contrive,  or   endeavour  to  stir  up  any  mutiny  in  the 
said  army,  or  withdraw  any  soldiers  or  officers  from  their 
obedience  to  their  superior   officers,   or  from  the  present 
Government :    that   every  such  offence  shall  be  adjudged 
by  the  authority  of  this  present  Parliament  to  be  High 
Treason." 

On  the  second  day  of  the  trial,  Friday  the  26th  of 
October,  the  prisoner  was  again  brought  to  the  bar,  and 
his  brother,  Col.  Robert  Lilburne,  his  solicitor  Mr.  Sprat, 
and  others  of  his  friends  standing  beside  him,  the  Court 
objected  to  this. 

"Lord  Kehle,  Mr.  LUburne,  I  will  have  nobody 
stand  there,  let  all  come  out  but  one  man. 

''Lilburne,  Here^s  none  but  my  brother  and  my 
solicitor. 

"Lord  Kehle.  Sir,  your  brother  shall  not  stand  by 
you  there ;  I  wiU  only  have  one  hold  your  papers  and 
books,  and  the  rest  not  to  trouble  you ;  wherefore  the  rest 
are  to  come  out."  * 

The  jury  having  been  sworn,  after  Lilburne  had 
challenged  several   who    were  set  aside,    Mr.    Broughton 

»  State  Trials,  rol.  iv.  p.  1215. 


210 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


1649.]   QUESTION  OF  THE   ''AGREEMENT  OF  THE  PEOPLE."     211 


read  the  indictment  which  was  very  long,  enumerating 
various  of  Lilburne's  alleged  publications  and  also 
containing  passages  from  several  of  those  publications. 
Lilburne  then  declared  that  on  the  previous  day  he  had 
pleaded  conditionally  and  that  he  was  much  wronged  in 
their  saying  that  he  pleaded  Not  Guilty  :  "  and  now/' 
he  said,  "  I  make  ray  absolute  plea  to  the  indictment, 
which  is  this  :  That  I  except  against  the  matter  and 
form  of  it,  matter,  time,  and  place,  and  humbly  crave 
counsel  to  assign  and  plead  to  the  errors  thereof/'  To 
this  request  the  Court  returned  answer  "that  we  have 
done  we  must  maintain."  * 

The  Attorney-General  first  proceeded  to  call  the  witnesses 
against  the  prisoner,  then  ordered  the  clerk  to  read  the 
Acts  of  the  14th  of  May,  16-i9  and  of  the  l7th  of 
July,  1649,  declaring  what  offences  shall  be  adjudged 
treason,  and  also  to  read  certain  passages  from  the 
publications  alleged  by  him  to  be  Lilburne's.  The 
passages  read  were  numerous  and  some  of  them  long.  As 
it  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  comprehension  of 
this  critical  period  of  English  History  to  have  a  clear 
view  of  this  trial,  I  will  give  a  few  of  the  passages  read 
by  order  of  the  Attorney-General. 

"Mr.  Attorney.  I  shall  produce  his  book,  entitled 
'The  Legal  and  Fundamental  Liberties  of  England 
revived,  &c.'     Eead  the  title-page. 

"  Clerk.  *  The  Legal  Fundamental  Liberties  of  the 
People  of  England  revived,  asserted  and  vindicated  :  or 
an  epistle  written  the  8th  of  June,  1649,  by  Lieut.-Col. 
John  Lilburne  (arbitrary  and  aristocratical  ^  prisoner  in  the 

*  State   Trials,    vol.    iv.  pp.  1329,  constitutional     power     of    the     oli- 

1330.  garchy  or  aristocracy,  calling  itself  a 

2  He  means  by  this  word  that  he  is  commonwealth    that    then    ruled    in 

imprisoned  by  the  arbitrary  and  un-  England  by  the  power  of  the  sword. 


\ 

t 


Tower  of  London)  to  Mr.  William  Lenthall,  Speaker  to 
the  remainder  of  those  few  knights,  citizens  and 
burgesses,  that  Col.  Thomas  Pride  at  his  late  purge  thought 
convenient  to  leave  sitting  at  Westminster,  (as  most  fit 
for  his  and  his  masters'  designs,  to  serve  their  ambitious 
and  tyrannical  ends,  to  destroy  the  good  old  laws,  liberties, 
and  customs  of  England,  and  by  force  of  arms  to  rob  the 
people  of  their  lives,  estates  and  properties,  and  subject 
them  to  perfect  vassalage  and  slavery,  as  he  clearly 
evinceth  in  his  present  case,  &;c.,  they  have  done)  and  who 
(in  truth  no  otherwise  than  pretendedly)  stile  themselves 
the  Parliament  of  England.' 

"  Mr.  Attorney.     Read  page  2. 

''Clerk.  'Sir,  for  distinction- sake,  I  will  yet  stile 
you  Mr.  Speaker,  although  it  be  but  to  Col.  Pride's 
juncto,  or  Parliament  sitting  at  Westminster  (not  the 
nation's,  for  they  never  gave  him  authorit}^  to  issue  out 
writs  to  elect  or  constitute  a  Parliament  for  them)/ 

"Mr.  Attorney.     Read  page  28. 

"  Clerk.  *  The  hke  of  which  tyranny  the  king  never  did 
in  his  reign ;  and  yet  by  St.  Oliver's  means  lost  his  head 
for  a  tyrant.' 

"Mr.  Attorney,     Read  page  37. 

"  Clerk.  *  For  if  ever  they  had  intended  an  Agreement, 
why  do  they  let  their  own  be  dormant  in  the  pretended 
Parhament  ever  since  they  presented  it?  seeing  it  is 
obvious  to  every  knowing  eye,  that  from  the  day  they 
presented  it,  to  this  hour,  they  have  had  as  much  power 
over  their  own  Parliament  now  sitting,  as  any  school- 
master in  England  had  over  his  boys.'  ^ 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  passage  opens  a  most  momentous 
question.      The  "  Agreement  of  the  People  "  to  which  he 

»  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  pp.  1355,  1356. 

P  2 


212 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


1649.] 


PASSAGES  FROM  LILBURNE'S  WRITINGS. 


213 


refers  and  which  he  calls  "  their  own ''  meaning  that  of 
the  chiefs  of  the  army,  is  the  Agreement  of  which  I  have 
given  an  account  in  a  preceding  chapter  and  which  is 
commonly  stated  to  have  been  chiefly  drawn  by  Ireton. 
Now  Lilburne's  opinion  evidently  was  that  neither  Crom- 
well nor  Fairfax  nor  even  Ireton  himself  wished  this 
Agreement  to  be  acted  upon,  that  if  it  lay  dormant  in 
the  pretended  Parliament,  it  lay  dormant  with  their 
consent,  since  they  ruled  the  army  which  ruled  the 
Parliament.  It  is  manifest  also  that  a  much  better  and 
really  more  effective  answer  to  those  they  called  Levellers 
than  putting  some  of  them  to  death  by  the  sword  or  the 
provost- martial,^  and  attempting  to  put  to  death  others 
such  as  Lilburne  by  new  and  unconstitutional  laws  of 
treason,  would  have  been  to  have  put  that  "  Agreement  "  in 
force  and  to  have  called  a  new  Parliament  in  accordance 
with  its  provisions.  The  measure  might  have  failed  after 
all,  but  then  those  who,  as  it  is,  have  left  their  names  a 
doubt  to  some,  an  object  of  execration  to  others,  might  at 
least  have  been  entitled  to  the  verdict  of  having  acted 
consistently.  In  regard  to  the  question  how  fe.r  Ireton 
acquiesced  in  the  putting  aside  or  postponement  sine  die 
of  the  *'  Agreement  of  the  People,''  which  he  had  drawn 
up,  I  think  the  more  probable  explanation  is  that  Ireton 


1  Provost-ma7*sAaZ  is  an  error — the 
word  having  no  relation  to  maresckal 
but  meaning  a  provost  to  execute 
martial  law.  The  word  is  thus  spelt 
in  the  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State  :— as  appears  by  the  following 
minute— "That  Col.  Pride  shall  be 
allowed  for  the  recruits  to  be  raised 
for  Ireland— a  Martiall  at  3s.  4d  per 
diem,  a  Quarter  Master  at  35.  id.  per 
diem.  And  for  two  carriage-horses  to 
carry  the  money  that  is  to  pay  the 


soldier's  quarters  6s.  8d.  per  diem ;  and 
the  arms  following,  viz.  50  drums  at 
20s.  a  piece,  100  halberts  at  5s.  a 
piece." — 07'der  Book  of  the  Council 
of  State,  24  Oct.  1649.  MS.  State 
Paper  Office.  On  the  same  day  it  was 
ordered  that  two  apothecaries  more 
be  sent  to  Ireland  at  5s.  per  diem 
each,  in  consequence  of  letters  from 
the  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland  signify- 
ing the  want  of  them. 


t 


prevailed  on '  Cromwell  to  acquiesce  in  the  drawing  up  and 
presenting  to  Parliament  the  "Agreement  of  the  People,'' 
but  could  prevail  no  farther  with  him.  As  to  Ireton's 
opposing  Lilburne,  assuming  both  to  have  had  honest  in- 
tentions, and  both  to  have  been  in  their  ways  men  of 
ability,  Ireton  would  see  soon  enough  that,  whatever  might 
be  Lilburne's  ability  and  courage,  and  honest  and  dis- 
interested views,  neither  his  peculiar  character  nor  his  rank 
and  power  in  the  army  gave  him  the  least  chance  of  con- 
tending successfully  with  Cromwell.  As  I  have  said  before, 
in  every  such  case  it  must  always  depend  on  the  victorious 
general  whether  a  military  despotism  or  a  constitutional 
government  be  the  result ;  and  such  men  as  Ireton  and 
Blake  might  be  honest  as  well  as  able  and  brave  men, 
though  they  submitted  to  a  fate  which  their  practical  good 
sense  told  them  no  resistance  of  theirs  could  have  averted. 

''Mr.  Attorney.     Read  page  58. 

"  Clerk.  '  And  let  the  present  generation  of  swaying 
men,  that  under  pretence  of  good,  kindness,  and  friend- 
ship, have  destroyed  and  trod  underfoot  all  the  liberties  of 
the  nation,  and  will  not  let  us  have  a  new  Parliament , 
but  set  up  by  the  sword  their  own  insufferable  tyranny.' 

"  Mr.  Attorney.     Read  page  68. 

**  Clerh.  *  That  the  High  Court  of  Justice  was  altogether 
unlawful,  in  case  those  that  had  set  it  up  had  been  an 
unquestionable  representative  of  the  people,  or  a  legal 
Parliament :  neither  of  which  they  are  in  the  least ;  but, 
as  they  have  managed  their  business  in  opposing  all  their 
primitive  declared  ends,  are  a  pack  of  traitorous,  self- 
seeking,  tyrannical  men,  usurpers  of  the  name  and  power 
of  Parliament.' 

*'  Mr.  Attorney.  My  lord,  that  which  we  shall  offer 
you  next  is  the  *  Salva  Libertate/  which  the  lieutenant 


214 


HISTOKY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


1649.] 


PASSAGED  FROM  LILBURNE'S  WRITINGS. 


215 


of  the   Tower  had  from  Mr.   Lilburne  himself.     Read   at 
the  mark. 

''Clerk     'A  Salva  Libertate  :'    *  although  I  then   told 
you  I  judged  a  paper  warrant   (although  in  words  never 
so  formal)  coming  from  any  pretended  power  or  authority 
in  England,  now  visible,  to  be  altogether  illegal  ;  because 
the  intruding   General  Fairfax  and   his  forces   had   broke 
and  annihilated    all   the   formal   and  legal    magistracy  of 
England,  yea  the  very  Parliament  itself;  and  by  his  will 
and  sword  (absolute  conqueror  like)  had  most  tyrannically 
erected    and  imposed  upon  the  free  people  of  this  nation 
a  Juncto  or  mock-power,  sitting  at  Westminster,  whom  he 
and  his  associates  call  a  Parliament;  who,  like  so  many 
armed  thieves   and   robbers  upon  the  highway,  assume  a 
power,   by  their  own   wills,  most  traitorously  to  do  what 
they  like,   yea,   and   to  fill   the  land  with  their  mock  and 
pretended  magistrates,  amongst  the  number  of  which  is  the 
pretended    Attorney-General;     in  perfect    opposition     of 
whom,  to  the  utmost  of  my  might,  power,  and  strength,  I 
am    resolved  by  God's   gracious  assistance,   to  spend   my 
blood,   and   all  that    in   this    world   is    dear    unto    me, 
supposing    him  not  really  and  substantially   worthy  the 
name   of   an   English  freeman,  that  in  some  measure,  in 
this  particular,  is  not  of  my  mind."  * 

The  Attorney-General  then  said  ''  My  lords,  I  hope  you 
and  the  gentlemen  of  the  jury  will  take  notice  of  it,  as  to 
be  very  clear  proof  that  Mr.  Lilburne  hath  thus  published, 
and  thus  said.  And  besides  this,  you  see  what  he  does  go 
to.  He  denies  magistracy.  So  that  now  we  are  all  alike, 
a  class,  a  confusion.''  Upon  this  in  the  original  edition  of 
the  report  of  the  trial  thei'e  is  this  note :  "  He  doth  no 
such   thing;  but  at  most  saith,   the   army  hath  destroyed 

'  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  3357. 


all  the  legal  magistracy  of  the  nation  ;  and  they  are  the 
men  that  thereby  are  the  real  Levellers  and  Rooters." 
The  Attorney- General  had  said  a  short  time  before  "  Mr. 
Lilburne  is  a  very  great  rooter,  not  a  leveller,  but  a 
rooter  to  root  out  the  laws  of  England  by  the  roots.'' 

The  Attorney-General  thus  proceeded:  "My  lords,  I 
shall  not  aggravate ;  and  if  I  did  say  no  more,  it  were 
enouf^h.  But  I  come  to  the  second  general  head  of  the 
charge ;  which  is,  that  he  hath  plotted  and  contrived  to 
levy  or  raise  forces  to  subvert  and  overthrow  the  present 
established  Government,  in  the  way  of  a  free  state  or  com- 
monwealth. My  lords,  if  I  should  say  nothing  more  to 
the  jury,  this  that  hath  been  already  read  is  evident  proof 
of  that:  For  certainly  those  that  shall  say  that  the 
governors  be  tyrants,  that  the  Parliament  is  tyrannical, 
that  they  are  men  of  blood,  destroyers  of  laws  and 
liberties ;  this  cannot  be  of  any  other  use  but  to  raise 
force  against  them,  for  subverting  and  destroying  of  them, 
as  he  himself  saith,  as  so  many  weasels  or  polecats ; 
especially  if  you  consider  to  whom  these  words  were 
declared,  to  the  army  in  general,  especially  to  the  general's 
regiment  of  horse,  that  helped  to  plunder  and  destroy  Mr. 
Lilburne's  true  friends,  defeated  at  Burford  ;  and  some  of 
which  were  most  justly,  as  traitors,  executed."  ^ 

Upon  this  there  is  the  following  note  in  the  original 
edition  of  the  report :  "  In  calling  tyrants  weasels  and 
polecats,  he  hath  said  no  more  but  what  he  hath  learned 
out  of  St.  John's  Argument  of  Law  against  the  Earl  of 
Strafford:  at  which  you  have  no  cause  to  be  angry, 
because   they   are   the   words  of  one  of  your  own  brother 

lawyers." 

The  Attorney-General  after  quoting  some  passages  from 

»  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  pp.  1358,  1359. 


216 


HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


Lilbume's  "  Impeachment  of  High  Treason  against  Oliver 
Cromwell/'  proceeded  to  cite  passages  from  his  ''Agreement 
of  the  People/'  to  show  that  it  amounted  to  High  Treason, 
inasmuch  as  it  set  forth  how  many  the  Parliament  should 
consist  of,   the  time  when  the  present  Parliament  should 
dissolve,   and   the   time  when  the  new  Parliament  should 
meet.     And  yet  this  was  no  more  than   Ireton's   "  Agree- 
ment of  the  People ''  had  done,  the  only  difference  in  one 
respect  being  that  Ireton  had  fixed  the  last  day  of  April, 
1649,  as  the  day  upon  or  before  which   the   present  Par- 
liament should  end  and  dissolve,  and    Lilburne,    finding 
that  the  men  who  sat  and  talked   at  Westminster  let  the 
last  day  of  April,  1649,  pass  without  taking  any  notice  of 
Ireton's  Agreement  of  the  People,  put  forth  his  Agreement 
of  the  People  on  the  1st  day  of  May,  1649,  and  had  fixed 
the  first  Wednesday  in  August,  1 649,  as  the  day  on  which  the 
said  Parliament  should  end.     And  if  the  Parliament  had 
not  neglected   Ireton's    Agreement  of  the   People,    there 
would  have  been  no  need   to  set  forth  Lilburne's  or  any 
other  Agreement  of  the  People.     It  is  also  a  very  signifi- 
cant   fact   that    the    outbreak   of  that  part  of  the  army 
called  the  Levellers  did  not  take  place  till  the  Parliament, 
by  letting  the   month  of  April   expire  without  acting  in 
the  least  on  Ireton's  Agreement  of  the  People,  showed  that 
they  considered  themselves   as    ruling  by  a  sort  of  right 
divine  almost   as   much   as  the  Stuarts  whom   they  had 
deposed.     They  were,  as  I  have  said,  most  able  and  ener- 
getic administrators ;  but  if  they  had  possessed  that  higher 
statesmanship  which  can  employ  a  comprehensive  survey 
of  the  past  in  a  wise  divination  of  the  future,  they  might 
have  seen  clearly  enough   what  the  end  of  such  a  course 
would  be.     Perhaps  the  only  man  that  could,  if  he  had 
been  so  minded,  have  saved  them  from  such  a  disastrous  as 


1649.] 


PASSAGES  FROM  LILBURNE'S  WRITINGS. 


217 


well  as  disgraceful  end  was  Cromwell.  And  yet  one  can 
only  say  "perhaps,"  for  more  than  two  years  after  they 
had  thus  neglected  Ireton's  Agreement  and  prosecuted  Lil- 
burne for  his,  we  find  the  following  entry  in  their 
Journals: — *' Friday,  the  14th  of  November,  1651 — The 
question  being  propounded  That  it  is  now  a  convenient 
time  to  declare  a  certain  time  for  the  continuance  of  this 
Parliament,  beyond  which  it  shall  not  sit,  and  the  question 
being  put  (which  is  now  termed  "  the  previous  question  "),* 
"  That  this  question  be  now  put,"  was  carried  by  a  majority 
of  50  to  46,  the  Lord  General  Cromwell  being  one  of  the 
Tellers  for  the  Yeas.  It  was  then  resolved  "  That  this 
business  be  resumed  again  on  Tuesday  evening  next."* 
Accordingly  on  Tuesday  the  18  th  of  November  it  was 
resolved  "  That  the  time  for  the  continuance  of  this  Par- 
liament, bej^ond  which  they  resolve  not  to  sit,  shall  be  the 
Third  day  of  November,  1654  ;"^  a  day  which  they  did 
not  live  to  see. 

The  Attorney- General  then  thus  proceeded  :  "  My  lord, 
we  shall  go  on  with  more  yet,  and  that  is  with  his  Outcry. 
My  lord,  if  you  please  to  see  the  title,  and  see  to  whom  it 
is  directed,  what  was  intended  to.  be  done  with  it :  it  is 
in  titled,  *  An  Outcry  of  the  Young  Men  and  Apprentices 
of  London,  directed  August  29,  1649,  in  an  epistle  to  the 
private  soldiery  of  the  army,  especially  all  those  that 
signed  the  'Solemn  Engagement'  at  Newmarket-heath, 
the  5th  of  June,  1647,  but  more  especially  to  the  private 
soldiers  of  the  general's  regiment  of  horse,  that  helped  to 


*  I  hare  before  (page  179)  given  an 
example  of  this. 

2  Commons'  Journals,  Friday  the 
14th  of  November,  1651.  It  is  curious 
that  on  the  first  division,  namely  on  the 
previous  question  "That  this  question 


be  now  put,"  the  majority  of  the  Yeaa 
was  50  to  46,  when  on  the  main  ques- 
tion being  put,  the  majority  became 
only  49  while  the  minority  became  47. 
^  Commons'  Journals,  Tuesday,  the 
18th  of  November,  1651. 


218 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


plunder  and  destroy  the  honest  and  true-hearted  English- 
men, traitorously  defeated  at  Burford,  the  15th  of  May, 
1649/  A  good  encouragement  !  they  were  traitorously 
defeated  at  Burford ;  but  we  are  rebels  and  traitors,  and 
our  army  murderers  and  butchers,  for  giving  some  of  those 
declared  traitors  their  due  deserts.  But  that  you  may  see 
his  tendency  by  this  Book,  read  page  11. 

"  Clerh.     '  You,    our    fellow-countrymen,    the    private 
soldiers  of  the  army,  alone  being  the  instrumental  authors 
of  your  own  slavery  and  ours ;  therefore,  as   there  is  any 
bowels  of  men  in  you,  any  love   to  your  native  country, 
kindred,   friends  or  relations,  any   spark  of  conscience  in 
you,  any  hopes   of  glory   or   immortality  in   you,  or   any 
pity,    mercy,    or    compassion,    to    an    enslaved,     undone, 
perishing,  and  dying  people  !    0  help  !    help  !   save  and  re- 
deem us  from  total  vassalage  and  slavery,  and  be  no  more 
like  brute-beasts,  to  fight  against  us  or  our  friends,  your 
loving  and  dear  brethren  after  the  flesh,  to  your  own  vas- 
salage as  well  as  ours  !     And  as  an  assured  pledge  of  your 
future  cordialness  to  us,  (and  the  true  and  real  liberties  of 
the  land  of  your  nativity)  we  beseech  and  beg  of  you  (but 
especially  those  amongst  you  that   subscribed  the  Solemn 
Engagement  at  JSTewmarket-heath,  the  5th  of  June,  1647,) 
speedily  to  chuse  out  amongst  yourselves  two  of  the  ablest 
and  constantest  faithful  men  amongst   you   in  each  troop 
and  company,   now   at   last,   by  corresponding  each  with 
other,  and  with  your  honest  friends  in  the  nation,  to  con- 
sider of  some  effectual  course,  beyond   all   pretences   and 
cheats,  to  accomplish  the  real  end  of  all  your  engagements 
and  fightings,  viz.  the  settling  of  the  liberties  and  freedom 
of  the  people ;  which  can  never  permanently  be  done,  but 
upon  the  sure  foundation  of  a  popular  agreement,  for  the 
people  in  justice,   gratitude,    and  common  equity,  cannot 


1649.  J 


PASSAGES  FROM  LILBURNE'S  WRITINGS. 


219 


chuse  but  voluntarily  and  largely  make  better  provision 
for  your  future  subsistence,  by  the  payment  of  your 
arrears,  than  ever  your  officers  or  this  pretended  Par- 
liament intends,  or  you  can  rationally  expect  from  them : 
witness  their  cutting  off"  three  parts  of  your  arrears  in  four 
for  free-quarter  ;  and  then  necessitating  abundance  of  your 
fellow-soldiers  (now  cashiered,  &c.)  to  sell  their  debentures 
at  2s.  6d,  8s.,  and  at  most  4s.  for  the  pound.' "  ^ 

"  Mr.  Attorney,  See,  my  lord,  here  we  are  styled 
tyrants,  usurpers,  introducing  government  oppressions  of 
the  people ;  and  Mr.  Lilburne  is  resolved  with  his  friends 
to  join  together,  and  to  lay  down  their  very  lives  for  this. 
This,  I  think,  is  a  trumpet  blown  aloud  for  all  the  discon- 
tented people  in  the  nation  to  flock  together,  to  root  up 
and  destroy  this  Parliament,  and  so  the  present  Govern- 
ment.     But  read  also  the  same  book,  page  9. 

''Cleric.  'For  the  effectual  promotion  of  which  said 
Agreement,  we  are  compelled  to  resolve  in  close  union  to 
join  ourselves,  or  our  commissioners,  with  our  foresaid  Bur- 
ford friends  or  their  commissionei's  ;  and  to  run  all  hazards 
to  methodize  all  our  honest  fellow-prentices,  in  all  the 
wards  of  London,  and  the  out-parishes,  to  chuse  out  their 
agents  to  join  with  us  or  ours,  to  write  exhortative  epistles 
to  all  the  honest-hearted  freemen  of  England,  in  all 
the  counties  thereof,  to  erect  several  councils  among  them- 
selves ;  out  of  which  we  shall  desire  and  exhort  them  to 
chuse  agents  or  commissioners,  empowered  and  entrusted 
by  them,  speedily  to  meet  us  and  the  agents  of  all  our 
(and  the  Agreement  of  the  People)  adherents  at  London, 
resolvedly  to  consider  of  a  speedy  and  effectual  method 
and  way  how  to  promote  the  elevation  of  a  new  and  equal 
representative,    or    Parliament,   by  the   agreement  of  the 

»  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  pp.  1363-1365. 


220 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


free  people :  Seeing  those  men  that  now  sit  at  Westminster, 
and  pretendedly  stile  themselves  the  Parliament  of  England, 
and  who  are  as  they  say  (although  most  falsely)  in  the 
Declaration  for  a  free  state,  dated  March  17,  164f, 
page  27,  intrusted  and  authorized  by  the  consent  of  all 
the  people  of  England,  whose  representatives  they  are  ; 
make  it  their  chiefest  and  principallest  work  continually  to 
part  and  share  amongst  themselves  all  the  great,  rich,  and 
profitable  places  of  the  nation  ;  as  also  the  nation's  public 
treasure  and  lands;  and  will  not  ease  our  intolerable 
oppressions,  no  not  so  much  as  of  late  receive  our  popular 
petitions."  ^  The  truth  of  the  words  of  the  last  passage  of 
this  extract  sent  the  sting  of  the  libel  home. 

The  language  ^  of  many  passages  produced  from  Lilbume's 


>  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1365. 

-  In  addition  to  the  specimens  al- 
ready given  of  the  language  used  by 
Lilbume,  I  will  add  here  a  few  more 
examples.  From  "The  Apprentices' 
Out-cry  "  the  Attomey-Greneral  ordered 
the  clerk  to  read  the  following  pas- 
sages :  *'But  even  our  Parliament,  the 
very  marrow  and  soul  of  all  the 
people's  native  rights  put  down,  and 
the  name  and  power  thereof  trans- 
mitted to  a  picked  party  of  your 
forcible  selecting,  and  such  as  your 
officers,  our  lords  and  riders,  have 
often  stiled  no  better  than  a  mock 
parliament,  a  shadow  of  a  parliament, 
a  seeming  authority,  or  the  like,  pre- 
tending the  continuance  thereof,  but 
till  a  new  and  equal  representative  by 
mutual  agreement  of  the  free  people  of 
England,  could  be  elected  ;  although 
now  for  subserviency  to  their  exalta- 
tion and  kingship,  they  prorogue  and 
perpetuate  the  same,  in  the  name,  and 
under  colour  thereof,  introducing  a 
Privy  Council,  or,  as  they  call  it,  a 
Council  of   State,  of   superintendency 


and  suppression  to  all  future  parlia- 
ments for  ever,  erecting  a  martial 
government,  by  blood  and  violence 
impulsed  upon  us,"  page  2. — "  Trade 
is  decayed  and  fled  ;  misery,  poverty, 
calamity,  confusion,  yea,  and  beggary 
grown  so  sore  and  so  extreme  upon  the 
people,  as  the  like  never  was  in  Eng- 
land, under  the  most  tyrannical  of  all 
our  kings  that  were  before  these  in 
present  power,  since  the  days  of  the 
Conqueror  himself :  no  captivity,  no 
bondage,  no  oppression  like  unto  this ; 
no  sorrow  and  misery  like  unto  ours, 
of  being  enslaved,  undone,  and  de- 
stroyed by  our  large  pretend  ed  friends, 
page  3.  "And  yet  nothing  but  the 
groundless  wills  and  humours  of  those 
aforementioned  men  of  blood  rageth 
and  ruleth  over  us,"  page  4. 

"  We  are  compelled  to  do  the 
utmost  we  can  for  our  own  preservation 
and  the  preservation  of  the  land  of  our 
nativity,  and  never  by  popular  petitions, 
&c.,  address  ourselves  to  the  men 
sitting  at  Westminster  any  more,  or  to 
take  any  more  notice  of  them,  than  as 


1649.]   nLBURNE  EXCEPTS  TO  COL.  PUREFOY  AS  A  WITNESS.    221 


publications  was  clearly  enough  treason  according  to  the 
new  laws  of  treason  of  May  and  July  last,  which  new  laws 
going  beyond  the  law  of  treasons  of  Edward  the  Third 
made  bare  words  treason.  The  charge  of  stirring  up 
mutiny  in  the  army  was  not  established  farther  than  that 
written  words  such  as  I  have  quoted,  addressed  to  the 
soldiers  specially,  have  a  tendency  to  stir  up  mutiny. 
Moreover  the  Attorney- General  and  the  Court  appear  not 
to  have  considered  the  case  against  the  prisoner  strong  on 
this  point,  and  to  have  felt  the  force  of  Lilbume's  obser- 
vation in  his  defence :  "  the  testimony  doth  not  reach  to 
accuse  me  of  any  evil  or  malicious  counsel  given  them 
[three  soldiers  whom  he  met  accidentally]  or  any  aggrava- 
tions of  spirit,  as  though  I  did  incense  them  against  their 
officers,  thereby  to  stir  them  up  to  mutiny  and  rebellion. 
For  truly  I  have  made  it  my  work,  to  be  as  sparing  of  my 
discourse  as  I  could  be,  in  the  company  of  any  belonging 
to  the  army ;  yea,  and  to  shun  coming  nigh  the  place,  if  I 
can  avoid  it,  where  they  are."  ^ 

When  Colonel  Purefoy  was  sworn  as  a  witness  against 
the  prisoner,  Lilbume  said : — '*  Under  favour  but  one 
word,  I  crave  but  one  word,  I  have  an  exception.  First, 
Colonel  Purefoy  is  one  of  those  that  call  themselves  the 
keepers  of  the  liberties  of  England ;  and  for  committing 
crimes  against  them  I  am  indicted,  and  he  is  one  of  them 
and  therefore  a  party,  and  in  that  respect  in  law  he  can  be 
no  witness  against  me.  It  would  have  been  very  hard  for 
the  king  to  have  been  a  witness  against  that  man  that  was 
indicted  for  committing  crimes  against  him,  such  a  thing  in 


of  so  many  tyrants  and  usurpers," 
page  11,  in  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  pp. 
1353,  1354.  From  "  The  Prepara- 
tive to  a  Hue-and-Cry  after  Sir 
Arthur  Haselrig" — **  That  those  men 


that  now  sit  at  Westminster  are  no 
parliament  either  upon  the  principles 
of  law  or  reason."  Page  2,  in  the 
margin. — Staie  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1354. 
»  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1384. 


222 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


all  his  reign  was  never  known."  *  To  this  the  Attorney- 
General's  answer  was  : — -**  Mr.  Lilburne,  you  are  mistaken  ; 
Colonel  Purefoy  is  a  Member  of  Parliament,  he  is  none  of 
the  keepers  of  the  liberties  of  England.''  This  is  a  strange 
assertion  on  the  part  of  the  Attorney-General,  when  the 
writ  of  the  Parliament  ran  thus — "  Custodes  Libertatis 
Anglise,  auctoritate  Parliament!  Vicecomiti  salutem.'"^ 
Does  not  this  prove  that  the  members  of  the  Parliament  in 
the  aggregate  and  the  Custodes  Libertatis  Anglise  in  the 
aggregate  were  identical  ?  and  that  each  member  of  Par- 
liament was  a  member  of  this  body  constituting  the 
sovereign  in  England  at  that  time.  Lilburne  also  showed 
that  one  of  the  publications  specified  in  the  indictment, 
namely  his  "  Agreement  of  the  People,"  which,  as  has  been 
shown,  was  very  difierent  in  some  things  (though  similar 
in  many  others)  from  Ireton's  '*  Agreement  of  the  People,'' 
bore  a  date  anterior  to  the  date  of  any  of  those  new  acts 
under  which  he  was  indicted,  and  therefore  was  not 
within  the  compass  of  it/ 

When  the  Attorney-General  had  ended  his  address  to 
the  jury,  the  foreman  said,  "  We  desire  the  Act  of  Treasons 
to  make  use  of" 

"  Lilburne.  I  beseech  you  hear  me  a  few  words  :  they 
desire  to  have  it  along  with  them.  Sir,  with  your  favour, 
I  shall  humbly  crave  liberty  to  speak  a  few  words  :  I  shall 
keep  me  close  to  that  which  is  my  right  and  my  duty,  and 
that  is  to  the  matter  of  law  in  my  indictment.  There  are 
many  things  put  into  the  indictment  by  the  testimonies  of 
witnesses  now  sworn,  that  are  pretended  to  be  acted  in 
several  counties.  Whether  that  be  according  to  law,  or 
no,  I  do  not  know  whether  you  will  judge  it  so  or  no ;  but 

>  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1342.  7  Martii,  164§. 

=  Commons'  Journal,  Die  Mercurii,  3  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1388. 


1649.] 


NOT  TWO  WITNESSES  TO  ANY  ONE  FACT. 


223 


sure  I  am,  if  either  those  express  statutes  that  I  have 
already  cited  to  the  jury,  or  the  third  part  of  Coke's  Insti- 
tutes, be  law,  I  ought  not  to  be  tried  for  treason  but  by  a 
jury  of  the  next  neighbourhood,  in  the  self-same  county 
the  fact  is  pretended  to  be  committed  in.  And  therefore  it 
is  very  questionable  to  me,  whether  my  indictment  be  legal, 
for  that  it  chargeth  me  with  facts  of  treason  committed  in 
three  several  counties  ;  and  that  being  matter  of  law,  I 
desire  counsel  to  argue  that  point,  in  the  first  place. 
There  are  also  a  great  many  things  arise  out  of  the  matter 
of  fact  that  will  be  points  of  law  likewise.  There  were 
never  two  clear  and  positive  witnesses  to  one  fact  sworn 
against  me  ;  but  to  most  of  the  particular  [alleged]  treasons 
there  is  but  one  a-piece  ;  and  I  cannot  yield  that  to  be 
legal,  but  questionable  in  law,  which  I  desire  counsel  to 
dispute.  I  know  not  of  any  of  all  the  books  fixed  upon 
me,  but  the  "  Outcry,"  that  hath  two  plain  witnesses  to  it ; 
and  yet  it  is  not  sworn  that  I  am  the  author  of  it.  The 
state  of  the  fact  is  this :  that  I  was  at  the  printer's  before 
the  copy  was  taken  away  ;  and  that  I  gave  one  of  those 
books  to  a  soldier.  To  sum  up  the  notes  of  the  matter  of 
fact  that  thereon  hath  been  endeavoured  to  be  proved,  is 
too  hard  a  task  to  be  done  by  me  immediately ;  and  there- 
fore I  conceive  it  but  just  for  you  to  assign  me  counsel,  to 
agree  with  the  counsel  against  me  what  are  the  points  of 
fact  upon  the  proof,  from  which  the  points  of  law  are  to  be 
deducted.  This,  with  a  larger  privilege,  was  granted  by 
one  of  your  own  brother  judges  to  Major  Eolfe  last  year, 
as  his  right  by  law  ;  and  I  do  again  appeal  to  Mr.  Justice 
Nichols,  then  one  of  Eolfe's  counsel,  for  the  truth  of  this. 
I  pray  speak,  sir  ;  is  it  not  true  ?"  [But  the  judge  sitting 
"  as  if  "  says  the  contemporary  report,  "  he  had  neither  life 
nor  soul,"  Lilburne  went  on  :] — "  I  hope,  sir,    it  doth  not 


224 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


enter  into  your  thoughts  presently  to  put  me  to  an  un- 
digested extemporary  answer  to  so  large  an  indictment  as 
that  is  that  hath  been  read  against  me,  that  it  is  impossible 
for  any  man,  if  his  brain  were  as  big  as  the  biggest 
magazine  in  London,  to  carry  it  in  his  head.  I  hope  you 
do  not  lie  upon  the  catch,  to  weary  and  tire  me  out,  by 
putting  more  upon  me  than  a  horse  is  able  to  endure ;  and 
then  go  about  to  hang  me,  because  I,  through  tiredness, 
want  bodily  strength  and  abilities  to  make  and  pronounce 
my  defence."  ^ 

To  this  the  answer  of  the  Court  was — "  Free  yourself 
from  the  matter  of  fact,  if  you  can,  and  then  make  it 
appear  that  from  the  matter  of  fact  law  arises.  But  if  you 
do  not  first  make  out  this,  which  is  the  issue  upon  the 
point,  to  answer  the  matter  of  fact,  we  cannot  allow  you 
any  counsel." 

"  Lilhurne.  There  is  Judge  Nichols,  that  I  understand 
was  one  of  Major  Eolfe's  counsel :  and  I  understand  from 
Mr.  Maynard's  own  mouth,  that  he  and  Mr.  Maynard  were 
by  Baron  Wyld  assigned  of  Rolfe's  counsel,  in  case  of  the 
highest  treason  that  the  law  of  England  ever  knew,  and 
that  before  the  grand  inquest  found  the  indictment ;  and 
that  Mr.  Maynard,  &c.  had  liberty  as  Major  Rolfe's  counsel, 
by  Baron  Wyld's  order,  to  stand  in  the  Court,  not  only  to 
hear  the  witnesses  sworn,  but  also  to  hear  the  words  of 
their  testimony,  then  caused  by  the  judge  to  be  given  in 
open  Court.  And  there  being  but  two  witnesses  to  two 
facts  contained  in  the  indictment,  Mr.  Maynard,  upon  the 
allegation  of  the  two  statutes  of  Edward  the  6th,  that 
requires  two  witnesses  to  the  proof  of  every  fact  of  treason, 
and  that  to  be  plain  and  clear,  overthrew  Rolfe's  indict- 
ment in  law,  that  it  was  never  found  ;  and  so  saved  the 

>  State  Trials,  vol.   iv.   pp.  1373-1375. 


1649.]  THE  COURT  REFUSES  THE  PRISONER  TIME. 


225 


poor  man's  life.  And  all  this  Mr.  Justice  Nichols  knows 
is  very  true,  and  that  I  have  told  you  nothing  about  it  but 
what  is  just.*'  ^ 

"  Lord  Keble,  Mr.  Lilburne,  you  at  this  time  have  here 
such  a  Court,  which  never  any  of  your  condition  ever  had 
in  England,  so  many  grave  judges  of  the  law. 

"  Lilhurne.  Truly  I  had  rather  have  had  an  ordinary 
one ;  sir,  I  mean  a  legal  and  ordinary  assize  or  sessions. 

"  Lord  Kehle.  But  this  you  have,  and  this  is  to  take 
off,  or  prevent  that  which  you  would  do  now,  if  there  had 
been  one  judge,  and  no  more  ;  and  if  you  had  not  had 
this  great  presence  of  the  Court,  you  would  have  been 
malapert,  and  have  out-talked  them  ;  but  you  cannot  do  so 
here. 

"  Lilhurne.  Truly,  sir,  I  am  not  daunted  at  the  mul- 
titude of  my  judges,  neither  at  the  glittering  of  your 
scarlet  robes,  nor  the  majesty  of  your  presence,  and  harsh 
austere  deportment  towards  me ;  I  bless  my  good  God  for 
it,  who  gives  me  courage  and  boldness.''  ^ 

The  Court  then  called  on  the  prisoner  to  make  his 
defence. 

''Lilhurne.  I  have  been  a  great  while  yesterday 
pleading  my  right  by  law  for  counsel,  and  now  I  have 
stood  many  hours  to  hear  your  proofs  to  the  indictment. 
I  hope  you  will  not  be  so  cruel  to  put  me  to  a  present 
answer  when  my  bodily  strength  is  spent. 

"  Lord  Kehle.     Dispute  no  more,  we  must  go  on. 

''Lilhurne.  I  desire  but  a  week's  time  to  return  you 
an  answer  to  your  large  indictment ;  and  if  not  so  long, 
then  give  me  leave  but  till  to-morrow  morning  to  consider 
of  my  answer.      I  am  upon  my  life. 

"  Lord  Kehle.     No,  you  must  dispatch  it  now. 

»  State  Trials,  pp.  1375,  1376.  »  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1377. 


226 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


1649.] 


LAW  AND  FACT. 


227 


"  Lilhurne.  Then  give  me  leave  but  to  withdraw 
into  any  private  room  for  an  hour  to  recollect  my  thoughts, 
peruse  my  notes,  and  refresh  my  spirits/' 

Here  Judge  Jermin  whispered  the  President  of  the 
Court,  Keble,  in  the  ear ;  and  presently  Judge  Jermin  said 
"  It  is  against  the  law  to  allow  you  any  more  time ;  the 
jury  stand  here  charged,  the  evidence  is  given,  you  must 
immediately  go  on,  or  yield  that  for  truth  which  hath 
been  proved  against  you. 

"  Lilburne.  Well,  then,  if  it  must  be  so,  that  you  will 
have  my  blood,  right  or  wrong  ;  and  if  I  shall  not  have 
one  hour's  time  to  refresh  me,  after  my  strength  is  spent, 
and  to  consider  that  which  hath  been  alleged  against  me, 
then  I  appeal  "  ["  which  "  says  the  contemporary  report, 
"  he  uttered  with  a  mighty  voice  "]  "  to  the  righteous  God 
of  heaven  and  earth  against  you,  where  I  am  sure  I  shall 
be  heard  and  find  access  ;  and  the  Lord  God  Omnipotent, 
and  a  mighty  Judge  betwixt  you  and  me,  require  and 
requite  my  blood  upon  the  heads  of  you  and  your  posterity, 
to  the  third  and  fourth  generation  V 

Immediately  after  the  uttering  of  these  words  the 
scaffold  on  the  left  hand  fell  down,  which  occasioned  a 
great  noise  and  some  confusion,  by  reason  of  the  people's 
tumbling  down.  Silence  being  made,  the  prisoner  was 
busy  at  his  papers  and  books,  having  been  invited  by 
Sheriff  Pack  to  come  out  of  the  bar,  for  fear  he  should 
have  fidlen  with  the  rest,  and  so  the  sheriff  might  have 
lost  his  prisoner. 

"  Lord  Keble.     How  came  the  prisoner  there  ? 

"  Lilburne.  I  went  not  thither  of  my  own  accord, 
but  by  Mr.  Sheriff's  invitation ;  and  if  I  am  in  a 
place  where  T  ought  not  to  be,  blame  Mr.  Sheriff,  and 
not  me. 


"  Lord  Keble,     Dispatch,  sir. 

"  Lilburne.  Sir,  if  you  ^vill  be  so  cruel  as  not  to  give 
me  leave  to  withdraw  to  ease  and  refresh  my  body,  I  pray 
you  let  me  do  it  in   the   Court.     Officer,    I   entreat  you 

"     Here  there  was  a  short  pause  till  the  prisoner  had 

obtained  what  he  asked  for. 

"  Lord  Keble,     Proceed,  Mr.  Lilburne." 

But  the  prisoner  pressed  for  a  little  respite^  which  was 
granted  him  with  much  ado,  as  also  a  chair  to  sit  down 
upon.  But  w^ithin  a  very  little  space  the  Lord  President 
Keble  said 

"  The  Court  cannot  stay  for  you,  proceed  on  to  answer. 

"  Lilburne.  Good  sir,  would  you  have  me  to  answer 
to  impossibifities  ?  Will  you  not  give  me  breath  ?  If  you 
thirst  after  my  blood,  and  nothing  else  will  satisfy  you, 
take  it  presently  without  any  more  to-do. 

''Lord  Keble.  Ihe  Court  can  stay  no  longer;  take 
away  his  chair,  for  I  cannot  see  the  bar,  and  plead  what 
you  have  to  say,  for  it  grows  very  late. 

"  Lilburne.  Well,  seeing  I  must  do  it,  the  will  of  God 
be  done  ! " 

But  his  brother  Col.  Eobert  Lilburne  being  next  to  him 
was  heard  to  press  him  to  pause  a  little  more.  "  No, 
brother,"  said  he,  "  my  work  is  done ;  I  will  warrant  you, 
by  the  help  of  God,  I  will  knock  the  nail  upon  the  head." 
And  so  he  went  into  the  bar,  and  set  the  chair  before  him, 
and  laid  his  law  books  open  upon  it  in  the  order  in  which 
he  intended  to  use  them.  He  then  before  commencing  his 
defence  entered  into  a  contest  with  the  Court  for  the 
establishment  of  the  position  that  by  the  law  of  England 
the  jury  are  not  only  judges  of  fact  but  of  law  also,  in  the 
course  of  which  he  said  "  You  that  call  yourselves  judges 
of  the  law  are  no  more  but  Norman  intruders  ;  and  indeed 

Q  2 


228 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IY. 


1649.] 


LAW  AND  FACT. 


229 


and  in  truth,  if  the  jury  please,  are  no  more  but  cyphers 
to  pronounce  their  verdict/'  ^ 

**  Judge  Jermin.  Was  there  ever  such  a  damnable 
blasphemous  heresy  as  this  is,  to  call  the  judges  of  the  law 
cyphers  ? 

"  Lilburne,  Sir,  I  entreat  you  give  me  leave  to  read 
the  words  of  the  law,  then ;  for  to  the  jury  I  apply,  as  my 
judges,  both  in  the  law  and  fact. 

"  Lord  Kehle.     We  will  not  deny  a  tittle  of  the  law. 

"  Judge  Jermin.  Let  all  the  hearers  know,  the  jury 
ought  to  take  notice  of  it,  that  the  judges  that  are  sworn, 
that  are  twelve  in  number,  they  have  ever  been  the  judges 
of  the  law,  from  the  first  time  that  ever  we  can  read  or 
hear  that  the  law  was  truly  expressed  in  England  ;  and 
the  jury  are  only  judges,  whether  such  a  thing  were  done 
or  no  ;  they  are  only  judges  of  matter  of  fact. 

"  Lilhurne,  I  deny  it ;  here's  your  own  law  to  dis- 
prove you  ;  and  therefore  let  me  but  read  it.  It  is  a  hard 
case  where  a  man  is  upon  the  trial  of  his  life,  that  you  will 
not  suffer  him  to  read  the  law  to  the  jury,  for  his  own 
defence  ;  I  am  sure  you  have  caused  to  be  read  at  large 
those  laws  that  make  against  me. 

"  Lord  Kehle,  But  I  shall  pronounce  to  clear  the 
righteousness  of  that  law,  whatsoever  others  will  pretend 
against  it  that  know  it  not. 

"  Lilhurne.  Sir,  under  favour,  I  shall  not  trouble  my- 
self with  anything,  but  what  is  pertinent  to  my  present 
purpose.  Here  is  the  first  part  of  Coke's  Institutes  ;  it  is 
owned  by  all  the  lawyers  that  I  know,  or  ever  heard  of  in 
England  for  good  law. 

"  Lord  Kehle.  If  you  can  convince  us,  that  matter  of 
law  does  concern  the  jury,  you  say  something. 

»  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1379. 


"  Lilhurne.  Sir,  I  have  been  shuffled  too  much  out  of 
my  liberties  already,  give  me  leave  to  read  but  the  law  to 
the  jury." 

And  here  it  is  to  be  noted,  as  a  confirmation  of  a 
remark  I  have  made  in  a  previous  note  how  often  in  the 
course  of  this  trial  Lilhurne  showed  a  more  accurate  know- 
ledge of  the  law  than  either  the  Court  or  the  law  officers, 
that  the  almost  only  advantage  they  obtained  over  him 
was  on  this  occasion  when,  by  a  slip  of  the  tongue  very 
natural  to  a  man  who  had  not  been  bred  a  lawyer,  he  said 
"  Coke's  Commentaries  upon  Plowden  "  instead  of  "  Coke's 
Commentaries  upon  Littleton."  Upon  this  the  President 
interrupted  him. 

*'  Lord  Kehle.  Have  we  dealt  so  fairly  with  you  all 
this  while  ?  Pray  be  confident,  those  that  are  quotations 
there,  are  not  for  your  purpose  ;  but  I  thought  how  good  a 
lawyer  you  were  to  set  Coke's  Commentaries  upon  Plow- 
den, when  there  is  no  such  book  or  commentary.  Go  to 
your  matter  of  fact,  whicli  is  clear  ;  but  for  this,  let  it  fall 
down,  and  spare  yourself,  and  trouble  yourself  no  more 
with  Coke  ;   he  has  no  commentary  upon  Plowden." 

Here  Lilbume  pressed  to  speak. 

"  Judge  Jermin.     Hold,  sir. 

"  Lilhurne.  What,  will  you  not  allow  me  liberty  to 
read  your  law  ?     O  unrighteous  and  bloody  judges  ! 

"  Judge  Jermin.  By  the  fancy  of  your  own  mind,  you 
would  puzzle  the  jury  ;  we  know  the  book  a  little  better 
than  you  do  :  there  is  no  such  book  as  Coke's  Commentary 
upon  Plowden. 

"  Lord  Kehle.     Sir,  you  shall  not  read  it. 

''  Judge  Jermin.  You  cannot  be  suffered  to  read  the 
law  ;  you  have  broached  an  erroneous  opinion,  that  the 
jury  are  the  judges  of  the  law,  which  is  enough  to  destroy 


230 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


all  the  law  in   the  land ;  there  was   never  such  damnable 
heresy  broached  in  this  nation  before/' 
The  Crier  cried  out,  "  Hear  the  Court/' 
"  Lilburne.     Do  your  pleasure,  then  here  I'll  die  :  Jury, 
take   notice   of  their  injustice  ;  but   seeing   they  will  not 
hear  me,  I  will  appeal  to  you,  and  say.  It  is  an  easy  matter 
for  an  abler  man  than  I  am,  in  so  many  interruptions  as  I 
meet  with,  to  mistake  Plowden  for  Littleton.      I  am  sure, 
here  are  Coke's    Commentaries  upon  Littleton  (366)  and 
these  be  his  [Littleton's]  words  :   '  In  this  case   the  recog- 
nitors may  say  and  render  to  the  justices  their  verdict  at 
large  upon  the   whole   matter/      Which  I  am  sure  is  good 
law,  for  as  much  as  we  see  it  continually  done  in  all  actions 
of  trespass  or  assault,  where  the  jury  doth  not  only  judge 
of  the  validity  of  the  proof  of  the  fact,  but  also  of  the 
law,  by  assigning  what  damages  they  think  is  just.      And 
in  section  368,  Littleton  hath  these  words  :   *  If  the  inquest 
[jury]  will  take  upon  them  the  knowledge  of  the  law  upon 
the  matter,  they  may  give  their  verdict  generally.'     Coke's 
commentary  upon  this  is — '  Although  the  jury,  if  they  will 
take   upon  them  (as  Littleton  here   saith),  the  knowledge 
of  the  law,  may  give  a  general  verdict/     I  am  sure  this  is 
pertinent  to  my  purpose,  and  now  I  have  done,  sir/' ' 

Although  Lilburne  stopt  his  quotation  from  Coke's  Com- 
mentary in  the  middle  of  a  sentence,  his  statement  of  the 
law  generally  as  then  in  operation  appears  to  have  been 
correct.  The  sentence  in  Coke's  Commentary  concludes 
thus  :  "  Yet  it  is  dangerous  for  them  [the  jury]  so  to  do, 
for,  if  they  do  mistake  the  law,  they  run  into  the  danger 
of  an  attaint  ;  therefore  to  find  the  special  matter  "  (^.  e. 
the  fact  without  applying  the  law  to  it)  "  is  the  safest  way 
where  the  case  is  doubtful."  ^     Originally  the  consequences, 

1  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  pp.  1379-1381.  2  Qq,  Lj^t.  228,  a. 


1649.] 


LAW  AND   FACT. 


231 


implied  in  the  word  '*  attaint,"  of  the  jury's  mistaking  the 
law  consisted  of  penalties  so  heavy  that  they  must  have 
deterred  the  jury  in  most  cases  from  giving  a  verdict  in- 
volving the  law  of  the  case.  But  the  severity  of  the  old 
law  was  mitigated  by  various  statutes  and  the  practice 
established  by  this  time,  as  indicated  by  a  case  in  Moore's 
Keports,  appears  to  have  been  that  the  jury  had  a  right 
to  give  a  verdict  involving  both  the  law  and  the  fe-ct, 
subject  however  to  revision  and  correction  as  to  law 
where  they  had  mistaken  the  law/  But  long  after  the 
right  of  the  jury  to  return  a  verdict  involving  the  law  as 
well  as  the  fact  was  admitted  in  other  cases  ;  their  right 
to  do  so  in  the  special  case  of  libel,  particularly  political 
libel,  was  questioned  and  more  than  questioned  by  judicial 
authority,  as  will  appear  from  the  following  scene  that 
occurred  in  1 784,  in  a  case  of  trial  for  libel  where  the  Dean 
of  St.  Asaph  was  indicted  for  publishing  the  "  Dialogue 
between  a  Gentleman  and  a  Farmer,"  written  by  Sir 
William  Jones — a  case  remarkable  for  the  eloquent  speech 
of  Erskine  which  Charles  James  Fox  repeatedly  declared 
he  thought  the  finest  argument  in  the  English  language,  and 
which  is  considered  to  have  prepared  the  way  for  the  intro- 
duction of  Mr.  Fox's  Libel  Bill. 

"  Mr.  Erskine,  Is  the  word  only  to  stand  as  part  of 
your  verdict  ? 

"  A  Juror.      Certainly. 

"  Mr.  Erskine.     Then  I  insist  it  shall  be  recorded. 

"  Mr.  Justice  Buller.  Tlien  the  verdict  must  be  mis- 
understood.    Let  me  understand  the  jury. 


1  Lee  V.  Lee,  Moore,  268.  "  Et  les 
justices  diont  que  lou  les  jurors  trove 
matter  encounter  ley,  les  justices  ne 
pnderont  notice  de  ceo,  mes  adjudg- 
eront  comme  le  ley  voit."      "  And  the 


justices  said  that,  when  the  jurors 
find  matter  contrary  to  law,  the  jus- 
tices will  not  take  notice  of  that,  but 
will  give  judgment  according  to  law." 
See  also  15  Viu.  Abr.  523. 


232 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


"  Mr.  Erskine.     The  jury  do  understand  their  verdict. 

"Mr.  Justice  Buller.     Sir,  I  will  not  be  interrupted. 

"  Mr.  Erskine.  I  stand  here  as  an  advocate  for  a  brother^ 
citizen,  and  I  desire  that  the  word  only  may  be  recorded. 

"  Mr.  Justice  Buller,  Sit  down,  sir  ;  remember  your 
duty,  or  I  shall  be  obliged  to  proceed  in  another  manner. 

"  Mr.  Erskine,  Your  lordship  may  proceed  in  what 
manner  you  think  fit.  I  know  my  duty  as  well  as  your 
lordship  knows  yours.     I  shall  not  alter  my  conduct."  ' 

By    the    word  "  only,"   the  jury  meant  to  find,  as    Mr. 
Erskine    observed,    that  there   was  no   sedition.     In  the 
course  of  his  speech  Mr.  Erskine  cited  the   case  of  Penn 
and  Mead,   two  Quakers,  who  in  the  year  1670    being  in- 
dicted for   seditiously  preaching   to  a  multitude  tumuU 
tuously  assembled  in  Gracechurch  Street,  were  tried  before 
the  Recorder  of  London,  who  told  the  jury  that  they  had 
nothing    to   do  but  to  find    whether  the  defendants  had 
preached  or  not ;  for  that  whether  the  matter  or  the  inten- 
tion of  their   preaching  were  seditious  were  questions  of 
law,  and   not  of  fact,  which  they  were  to  keep  to  at  their 
peril.     The  jury  found  Penn  guilty  of  speaking  to  people  in 
Gracechurch  Street  ;  and  on  the  Recorder's   telling  them 
that  they  meant,   no    doubt,  that    he  was   speaking  to   a 
tumult  of  people  there,   he  was   informed  by  the   foreman 
that  they  allowed   of  no  such  words  in  their  finding,  but 
adhered  to  their  former   verdict.      The  Recorder  refused  to 
receive  it,   and  desired  them   to  withdraw,  on  which   they 
again  retired,  and  brought  a  general  verdict  of  acquittal, 
which  the  Court  considering   as  a  contempt,  set  a  fine  of 
forty  marks  upon   each  of  them,  and   condemned  them  to 
lie  in  prison  till  it  was  paid.     Edward  Bushel,  one   of  the 
jurors,  refused   to  pay  his  fine,   and,  being  imprisoned  in 

»  State  Trials,  vol.  xxi.  pp.  950,  951. 


1649.] 


LAW  AND  FACT. 


233 


consequence   of  his   refusal,  sued   out  his   writ  of  habeas 
corpus,  which,  with  the   cause  of  his  commitment,  viz.  his 
refusing  to  find  according  to  the^  direction  of  the  Court  in 
matter  of  law,  was  returned  by  the  Sheriffs  of  London  to 
the  Court   of    Common  Pleas,  when   Lord  Chief   Justice 
Vaughan  delivered  his  opinion  as    follows: — "We    must 
take  off  this  veil  and  colour  of  words,  which  make  a  show 
of  being  something,  but  are  in  fact  nothing.   If  the  mean- 
ing  of  these  words,  finding   against  the  direction  of  the 
Court  in  matter  of  law,  be,  that  the  judge,  having  heard 
the  evidence  given  in  Court  (for  he  knows  no  other),  shall 
tell  the  jury,  upon  this   evidence,  that   the  law  is  for  the 
Crown,  and  they,  under  the  pain  of  fine  and  iniprisonment, 
are  to  find  accordingly,   every  man  sees   that  the  jury   is 
but  a  troublesome  delay,  great  charge,  and  of  no  use  in 
determining  right  and  wiong,  and   therefore   the   trials  by 
them  may  be  better  abolished  than  continued  ;  which  were 
a  strange  and  new-found   conclusion,  after   a   trial  so  cele- 
brated for  many  hundreds  of  years  in  this  country.'*      He 
then  applied   the   doctrine  with   double  force   to   criminal 
cases,    and    discharged  the  juror   from    his  commitment.* 
However  Lord   Mansfield  in  delivering  the  judgment   of 
the  Court  in  the  Dean  of  St.  Asaph's  case  made  some  obser- 
vations to  the  efiect  that  from  the  Revolution  down  to  that 
time,  nearly  a  hundred  years,  the  direction  of  every  judge, 
as  far   as  it  could   be  traced,  had   been  consonant   to   the 
doctrine  of  Mr.  Justice  Buller,  viz.  that  the  matter  for  the 
jury   to  decide  was,  whether  the  Defendant   was  guilty  of 
the  fact  or  not.^     It   will  appear  however  that  in  the  case 


1  Penn  and  Mead.  State  Trials, 
vol.  ri.  p.  999. 

2  In  1791  Mr.  Fox  brought  in  a  bill, 
which  was  finally  passed  in  1792,  and 
became  the  statute  32  Geo.  3,  c.  60, 


that  on  trial  for  libel  the  jury  may 
give  a  general  verdict  upon  the  whole 
matter  put  in  issue,  and  shall  not  be 
required  by  the  Court  to  find  a  verdict 
merely  on  tbe  matter  of  fact. 


234 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


of  Lilburne,  though  the  presiding  judge  in  his  charge  to 
the  jury  told  them  that  they  were  the  proper  judges  of  the 
"  matter  of  fact/^  and  though  notwithstanding  this,  the  jury 
brought  in  a  verdict  of  "  Not  Guilty  of  Treason/'  the 
Court  took  no  exceptions  to  their  verdict. 

Lilburne  now  proceeded  to  make  his  answer  to  the  proof 
of  the  indictment  in  the  same  order  in  which  the  several 
witnesses  had  given  their  evidence.  The  principal  points 
on  which  he  insisted  were,  that  there  were  not  two  wit- 
nesses, as  required  by  law,  to  any  one  fact  sworn  against 
him  ;  and  that  his  "  Agreement  of  the  People  ''  was  before 
the  new  law  of  treason  of  May  and  July  of  that  vear, 
1G49. 

The  circumstances  attending  the  conclusion  of  Lilburne^s 
defence  are  very  characteristic  both  of  the  man  and  of  the 
time.     The  Lord  Commissioner  Keble  having  interrupted 
him,  saying  "  do  not  tell  us  a  story,  but  go  on  to  finish  the 
matter  of  fxct,^''  and  again  ''  what  is  material,  you  shall  not 
be  debarred   in  it,''  Lilburne  thus  went  on  and  concluded 
his  long  defence.      -  O  Lord,  sir  !  what  strange  judges  are 
you,  that  you  will  neither  aUow  me  counsel  to  help  me  to 
plead,  nor  suffer  me  myself  to  speak  for  my  own  life  !      Is 
this  your  law  and  justice,  sir  ?     I  have  no  more  to  say  but 
this,  seeing  you  straiten  me  ;  although  you  said  you  would 
hear  me  till  midnight.      I  hope  I  have  made  it  evident  to 
aU  rational   men,  that  all  or  any  part  of  the  testimony 
given  in  against  me  does  not  in  the  exact  eye  of  the  law 
in  the  least  touch  me,  although  I  have  been  most  unjustly 
imprisoned,   and   most   barbarously   used,   and    tyrannized 
over  ;  yea,  and  my  estates  by  will  and  power  taken  from 
me  ;  that   should   have  kept  me  and  mine  alive,  and  the 
legal  and  customary  allowance  of  the  Tower  denied  me  to 
this  day.     And  although  I  have  used  all  Christian  and  fair 


1649.] 


LILBURNE'S  DEFENCE. 


235 


means  to  compose  my  differences  with  my  adversaries,  yet 
nothing  would  serve  their  turns,  but  I  must  have  oppres- 
sion upon  oppression  laid  upon   me,  enough  to  break  the 
back  of  a  horse  ;  and  then  if  I  cry  out  of  my  oppressions 
in  any  kind,  I  must  have  new  treason-snares  made  to  catch 
me,  many  months  after   their   oppressions   were  first   laid 
upon   me,  that  if  I  so  much  as  whimper  or  speak  in  the 
least  of  their  unjust  dealing  with  me,  I  must  die  therefore 
as  a  traitor.      O  miserable  servitude  1   and  miserable  bond- 
age, in   the  first  year  of  England's  freedom  I   I  have  now 
no  more  to  say  unto  you,  but  only  this.     Your  own  law 
tells  me.  Sir  Edward  Coke  speaks  it  three  or  four  times  over 
in  his  third  part  of  Institutes,  That  it  is  the  law  of  England, 
that  any  by-stander  may  speak  in  the  prisoner's  behalf,  if 
he  see  anything  urged  against  him  contrary  to  law,  or  do 
apprehend  he  falls  short  of  urging  any  material  thing  that 
may  serve  for  his  defence  and  preservation.      Here  is  your 
own  law  for  it,  sir ;  Coke  is  full  and  pregnant  to  this  pur- 
pose in  his  third  part  of  Institutes,  fol.  29,  34,  37.     But 
this  hath  several  times  been  denied  me  in  the  case  of  Mr. 
Sprat,  my  solicitor  ;  and   now    I    demand  it  again,  as  my 
right  by  law,   that   he   may   speak   a  few  words  for  me, 
according  to  his  often  desire  both  to  me  and  the  Court.      I 
have  almost  done,  sir  ;  only  once  again  I  claim  that  as  my 
right  which  you  have  promised,  that  I  should  have  counsel 
to   matter  of  law.     And  if  you  give   me  but  your   own 
promise,  which  is  my  undoubted  right  by  your  own  law, 
I  fear  not  my  Ufe.     But  if  you  again  shall  deny  both  these 
legal  privileges,  I  shall  desire  my  jury  to  take  notice,  that  I 
aver  you  rob  me  of  the  benefit  of  the  law,  and  go  about  to 
murder  me,  without  and  against  law  :  and  therefore  as  a 
freeborn   Enghshman,  and  as   a   true   Christian  that  now 
stands   in  the  sight  and  presence  of  God,  with  an  upright 


236 


HISTOEY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


1649] 


ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S  MISSTATEMENTS. 


237 


heart  and  conscience,  and  with  a  cheerful  countenance,  I  cast 
my  life,  and  the  lives  of  all  the  honest  freemen  of  Eng- 
land, into  the  hands  of  God,  and  his  gracious  protection,  and 
into  the  care  and  conscience  of  my  honest  jury  and  fellow- 
citizens  ;  who,  I  again  declare,  by  the  law  of  England  are 
the  conservators  and  sole  judges  of  my  life,  having  inherent 
in  them  alone  the  judicial  power  of  the  law,  as  well  as 
fact :  you  judges  that  sit  there  being  no  more,  if  they 
please,  but  cyphers  to  pronounce  the  sentence,  or  their 
clerks  to  say  Amen  to  them  :  being  at  the  best  in  your 
original  but  the  Norman  Conqueror's  intruders.  And 
therefore  you,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  are  my  sole  judges, 
the  keepers  of  my  life,  at  whose  hands  the  Lord  will 
require  my  blood,  in  case  you  leave  any  part  of  my  indict- 
ment to  the  cruel  and  bloody  men.  And  therefore  I  desire 
you  to  know  your  power,  and  consider  your  duty  both  to 
God,  to  me,  to  your  own  selves,  and  to  your  country  : 
And  the  gi-acious  assisting  spirit  and  presence  of  the  Lord 
God  Omnipotent,  the  governor  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  all 
things  therein  contained,  go  along  with  you,  give  counsel  and 
direct  you,  to  do  that  which  is  just,  and  for  His  glory  !  "  ^ 

When  Lilburne  had  ended,  the  people  with  a  loud  voice 
cried.  Amen,  ATnen,  and  gave  an  *'  extraordinary  great 
hum ; "  which  made  tlie  judges  look  "  something  un- 
towardly  "  about  them,  and  caused  Major-General  Skippon 
to  send  for  three  more  companies  of  foot- soldiers.^ 

Mr.  Attorney- General  Prideaux  in  his  reply  exhibited 
an  instructive  lesson  to  all  after-ages ;  for  he  showed  that 
the  "  servile  subtlety  of  crown  lawyers ''  could  be  exercised 
as  shamelessly  for  this  remnant  of  a  Parliament,  which 
boasted  that  it  had  put  down  tyrants  and  tyranny  in  Eng- 
land for  ever,  as  it  had  been  exercised  to  gratify  the  lust 

»  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  pp.  1394,  1395.         »  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1395. 


of  unjust  dominion  of  any  single  tyrant  bearing  the  name 
of  Tudor  or  of  Stuart.  He  also  exhibited  in  a  remarkable 
degree,  if  not  the  *'  ingenium  velox,''  the  insensibility  to 
shame,  the  *'  audacia  perdita  "  which  has  characterized  too 
many  advocates,  and  has  also  most  unhappily  raised  too 
many  of  them  to  an  eminence  at  the  bar  from  which  they 
have  *' rotted  into  peers.''  Many,  many  have  been  the 
Attorney-Generals  who  have  lied  as  audaciously  as  Prideaux, 
and  few  the  prisoners  who  have  dared  to  tell*  them  what 
Lilburne  told  Prideaux  when  he  said  "  I  wonder,  Mr.  Pri- 
deaux, you  are  not  ashamed  to  aver  such  notorious  false- 
hoods, as  you  do,  in  the  open  face  of  the  Court,  before 
thousands  of  witnesses." 

"  The  prisoner  "  said  Prideaux,  "  began  to  cite  you  two 
Acts  of  Parliament  ;  the  one  in  the  1st  of  Edward  VI., 
and  the  other  5th  and  6th  of  Edward  VI.  ;  and  by  these 
two  Acts  he  would  signify  to  you,  that  you  should  have  two 
plain  and  evident  witnesses  to  every  particular  fact  :  yet  he 
did  forget  to  cite  another  statute  made  in  the  first  and  second 
years  of  Philip  and  Mary,  that  overthrows  and  annihilates 
those  two  statutes  that  would  have  two  plain  witnesses  to 
every  fact  of  treason."  Prideaux  then  went  on  to  say 
with  regard  to  the  evidence  of  one  of  the  witnesses  New- 
combe  :  — "  The  prisoner  did  not  repeat  fillly  what  he  said  ; 
for  I  remember  he  said  this,  That  Mr.  Lilburne  and 
Captain  Jones  came  together,  and  brought  the  copy  of 
the  last  sheet  that  was  to  be  printed.  They  came  again 
the  same  day  at  night ;  and  when  the  first  sheet  was 
printed,  to  be  sure  it  was  true  and  right  Mr.  Lilburne  did 
take  the  pains  to  take  one  of  the  copies  in  his  hand,  and 
corrected  it.'' 

Here  Lilburne  interrupted  the  Attorney-General  with 
these    words : — "  By  your  favour,  sir,  he   urged   no  such 


238 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


thing  :  by  your  favour,  sir,  they  are  the  express  words  of 
the  testimony  to  the  quite  contrary  ;  and  I  wonder,  Mr. 
Prideaux,  you  are  not  ashamed  to  aver  such  notorious 
falsehoods,  as  you  do,  in  the  open  face  of  the  Court,  before 
thousands  of  witnesses ;  for  Newcombe  said  no  such  thing 
as  you  falsely  affirm ;  neither  is  there  any  such  statute  in 
Queen  Mary's  time  that  doth  abolish  those  two  statutes  of 
Edward  YI.,  that  I  insist  upon  for  two  witnesses  :  name 
your  statute  if  you  can  ;  here  is  the  statute-book,  let  the 
jury  hear  it  read  ;  do  not  abuse  them  with  your  impudent 
falsehoods." 

All  the  answer  Mr.  Attorney-General  made  was  this  : 
"  Well,  sir,  I  leave  it  to  the  judgment  of  the  jury,  sir."  ^ 

Now  it  is  important  to  see  how  far  the  Attorney- Gene- 
ral's assertion  was  true,  as  he  himself  would  declare,  or 
false,  as  Lilburne  declared.  The  Attorney-General  asserted 
as  we  have  seen  that  Mr.  Lilburne  "  took  one  of  the  copies 
in  his  hand,  and  corrected  it.''  On  the  other  hand  Thomas 
Newcombe  the  printer  when  sworn  had  said :  "  My  lord,  I 
shall  tell  you  the  manner  of  our  trade  in  this  particular. 
The  manner  is,  that  after  we  have  set  a  form  of  the  letter, 
we  make  a  proof  of  it,  which  proof  we  have  a  corrector 
does  read  :  my  corrector  he  had  one,  being  he  corrected  it, 
and  Captain  Jones  looked  upon  the  manuscript.  And 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Lilburne  had  a  copy  of  the  same  sheet 
uncorrected  ;  but  he  did  not  correct  it,  nor  read  to  the 
corrector."  ^  Again  as  regards  Mr.  Attorney- General  Pri- 
deaux's  assertion  that  a  statute  of  Philip  and  Mary  repealed 
the  statutes  of  Edward  VI.  which  required  two  witnesses 
in  all  cases  of  hioh  treason,  it  is  true  that  the  statute 
1  Mary  sess.  1,  cap.  1,  is  an  Act  repealing  and  taking  away 
all  treasons   but   such   as  are   declared  by  the  statute  of 

1  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1396.  «  State  Trials,  p.  1334. 


1649.] 


ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S  MISSTATEMENTS. 


239 


treasons  of  Edward  III.  But  this  statute  did  not  repeal 
the  statutes  of  Edward  VI.  requiring  two  witnesses,  those 
statutes  of  Edward  VI.  being  still  unrepealed.  And  the 
statute  1  &;  2  Ph.  &  Mar.  c.  10,  so  far  from  repealing,  as 
the  Attorney-General  asserts,  the  statutes  of  Edward  VI. 
which  required  two  witnesses  in  all  cases  of  treasons,  is  as 
follows  (sect.  11)  : — "That  upon  the  arraignment  of  any 
person  which  hereafter  shall  fortune  to  be  arraigned  for 
any  treason  mentioned  in  this  Act,  all  and  every  person 
and  persons  (or  two  of  them  at  the  least)  who  shall  here- 
after write  declare,  confess  or  depose  any  thing  or  things 
against  the  person  to  be  arraigned  shall,  if  living  and 
within  the  realm,  be  brought  in  person  before  the  party 
arraigned  if  he  require  the  same,  and  object  and  say  openly 
in  his  hearing  what  they  or  any  of  them  can  against  him, 
for  or  concerning  any  the  treasons  contained  in  the  indict- 
ment whereupon  the  party  shall  be  so  arraigned,  unless  the 
party  arraigned  for  any  such  treason  shall  willingly  confess 
the  same  at  the  time  of  his  or  their  arraignment.''  And 
the  1  2th  section  of  the  same  statute  is — "  That  in  all  cases 
of  high  treason  concerning  coin  current  within  this  realm, 
or  for  counterfeiting  the  king  or  queen's  signet,  privy  seal, 
great  seal,  or  sign  manual,  such  manner  of  trial  and  none 
other  be  observed  and  kept  as  heretofore  hath  been  used 
by  the  common  laws  of  this  realm.''  Blackstone's  state- 
ment is  this  :  *^In  all  cases  of  high  treason,  petit  treason, 
and  misprision  of  treason,  by  statutes  1  Edv\^.  VI.  c.  1  2,  and 
b  k>  ^  Edw.  VI.  c.  11,  two  ^  lawful  witnesses  are  required 
to  convict  a  prisoner ;  unless  he  shall  willingly  and  without 
violence  confess  the  same.  By  statute  1  &  2  Ph.  &  Mar. 
c.  10,  a  farther  exception  is  made  as  to  treason  in  counter- 
feiting the  king's  seals  or  signatures,  and  treasons  concerning 

*  The  italics  ai-c  Dliickstoue's. 


240 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


coin  current  within  this  realm.''  ^  So  far  indeed  is  this  statute 
of  Philip  and  Mary  from  repealing  that  of  Edward  VI.  as 
to  the  necessity  of  two  witnesses,  that  it  expressly  confirms 
it  on  that  point,  requiring,  as  before  stated,  two  witnesses  at 
the  least,  with  the  exceptions  above  specified.  Such  a  pro- 
ceeding therefore  as  this,  which  has  been  exhibited  on  the 
part  of  Prideaux  the  Attorney- General,  was  discreditable 
not  only  to  that  law  officer,  but  to  the  Government  which 
employed  and  countenanced  him  in  this  audacious  and 
shameless  mendacity. 

•Prideaux  having  again  asserted  that  one  witness  was 
"sufficient  enough  by  the  forementioned  Act  of  Queen 
Mary,''  Lilburne  again  interrupted  him,  and  it  will  be  seen 
in  what  follows  that  both  judge  and  Attorney-General 
make  but  a  sorry  figure. 

*'  Lilburne.  Sir,  1  beseech  you  produce  your  Act  of 
ParHament  in  Queen  Mary's  time,  to  prove,  in  cases  of 
treason,  there  ought  to  be  but  a  single  witness. 

" Mr.  Attorney,     Do  not  interrupt  me,  Mr.  Lilburne. 

"  Lilburne.  I  pray  you  then  do  not  urge  that  which 
is  not  right  nor  true,  but  notoriously  false  ;  for,  if  you 
persevere  in  it,  I  will  interrupt  you,  and  tell  you  of  it  to 

the  purpose. 

"  Justic  Jermin.      Though  you  do  recite  many  things, 
yet  I  must  tell  you,  the  law  of  the  land  saith,  the  Counsel 
for  the  Commonwealth  must  be  heard. 

"  Lilburne.  I  beseech  you,  then,  let  there  be  no  more 
added  to  the  testimony  than  right  and  truth  ;  for  my  life 
lies  upon  it,  and  I  must  and  will  declare  the  baseness  and 
falseness  of  it. 

"  Mr.  Attorney.  I  would  not  do  the  tenth  part  of  the 
hair  of  your  head  wrong ;  but  being  entrusted  I  shall  do 

>  4  Blackst.  Com.  356,  357. 


1649.] 


ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S  MISSTATEMENTS. 


241 


my  duty,  and  discharge  my  conscience  in  my  place, 
which  is  fully  and  plainly  to  open  that  unto  them  which 
in  my  conscience  I  think  is  right  and  just. 

"  Lilburne.  I  do  repeat  it  thus,  as  in  my  conscience, 
that  he  did  say,  when  the  copy  was  first  brought.  Captain 
Jones  gave  him  the  copy,  and  Captain  Jones  did  agree 
with  him  for  the  printing  of  it ;  and  Captain  Jones  did 
read  the  original  to  his  corrector,  which  corrector  amended 
the  printer's  faults,  and  that  I  had  an  uncorrected  sheet 
away  ;  and  that  his  forms  were  taken  before  he  had  per- 
fected that. 

"Mr,  Attorney.  And  Mr.  Lilburne  came  the  second 
time. 

"  Lilburne.  Will  you  spend  all  day  in  vain  repetitions  ? 
You  would  not  give  one  leave  to  breathe,  nor  freely  to 
speak  truth,  without  interruption,  although  you  were 
laying  load  upon  me  for  hve  hours  together  ;  I  pray,  sir, 
do  not  now  go  about  to  tire  the  jury  with  tedious 
repetitions,  nor  to  sophisticate  or  adulterate  their  under- 
standings with  your  falsehoods  and  untruths. 

"  Justice  Jermin.  Mr.  Lilburne,  the  law  of  the  land  is, 
that  the  counsel  for  the  State  must  speak  last. 

'^Lilburne.  Sir,  your  law  is  according  to  the  law  of 
God,  3^ou  said ;  and  that  law,  I  am  sure,  will  have  no  man 
to  bear  false  witness  :  why  doth  Mr.  Prideaux  tell  the  jury 
such  falsehoods  as  he  doth,  and  take  up  six  times  more 
time  to  take  away  my  life,  than  you  or  he  will  allow  me 
to  defend  it."  * 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  Justice  Jermin  did  not 
put  in  his  word  to  admonish  the  Attorney. General  with 
respect  to  his  false  statements,  both  of  law  and  fact.  Yet 
one  should  think  that  this  was  the  principal,  the  first  and 

»  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  pp.  1396,  1397. 

R 


242 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


paramount  duty  of  a  judge.  Why  this  sacred  and  para- 
mount  duty  was  left  unperformed  in  1649,  and  why  it  is 
still  left  unperformed  after  the  lapse  of  two  centuries  of 
boasted  civilization  ;  is  a  question  which  may  seem  easier 
to  answer  to  those  who  know  only  the  theory  of  law  than 
to  those  who  know  how  much  the  practice  of  law  is 
complicated  by  causes  that  lie  deep  in  the  darkest 
recesses  of  human  nature.  But  one  remark  is  obvious 
enough,  that  in  the  present  state  of  society  where  what 
passes  at  a  trial  in  a  court  of  justice  is  immediately  circu- 
lated by  the  press  to  an  extent  unknown  and  unimagined 
in  the  1 7th  century,  a  very  few  cases  of  such  bold  exposure 
of  mendacity  in  a  counsel  as  Lilburne's  exposure  of  the 
mendacity  of  Prideaux  would  go  far  to  keep  the  "  licence 
of  counsel "  within  some  bounds  of  decency. 

The  Attorney-General  admitted  that  Lilburne's  "  Agree- 
ment of  the  People"  was  dated  the  1st  of  May,  1649, 
and  was  therefore  before  the  new  law  of  treason  of  May 
and  July,  1649.  But  he  asserted  that  when  Lilburne 
"came  to  bring  in  those  books  in  August  last,  then  he 
does  now  publish  that  *  Agreement  of  the  People.'  "^  And 
he  afterwards  made  use  of  some  words  which,  besides 
containing  a  clear  admission  that,  by  the  old  constitutional 
laws  of  England,  they  had  no  case  of  treason  against 
Lilburne,  evinced  an  injudicious  and  even  indecent  eager- 
ness on  the  part  of  the  Government  for  his  destruc- 
tion. Indeed,  whatever  might  be  the  want  of  respect 
evinced  by  Lilburne  towards  the  Court,  the  defects  both 
of  the  Attorney-General  and  of  the  judges  as  regards  tact, 
acuteness,  constitutional  knowledge,  and  regard  for  con- 
stitutional rights  are  very  apparent  throughout  this 
whole  proceeding.     The  words  are  these :   *'  Mr.  Lilburne 

1  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  pp.  1397,  1398. 


1649.]  ATTOENEY-GENERAL'S  MISSTATEMENTS.  243 

had  been  tried  for  his  life  sooner,  upon  my  knowledge ; 
I  say,  Mr.  Lilburne  had  been  sooner  tried,  and  sooner 
condemned  and  executed,  if  the  law  had  been  sooner 
made  and  published.  But,  as  he  saith  right  well,  '  where 
there  is  no  law,  there  is  no  transgression;'  and  therefore 
there  being  a  law  against  which  he  hath  offended,  he  must 
smart  for  it."  ^ 

"  LilbuTne.  I  am  sure  I  was  imprisoned  most  unjustly, 
without  any  the  least  shadow  or  colour  in  law,  many 
months  before  your  acts  were  made,  and  extremely 
oppressed ;  and  now  you  go  about  to  hang  me  as  a 
traitor,  for  at  most  but  crying  out  of  your  oppression. 
O  unrighteous  men  !  The  Lord  in  mercy  look  upon  me, 
and  deliver  me  and  every  honest  man  from  you,  the  vilest 
of  men  ! 

''Mx.  Attorney,     And    that   law     was    published  and 
proclaimed  in  this  city,  by  means  of  which,  Mr.  Lilburne 
and  others  had  timely  notice  that  they  should  not  do  such 
things  as  are  there  forbidden ;  it    is  also  told   them  the 
penalties   of   it,    which    are   those  that    are    due  for   the 
highest  high  treason  :    and  yet  notwithstanding  you  see 
with  what   boldness,   with   what  conscience,  in  despite  of 
all  law  and  authority,  these   books  have  been  made  and 
published  by  Mr.  Lilburne.      And  whereas  he  is  pleased  to 
say  many  times,  that  many  men  have   petitioned  for  him 
to  the  Parliament,  he  will  not  affirm  to  you  that  ever  he 
petitioned  himself;  but  in  all  his  discourses  here,  he  calls 
them    'the     present    men    in    power,    the    gentlemen    at 
Westminster;'    nay,    my   lord,    he  hath  not    so  much    as 
owned  the  power  of  the  Court,  since  he  came  before  you, 
but  hath  often  caUed  you  cyphers,  and  the  like. 

''Lilburne.     That  is  no  treason,  sir,  they  entitled  them. 

*  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1400. 

R   2 


244 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


selves  '  the  present  power  \  and  would  you  hang  me  for 
not  giving  them  a  better  style,  than  they  themselves  give 
to  themselves  ?  I  think  the  style  of  '  present  power  or 
present  government/  is  a  very  fit  style  for  them. 

'^  Mr.  Attorney.  My  lord,  I  have  told  you  long,  it  is 
the  juiy  that  are  judges  upon  the  fact  ;  and  to  you  I 
must  appeal  for  law,  if  you  do  believe  the  evidence  is 
plain  and  full  against  him,  for  which  he  stands  indicted  ; 
and  so  God  direct  all  your  judgments  !     I  have  done. 

"  Lilhurne,  Sir,  by  your  favour,  I  shall  desire  to 
address  myself  in  one  word  to  you  ;  which  is,  to  desire 
that  the  jury  may  read  the  first  chapter  of  Queen  Mary,  in 
the  statute-book,  and  the  last  clause  of  the  chapter  of  the 
1 3th  of  Elizabeth  ;  where  they  shall  clearly  see,  especially  in 
the  statute  of  Queen  Mary,  that  they  abhorred  and  detested 
the  making  of  words  or  writing  to  be  treason  ;  which  is 
such  a  bondage  and  snare,  that  no  man  knows  how  to  say 
or  do,  or  behave  himself,  as  is  excellently  declared  by  the 
statutes  of  Hen.  4,  c.  2}     I  have  done,  sir."^ 

The  presiding  judge,  Keble,  now  commenced  his  charge 
to  the  jury.      He  began  by  informing  or   at  least  remind- 
ing the  jury  that    they  are   men   of    conscience,   gravity, 
and  understanding  ;  by  telling  them  of  the  sacredness  of 
an  oath  "  which  a  man  must  not  transgress  in  the  least, 
not  to    save  the  world ;'    and  then  at  once  proceeded  to 
deal  with  the   matter  of   two  witnesses  upon  which  the 
Attorney-General  had    already  tried  his  forensic  powers. 
The  judicial    attempt  to  remove  the   difficulty  is  a  little 
difi'erent  from  that  of  the  advocate  but  not  more  successful. 
«  Mr.  Lilburne,"   said  the  judge,  "  hath  cited  two  statutes 
of  Edward   VI.  to  prove  there  must  be  two  witnesses  ; 

I  By  the  statute   4  Hen.   4,  c.   2,       an  indictment. 
^o2Miatoresviarur..nAdep^u.  ^  Stute  Trials,    vol.   iv.  pp.   1400, 

lutorcs  aunymm  are  not  to  be  used  in      1401. 


1649.]        JUDGE  KEBLE'wS  MISSTATEMENT  OF  THE  LAW.  245 

but  I  must  tell  him,  were  there  but  one  to  each  fact,  it 
were  enough  in  law  ;  for  as  for  that  which  was  cited  of 
King  Edward  VI.,  you  have  had  it  fully  amended  by  a 
latter  law  of  Queen  Mary,  which  doth  over-rule  that,  and 
also  enacts  that  the  common  law  of  England  shall  be  the 
rule  by  which  all  treasons  shall  be  tried  ;  which  reacheth 
to  this  case  too,  that  there  need  no  more  but  one  witness, 
and  this  is  law.''  ^ 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  that,  whereas  the  Attorney- 
General  had  cited  the  statute  of  Philip  and   Mary  which 

*  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1401.      It  in  the  walks  ;  from  thence  to  dinner  : 

is  worthy  of  notice  that  in  an  edition  thence  back  to  his  study,  and  at  six  to 

of  the   "Statutes  at  Large,   with  the  the  walks  again."      That  is,  when  he 

titles  of  those  expired  and  repealed,"  was  not  in  the  Court  of  King's  Bench, 

folio,    London,  1676,  by  Joseph  Keble  which  he  attended  constantly  for  near 

of  Gniy's  Inn,  Esquire,  a  son  of  this  50   years,    from   1661   to   1710.      In 

Judge  Keble,    both   these   statutes  of  the  vacation  time  he  usually  walked 

Edward  VI.  requiring^two" witnesses  are  to    Hampstead,    having  purchased    a 

printed  in  full.     Lord  Campbell  in  his  small  copyhold   estate   at   North-end. 

Lives   of    the    Chancellors    confounds  The  writer  of  his  life  in  the  Biogra- 

this  Joseph  Keble,  the  reporter,  with  phica  Britannica  says  he  is  informed 

his  father,  Richard  Keble,  serjeant-at-  by  Mr.   Samuel  Keble,   Bookseller  in 

law,  and  one  of  the  commissioners  of  Fleet  Street,  that  his  relation  generally 

the   Great   Seal   under  the   Common-  performed    the    walk    in    the    same 

wealth.    Lord  Campbell  says  (vol.  iii.  number   of    steps,    which  were    often 

p.    351,    4th    edition),     "A    drowsy  counted   by   him.       "He   continually 

Serjeant  of  the  name  of  Keble,  known  laboured  with   his  pen,  not   only   to 

only  for  some   bad  law   reports,    was  report  the  law  at  the    King's   Bench 

added  to  the  number  [of  Commissioners  Westminster,   but  all  the  sermons  at 

of    the  Great  Seal],   and  joyfully  ac-  Gray's  Inn  Chapel,  both  forenoon  and 

cepted  tlie  appointment."    Now  Joseph  afternoon,   amounting  to  about  4000. 

Keble  the  reporter  was  born  in  1632  This  was  the   mode    in   those   times 

(Biog.   Brit.  Keble,  Joseph),  and  was  when    he  was  young." — Biog.    BHt. 

called  to  the  bar  in  1658,  consequently  Kchle^  Joseph,  note  [B].     Wood  (Ath. 

according  to  Lord  Campbell  he  must  Oxon.    Joseph     Keble)    saya    Joseph 

have  been  appointed  a  commissioner  of  Keble  was  made  fellow  of  All  Souls' 

the  Great  Seal  before  he  was  called  to  College  (from  that  of  Jesus  where  he 

the  bar  and  at  the  age  of  17.    Neither  first  studied)  by  the  visitors  appointed 

was  Keble  the  reporter  ever  a  serjeant.  by   Parliament   in    1648  ;   and  after- 

The  account  of  the  even  tenour  of  life  wards  settling  in  Gray's  Inn,  became  a 

of  this  Joseph  Keble  gives  an  idea  of  barrister    and    at  length   a   bencher, 

the  life  at  the  Inns  of  Court  in  those  But  there  is  no  evidence  whatever  that 

days.      "Rising    before    six    in    the  Keble  the  reporter  was  ever  a  serjeant ; 

morning  he  employed  himself  in   his  or  that  Keble  the  serjeant,  the  father 

study  till  eleven  ;  then  met  company  of  the  other,  was  ever  a  reporter. 


246 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


i, 


went  directly  against  liim  in  expressly  requiring  two 
witnesses  "  at  the  least/'  the  judge  suppressed  all  allusion 
to  that  statute  of  Philip  and  Mary,  and  grounded  his 
argument  on  the  repealing  statute  of  the  first  year  of 
Queen  Mary,  which  was  made  for  the  purpose  of  removing 
from  the  statute  book  the  new  treasons  introduced  by  the 
tyranny  of  Henry  VIII.  The  argument  of  the  judge 
was  so  far  less  blundering  than  that  of  the  Attorney- 
General,  inasmuch  as  it  relied  more  on  a  suppression  of 
the  truth,  whereas  the  argument  of  the  Attorney- General 
was  grounded  on  not  a  mere  suggestion  but  on  a  positive 
assertion  of  a  falsehood.  This  jury  however  who  tried 
Lilburne  proved  themselves  on  this  occasion  better 
keepers  of  the  liberties  of  England  than  those  who  had 
conferred  that  title  upon  themselves,  for  when  the  judge's 
charge  to  them  was  ended,  the  foreman  of  the  jury  desired 
to  have  the  act  for  treason.^  At  the  same  time  one  of 
the  jury  desired  to  drink  a  cup  of  sack,  assigning  as 
a  reason  for  his  request,  that  they  had  sat  long,  and  how 
much  longer  the  debate  of  the  business  might  last  he 
knew  not ;  he  therefore  desired  that  they  might  have 
amongst  them  a  quart  of  sack  to  refresh  them.  But  a 
quart  of  sack  was,  it  seems,  too  strong  a  dose  for  the  con- 
science of  Mr.  Justice  Jermin,  who  said,  "  Gentlemen  of 
the  jury,  I  know  for  my  part  in  ordinary  juries  that  they 
have  been  permitted  to  drink  before  they  went  from  the 
bar  ;  but  in  case  of  felony  or  treason,  I  never  so  much  as 
heard  it  so,  or  so  much  as  asked  for  ;  and  therefore  you 
cannot  have  it."  One  of  the  judges  moved  they  might 
have  it.  But  Justice  Jermin  was  firm  in  the  matter  of 
sack,  saying, — "  I  may  not  give  leave  to  have  my  conscience 
to  err  ;  I  dare  not.      And   thus  if  the  rest  of  the  judges 

»  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1404. 


1649.] 


LILBUBNE'S  ACQUITTAL. 


247 


be  of  opinion,  you  shall  have  a  light  if  you  please,  the 
fellow  that  keeps  you  shall  help  you  to  it ;  but  for  sack, 
you  can  have  none,  and  therefore  withdraw  about  your 
work.'' 

The  Jury  went  forth  about  five  o'clock.  The  Court 
adjourned  till  six  o'clock,  commanding  the  Lieutenant  of 
the  Tower  and  the  Sherifis  to  carry  the  prisoner  into  the 
Irish  Chamber;  which  they  did.  The  prisoner  staid  there 
about  three  quarters  of  an  hour ;  at  the  end  of  which 
time  the  Jury  being  come  into  the  Court  again,  the 
prisoner  was  sent  for;  and  after  the  Crier  had  caused 
silence,  the  Jury's  names  were  called.  The  Clerk  then 
asked  "  Are  you  agreed  of  your  verdict  ? 

*'  Jury.     Yes. 

"  Clerk.     Who  shall  speak  for  you  ? 

"  Jury,     Our  Foreman. 

"  Cryer.  John  Lilburne,  hold  up  thy  hand.  What  say 
you,  look  upon  the  prisoner,  is  he  guilty  of  the  treasons 
charged  upon  him,  or  any  of  them,  or  Not  Guilty  ? 

"  Foremcin.     Not  guilty  of  all  of  them. 

"  Cleric.  Not  of  all  the  treasons,  nor  of  any  of  them 
that  are  laid  to  his  charire  ? 

''Foreman.     Not  of  all,  nor  of  any  one  of  them. 

''  Clerk     Did  he  fly  for  the  same  ? 

"  Foreman.     No." 

Which  "  No  "  being  pronounced  with  a  loud  voice,  imme- 
diately the  whole  multitude  of  people  in  the  Hall,  for  joy  of 
the  prisoner's  acquittal,  gave,  says  the  contemporary  report, 
"  such  a  loud  and  unanimous  shout,  as  is  believed  was  never 
heard  in  Guildhall,  which  lasted  for  about  half  an  hour 
without  intermission  ;  "  a  shout  "  which  made  the  judges 
for  fear  turn  pale,  and  hang  down  their  heads ; "  *  a  shout 

'  suite  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1405. 


248 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


which  Milton  had  most  probably  heard  and  remembered 
when  he  more  than  ten  years  after  described  that  scene 

"  At  which  the  universal  host  up  sent 
A  shout  that  tore  hell's  concave." 

Meanwhile  the  prisoner  stood  silent  at  the  bar,  rather  more 
sad  in  his  countenance  than  he  was  before.  Silence  being 
at  last  made,  the  Clerk  said  :  "  Then  hearken  to  your  ver- 
dict, the  Court  hath  heard  it:  You  say,  that  John  Lilburne 
is  Not  Guilty  of  all  the  treasons  laid  unto  his  charge,  nor 
of  any  one  of  them ;  and  so  you  say  all,  and  that  he  did 
not  lly  for  it  ? 

''Jury.     Yes,  we  do  so. 

"  Clerk.  Gentlemen  of  the  Grand  Inquest,  the  Court 
doth  discharge  you.  And  you  gentlemen  of  life  and 
death,  the  Court  doth  discharge  you  also.  Lieutenant  of 
the  Tower,  you  are  to  carry  your  prisoner  to  the  Tower 
again,  and  Major  General  Skippon  is  to  guard  you  :  and 
all  whom  you  desire  are  to  assist  you/' 

The  prisoner  was  then  removed,  and  the  Court  adjourned 
till  Wednesday  following. 

Extraordinary  were  the  acclamations  for  the  prisoner's 
deliverance,  "  as  the  like ''  says  the  contemporary  narrative 
"  hath  not  been  seen  in  England."  These  acclamations 
"  and  loud  rejoicing  expressions  "  went  quite  through  the 
streets  with  him  to  the  very  gates  of  the  Tower,  and  for 
joy  the  people  caused  that  night  abundance  of  bonfires  to 
be  made  all  up  and  down  the  streets.  And  yet  notwith- 
standing his  acquittal  by  the  law,  his  adversaries  kept  him 
afterwards  so  long  in  prison,  that  the  people  wondered,  and 
be^an  to  grumble  that  he  was  not  discharged ;  and  several 
of  his  friends  went  to  the  judges,  the  Parliament,  and 
Council  of  State,   by   whose    importunities,    and    by    the 

»  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1405. 


1649.] 


LILBURNE'S  ACQUITTAL. 


249 


seasonable  help  of  the  Lord  Grey  of  Groby,  Colonel  Lud- 
low, Mr.  Robinson,  and  Colonel  Martin,  his  discharge  was 
procured,  for  which  a  warrant  was  issued  bearing  date  the 
8th  of  November,  1649.^ 

It  is  observable  that  the  conduct  of  the  Attorney-General 
and  of  the  judges,  though  discreditably  marked  by  palpably 
dishonest  dealing  with  evidence  and  misstatement  of  law, 
was  not  disgi-aced  by  the  brutality  and  insolence  which, 
superadded  to  the  cruelty  and  violation  of  law,  have  stamped 
with  imperishable  infamy  the  political  trials  of  the  Stuarts. 
Their  demeanour  towards  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  compared 
with  that  of  Scroggs  and  Jefferies  in  similar  circumstances 
was  humane  and  courteous.  If  the  Parliament  and  Council 
of  State  had  been  men  of  greater  wisdom  and  foresight,  and 
greater  knowledge  of  the  English  constitution,  they  would 
have  taken  warning  from  the  very  unequivocal  demonstra- 
tion of  public  opinion  at  Lilburne's  trial  and  acquittal. 
The  assertion  of  one  of  their  advocates  that  the  greater 
part  of  those  who  rejoiced  at  Lilburne's  acquittal  consisted 
of  "  women,  boys,  mechanics,  and  the  most  sordid  sediment 
of  our  plebeians,''  with  "  some  few  Royalists,  or  tm^bulent 
Levellers,"  amounting   to   *'  some  ten  or  twenty  thousand 


»  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1405. 
'*  Whereas  Lieut.  Colonel  John  Lil- 
burne hath  been  committed  prisoner  to 
the  Tower,  upon  suspicion  of  High 
Treason,  in  order  to  his  trial  at  law  ; 
which  trial  he  hath  received  and  is 
thereby  acquitted  :  These  are  therefore 
to  will  and  require  you,  upon  sight 
hereof,  to  discharge  and  set  at  liberty 
the  said  Lieutenant  Colonel  John  Lil- 
burne from  his  imprisonment ;  for 
which  this  shall  be  your  sufficient 
warrant.  Given  at  the  Council  of 
State  at  Whitehall  this  8th  day  of 
November,  1649. — Signed  in  the  name 


and  by  the  order  of  the  Council  of 
State,  appointed  by  authority  of  Par- 
liament.    John  Bradshaw,  President." 

**To  the  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower 
of  London,  or  to  his  Deputy." 

On  the  same  day  a  warrant  was 
issued  for  the  discharge  of  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Walwyn,  Mr.  Thomas  Prince,  and 
Mr.  Richard  Overton  from  their  im- 
prisonment in  the  Tower  ;  and  Orders 
in  their  case  as  well  as  in  that  of  Lt.- 
Col.  John  Lilburne  were  made  by  the 
Council  of  State  accordingly.  —  Order 
Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  8  Nov. 
1649.     MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


250 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IV. 


1649.] 


LILBURNE'S  ACQUITTAL. 


251 


Ijeads  in  all/* '  besides  coming  badly  from  those  who  called 
themselves  the  rulers  or  guardians  of  the  commonwealth  of 
England,   refutes  itself  when  amid  much  weak  and  irre- 
levant verbiage  its  author,  in  reference  to  Lilbume's  argu- 
ment that  the  law  required  two  witnesses,  can  do  no  more 
than  reiterate  the  misstatements  of  the  Attorney-General 
and  the  Judges.^     But  with   all  their  talk   about  liberty 
this  rump  of  the   Long   Parliament   and   their   Council  of 
State  appear  to  have  become  as  great  enemies  to  constitu- 
tional  liberty  as  the  Stuart  whose  tyranny  they  had   over- 
thrown.    So  difficult  has  it  always  been,  as  I  have  before 
said,  to  get  rid  of  one  tyrant  without   the  substitution  of 
another  in  his  place.     For  there  seems   to  be  considerable 
truth  in  the  saying  that  the  most  violent   "  liberty   boys  " 
are  often  the  greatest  tyrants  when  they  have   the   power. 
But  this  being  an  imperfection  incident  to  human  nature 
can  only  be  guarded   against   or  remedied   by  those  safe- 
guards which   good   constitutional   laws   interpose  between 
the  subject  and  the  will  of  any  man  or  any  body  of  men. 
The  Long  Parliament  may  in  this  way  furnish  a  warning 
to   their  successors.     And   fortunately   they   were  neither 
the  first  nor  the  last  who  fought  for  English   constitutional 
liberty.      The  great  barons  had  fought  before  them,  and  had 
left  to  England  the  germs  at  least  of  much  of  what  dis- 
tinguished  her  from  all   the   nations   of  the  earth.      It  is 
worthy  of  observation   that   such   an  acquittal  as  this  of 
Lilburne  could  not  have  taken  place  in  Scotland,  in  France, 
or  anywhere  else   but  in   England.      It  proved  that  some 
spark  of  the  old  constitutional  liberty  still  lived  under  the 
iron   heel   of  the   parliamentary  armies,  though   they  had 
marched   from  victory   to  victory  till    their   masters  had 


almost  forgot  that  an  English  Court  of  Justice  was  a  field 
where  even  they  might  sustain  a  defeat  that  would  be 
equal  to  the  loss  of  a  battle, 

Lieutenant-Colonel  John  Lilburne,  soon  after  his  ac- 
quittal on  the  charge  of  high  treason,  ha^^ng  been  elected 
a  common-council-man  of  London,  a  petition  was  presented 
to  the  House  on  the  26tli  of  December,  1649,  fi'om  several 
aldermen  and  the  sheriffs  of  London  against  him ;  on 
which  the  Parliament  resolved,  "  That  Lieut.-Col.  Lilburne 
was,  by  the  late  Act  *  For  disabling  the  election  of  divers 
persons  to  any  office  or  place  of  trust  within  the  city  of 
London,'  disabled  to  be  chosen  a  common-council-man  ;  and 
his  election  was  void.''  ' 

»  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  p.  1344. 


*  Answer   to  the   Account   of    Lil- 
buruc'a  Trial.      State  Trials,  vol.  iv. 


p.  1469. 
^  State  Trials,  vol.  iv.  p.  1449. 


lit 


ft 


1649.] 


STATE   OF  AFFAIES  IN  SCOTLAND. 


253 


CHAPTER  V. 

We  must  now  direct  our  attention  to  the  state  of  affairs 
in  Scotland,  where  the  Presbyterian  oligarchy  was  pre- 
paring to  give  effect  to  the  indignation  and  hatred  enter- 
tained by  them  against  that  party  which  now  ruled 
England,  and  which  they  designated  by  the  contemptuous 
app^'ellation  of  the  "  English  Sectaries.^' 

The  state  of  parties  had  undergone  a  great  change  since 
the  times  when  the  predecessor  of  the  "  Council  of  State  " 
had  been  the  "  Committee   of   both  Kingdoms,"  in  which 
together  with  several  members  of  the  present  Council  of 
Sttte  had  sat  as  the  representatives  of  Scotland,  the  Earl 
of  Loudon,   the  Lord  Maitland,  the   Lord  Wariston,   Sir 
Charles  Erskine,  Mr.  Robert  Barclay,  Mr,  Kennedy/      In 
the  earlier  part  of  the  struggle  between  King  Charles  and 
his  Parliament  the  English  and  the   Scottish  Parharaents 
had  a  common  interest,   namely  the   interest   of    securing 
themselves    against    the  King's  attempt  to   make  himself 
absolute.     In  this  earlier  period  the  Presbyterians  were  the 


»  Journal  of  the  resolutions  and 
proceedings  of  the  Committee  of  hoth 
kinj?doms,  commencing  February 
1643.  MS.  State  Paper  Oflace. 
"  Orders  for  the  manner  of  proceeding. 
1.  A  chairman  to  be  chosen  to  con- 
tinue a  fortnight.  2.  The  Earl  of 
Northumberland  the  first  fortnight. 
3.  Tliat  the  chairman  be  instructed  to 
provide  some  miuidtcr  of  the  Assembly 


to  pray  daily  at  the  meeting  and  rising 
of  the  Committee."  The  Committee 
met  first  at  Essex  House ;  then  Feb. 
19,  164f ,  at  Yorke  House  ;  Feb.  20,  at 
Warwick  House  ;  Feb.  21,  at  Arundell 
House ;  Feb.  22,  at  Worcester  House ; 
Feb.  23,  at  Derby  House  ;  and  there 
they  continued  to  meet.  Journal, 
ibid. 


dominant  party  in  the  English  Parliament,  and  during  this 
period   the  English   Parliament    and   Scottish   Parliament 
agreed  in  the  main ;  inasmuch  as  they  both  held  and  acted 
upon  the  principle  that  all  the  higher  offices  and  commands 
belonged  of  right,  that  is  by  right  of  birth,  to  the  nobility. 
But  when  the  Independents,  who  held  on  the  other  hand  and 
acted  on  the  principle  that  at  least  military  and  naval  com- 
mands were  to  be  conferred,  not  on  men  of  large  rent-rolls  or 
long  pedigrees,  but  on  men  who  knew  how  to  win  battles, 
turned  the  Presbyterians  out   of  the  English   Parliament, 
the   Scottish  Parliament  prepared   for  war  against   them. 
This  was  the  real  point  on  which  they  were  at  issue.      The 
question   however  was  complicated   by   many  other  con- 
siderations   that   entered  into  it,    some   of   which  I   will 
endeavour    to    explain.       Some    of    these    considerations, 
particularly  the  Scottish  Parliament's  professions  of  zeal  to 
avenge  the  King's  blood,  were   introduced   to   attempt   to 
wash  out  some  portion  of  the  infamy  of  selling  their  king 
to  the  English  Parliament. 

There  is  perhaps  no  part  of  modem  history  where  the 
truth  has  been  more  systematically  kept  out  of  sight  than 
the  history  of  Scotland.  The  explanation  of  the  transac- 
tion of  the  sale  of  King  Charles  the  First  to  the  English 
Parliament  for  a  sum  of  money  under  the  name  of  arrears 
of  pay,  given  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  is  one  among  a  hundred 
examples  of  this.  Sir  Walter  Scott  says  that  "this 
sordid  and  base  transaction,  though  the  work  exclusively 
of  a  mercenary  army,  stamped  the  whole  nation  of  Scot- 
land with  infamy."  ^  Now  I  believe  the  army  and  the 
people  of  Scotland  had  no  more  voice  or  part  in  the  trans- 
action than  the  people  of  Germany  have  or  had  in  the 
sale    of    their    bodies    and    blood    by    their    princes    and 

*  History  of  Scotland,  contained  in  Tales  of  a  Grandfather,  vol.  i.  p.  464. 


254 


mSTOEY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


potentates.  The  Scottish  army  was  not  an  army  of 
mercenaries  at  all,  but  an  army  levied  partly  on  the  feudal, 
partly  on  the  Celtic  clan  principle  carried  into  operation 
with  an  unrelenting  severity.  Such  men  did  not  serve  for 
pay,  but  their  service  was  the  condition  on  which  they 
held,  some  their  estates,  some  their  farms,  some  their  kail- 
yards of  their  feudal  superiors.  Arrears  of  pay  were 
claimed  and  paid.  Paid  to  whom  ?  To  the  covenanted 
oligarchy  for  the  time  being,  who  paid  perhaps  some  part 
of  the  money  to  the  colonels  of  regiments.  Now  who 
were  at  that  time  the  colonels  of  regiments  in  the  a,rmy 
of  the  Covenanted  Oligarchy  and  Kirk  of  Scotland  ?  This 
is  a  subject  somewhat  dark ;  but  after  much  digging  in  the 
rubbish  heaps  and  fossil  remains  of  Scotch  records  and 
Scotch  peerages  and  baronages,  we  obtain  some  glimpses  of 

light. 

Thus  in  1644  we  find  a  certain  individual  styled  the 
Laird  of  Lawers  petitioning  the  Scotch  Parliament  that 
his  troop  of  horse  may  be  mustered  and  paid.^  Again,  we 
find  that  the  body  of  horse  under  Strahan  that  defeated 
and  captured  Montrose  in  Koss-shire  was  partly  composed 
of  36  musquetaires  of  Lawers'  regiment.^  Again,  we  are 
told  that,  at  the  battle  of  Dunbar,  Lawers'  regiment  of 
Highlanders  "  stood  to  the  push  of  pike  and  were  all  cut 
in  pieces."  ^  Now  the  first  impression  naturally  is  that  this 
Laird  of  Lawers  must  have  been  some  long  tried  and  very 
distinguished  officer  ;  probably  some  hardy  old  veteran  of 
Gustavus  Adolphus.     Some  small  misgiving  is  indeed  con- 

J  Balfour,  vol.  iii.  p.  176.  At  the  same  time,  as  the  infantry  regi- 

2  Balfour,  vol.  iv.  p.  9.     It  is  ob-  ments  were  then  composed  partly  of 

servable  that    the    word     ''musque-  musketeers,  partly  of  pikemen,  when 

taires  "  is  here  used  in  the  sense  of  the  the  word  "  musketeers"  is  used  with 

French    "  mousquetaires "    who  corre-  reference    to    English    regiments,     it 

sponded    to   the   English   or    Scottish  must  be  understood  to  mean  infantry, 

regiments  of   Life  or  Horse   Guards.  ^  Gumble's  Life  of  Monk,  p.  38. 


1649.] 


THE  SCOTTISH  OLIGARCHY. 


255 


veyed  by  two  or  three  words  of  Monk's  old  chaplain — 
"  the  colonel  was  absent  of  the  name  of  the  Campbells." 
But  then  though  Monk,  as  he  led  on  his  brigade  of  foot 
himself  pike  in  hand,  could  not  fail  to  know  what  regiment 
offered  most  resistance  to  his  charge,  he  was  not  likely  to 
know  or  care  very  much  about  the  family  names  of  the 
Scotch  lairdships.  And  the  question  still  remained  who 
was  this  Laird  of  Lawers  who  had  such  distinguished 
regiments  of  horse  and  foot  ?  Now  we  find  on  the 
authority  of  "  Douglas's  Peerage  of  Scotland,"  title  Camp- 
bell Earl  of  Loudoun,  that  Sir  John  Campbell  of  Lawers 
was  created  Earl  of  Loudoun^  by  a  patent  dated  at 
Theobald^  12th  May,  1633.  This  Earl  of  Loudoun  was 
also,  at  tho  time  he  was  receiving  pay  for  these  troops  of 
horse  and  this  regiment  of  Highlanders,  the  Scotch  Chan- 
cellor, and  seems  to  have  been  a  sort  of  orator  and  fond  of 
hearing  himself  talk.  Some  years  before  this  time,  when 
Whitelock  and  Maynard  as  two  eminent  English  lawyers 
were  sent  for  late  one  evening  to  Essex  House,  where  the 
debates  of  the  Presbyterian  chiefs,  namely  the  Scottish 
Commissioners  and  such  English  Presbyterians  as  the  Earl 
of  Essex  and  Holies,  were  held,  to  give  their  opinion  as  to 
the  meaning  of  the  word  incendiary  in  English  law, 
Whitelock  describes  the  Lord  Chancellor  of  Scotland  as 
making  a  speech,  the  burthen  of  which  was  "  You  ken  vary 
weel  that  General  Lieutenant  Cromwell  is  no  friend  of  ours 
— and  you  ken  vary  weel  the  accord  'twixt  the  twa 
kingdoms,  and  the  union  by  the  Solemn  League  and  Cove- 
nant, and,  if  Lt.-Gen.  Cromwell  be  an  incendiary  between 
the  twa  nations,  how  is  he  to  be  proceeded  against  ?"  We 
shall  see  this  chancellor  inflicting  on  Montrose,  when  poor 


*  The  estate  of  Loudon  belonged  by      John  Campbell  of  Lawers. 
inheritance   to  the   wife   of    this   Sir 


256 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


man  he  could  not  escape  from  it,  a  large  dose  of  his 
rhetorical  invective.  And  he  is  represented  as  on  one 
occasion  ''  haranguing  to  the  army  the  sense  of  the  Kirk 
and  the  Committee/'  ^  His  Lordship  probably  considered 
this  both  a  safer  and  easier  way  of  earning  his  pay  as  a 
colonel  of  horse  and  foot,  than  leading  his  regiments  into 
action.  But  the  Roman  military  commanders  who  were 
most  successful  were  those  members  of  their  ohgarchical 
body  who  cultivated  the  art  of  war  as  well  as  the  art  of 
public  speaking,  and  also  exposed  their  own  persons  where 
there  was  most  danger. 

We  are  also  informed  that  the  Lord  Lome,  the  Marquis 
of  Argyle's  eldest  son,  had  a  regiment ;  ^  but  of  his  sharing 
the  dangers  and  hardships  of  his  regiment  we  are  not 
informed  any  more  than  of  Lord  Loudoun's  sharing  the 
dangers  of  the  troops  of  horse  and  the  regiment  of  foot 
whose  pay  he  found  it  convenient  to  receive  under  the 
name  of  the  Laird  of  Lawers.^  Such  were  some  of  the 
men  among  whom  the  money  paid  by  the  English  Parlia- 
ment for  the  person  of  the  king  under  the  name  of  arrears 
of  pay  was  divided.  I  do  not  mean  by  these  words  that 
there  was  not  some  agreement  between  the  English  and 
Scottish  Parliaments  for  allowing  pay  to  the  army  of  the 
Scots.  But  is  it  true  that  the  Scottish  Parliament  or 
Convention  of  Estates  first  taxed  the  people  of  Scotland  to 
defray  the  expense  of  their  army  and  then   claimed   pay- 


»  Sir  Edward  Walker,  p.  169. 

2  Sir  Edward  Walker,  p.  165.  In 
the  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State— under  date  5  March,  164|  (MS. 
State  Paper  Office),  there  is  a  pass  for 
Mr.  Archd.  Campbell  and  his  two 
servants  to  go  to  France  and  return 
with  "the  lord  of  Lome,  eldest  son  of 
the  Marquis  of  Argyle,  and  his  retinue 


consisting  of  ten  persons." 

"  There  is  some  confusion  in  this 
matter  which  is  not  easy  to  clear  up. 
Spalding  says  that  Campbell  of  Lawers 
was  killed  at  Aulderne,  with  his  regi- 
ment. He  also  mentions  Loudon's 
(the*  chancellor's)  regiment  as  being 
there.  Lawers'  regiment  was  probably 
led  by  a  relation  of  the  chancellor. 


1649.] 


THE  SCOTTISH  PARLIAMENT. 


257 


ment  of  the  English  Parliament  ?  If  so,  did  they  return 
the  money  they  had  taken  from  the  poor  people's  pockets  ? 
Wishart,  who  is  not  indeed  a  conclusive  authority  on  such 
a  point,  says  that  to  defray  this  expense  they  imposed 
much  higher  taxes  and  subsidies  upon  the  people  than  had 
been  ever  before  known.  ^  It  is  not  in  the  least  surprising 
that  a  Government  composed  of  such  men  should  be  anni- 
hilated by  a  Government  the  colonels  of  whose  regiments 
were  such  men  as  Cromwell,  Ireton,  Lambert,  and  Monk, 
who,  whatever  their  faults  might  be,  did  not  receive  the 
pay  of  regiments  which  other  men  led  into  action. 

There  was  some  years  ago,  and  may  be  still,  a  sword 
kept  at  Douglas  Castle,  bearing  two  hands  pointing  to  a 
heart  placed  between  them,  and  the  date  1329,  being  the 
year  in  which  Robert  Bruce  charged  Sir  James  Douglas, 
commonly  known  a^  the  Good  Lord  James,  to  carry  his 
heart  to  the  Holy  Land.  The  sword  resembles  a  Highland 
claymore  of  the  usual  size,  is  of  an  excellent  temper,  and 
admirably  poised.  Could  its  original  owner,  whose  knightly 
truth  and  honour  were  as  undoubted  as  his  valour  and 
military  genius,  have  looked  up  from  his  grave  after  the 
lapse  of  three  hundred  years,  and  beheld  the  stain  which  a 
few  sordid  hypocrites  or  fanatics  had  brought  upon  the 
country  for  which  he  had  fought  so  well,  he  might  have 
said  in  answer  to  the  taunts  of  Clarendon,^  Sidney,^  and 
Mrs.  Hutchinson,*  in  the  sorrowful  words  of  Othello— 

**  I  am  not  valiant  neither, 

But  every  puny  whipster  gets  my  sword  : — 
But  why  should  honour  outlive  honesty  ? 
Let  it  go  aU"  


*  Mem.  of  Montrose,  p.  37,  Edin. 
1819. 

2  Clarendon  in  his  History  generally, 
and  particularly  in  his  account  of  the 
battles  of  Dunbar  and  Worcester. 

^  Algernon  Sidney  in  his  Discourses 


concerning  Government,  chap.  ii.  sect, 
28,  p.  222,  folio,  London,  1698. 

*  Memoirs  of  Colonel  Hutchinson 
generally,  and  particularly  in  her 
account  of  the  death  of  Colonel 
Thornbagh. 

S 


258 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


When  a  man  has  committed  such  an  act,   probably   the 
least  thing  he  can  do  next  is  to  go  and  hang  himself  like 
Judas    Iscariot.      A    portion    of    these   Scottish  Iscariots 
composed  of  what  was  called  the  more  moderate   part  of 
the    Presbyterians,    led  by  the  Duke   of    Hamilton,   his 
brother  the  Earl  of  Lanark,  the  Lord  Chancellor  Loudoun, 
and  the  Earl  of  Lauderdale,  when  they  saw  all  the  conse- 
quences  of    their   act  of    treachery,  repented  themselves  ; 
and,  though  they   did   not    follow  the   example  of   their 
Hebrew-  prototype,  and  bring  again  to  the  English  Parha- 
ment  the  pieces  of  gold  which  were  the  price  of  blood,  they 
entered  into  an  Engagement  to  restore  the  King  by  force  of 
arms— whence  they  were  called  Engagers.     The   attempt 
failed  and  Hamilton  was  taken  and  beheaded  ;  the  English 
Parliament  regarding  their  repentance  pretty  much  as  the 
chief   priests  and  elders    of    the    Jews   regarded  that   of 
Iscariot,  when  they  said  "  What  is  that  to  us  ?     See  thou 
to  that."   But  Loudoun  and  Lauderdale  lived  and  flourished 
to  commit  new  treacheries,  cruelties,  and  crimes. 

The  base  transaction  to  which  I  have  referred  had  indeed 
the  sanction  of  what  was  called  the  Scottish  Parliament. 
But  it  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  body  of  persons  so 
called  no  more  represented  the  Scottish  nation  than  the 
Thirty  Tyrants  represented  the  Athenian  people,  or  the 
Decemviri  represented  the  Koman  people.  The  Scottish 
people  were  no  more  responsible  for  the  acts  of  that  oligar- 
chical assembly  than  the  Roman  people  were  responsible 
for  the  crimes  of  the  Decemviri,  or  the  Athenian  people  for 
the  crimes  of  the  Thirty  Tyrants,  or  the  French  peasants 
for  the  crimes  of  the  French  nobility.'     The  Scottish  Par- 

1  Barrington  quotes  an  old  French  Scotland  : — 
and  an  old  Scotch  proverb  to  show  that  ' '  Oignez  vilain,  il  vous  poindra ; 

the  peasants  or  villeins  were  regarded  Poignez  vilain,  il  vous  omdra 

in   the   same  light  in  France  and  in  ^'' which  we  apply  to  spaniels  at  pre - 


1649.J 


POWER   OF  THE  NOBILITY  IN  SCOTLAND. 


259 


liainent  was  an  assembly  in  which  there  was  no  freedom  of 
debate  and  no  freedom  of  vote.     The  representatives  of 
the  counties  and  of  the  boroughs  sat  in  the  same  house  ^  or 
chamber   with   the   peers  and  ''  ran  in  a  string,^'  to  use  the 
words  of  Baillie,^  now  "  after  the  vote ''  of  Hamilton,  now 
after  that  of  Argyle,  according  as  the   faction  of  one  or 
other  of  these  "  great  men  "  might  happen  to  be  uppermost : 
and  on  the  heads  of  the  members  of  that  wretched  oligarchy 
rest   the   guilt  and   the  shame  of  the   treacliery,  rapacity, 
hypocrisy,  of  the  misgovernment,  disaster,  and  defeat,  which 
have  long  stamped  with  infamy  a  whole  nation  of  brave, 
high-spirited,  and  honourable  men. 

Between   the  fall  of  the  old  nobility  and  the  rise  of  the 
new  to  political  power  in  England  there  was  a  long  interval, 
extending  from  the  accession  of  the  Tudors  to  the  expulsion 
of  the  Stuarts,  during  which  the  new  nobility  constituted 
neither  an  aristocracy  nor  an  oligarchy  in  the  proper  sense 
of  those  terms,  but  were  the  mere  creatures  and  satellites 
of   the   Court.       In   Scotland   the  old  feudal  or  military 
aristocracy  may  be   considered  to  have  existed  for  about  a 
century  longer  than  in  England.       The  successful  armed 
opposition  of  the  nobility  to  the  misgovernment  of  Queen 
Mary  is  a  proof  of  this.      And,  though  on  the  accession  of 
James  to  the  throne  of  England,  such  of  the  nobility  as 
were  adherents  of  the  Court  became  thoroughly  sei-vile,  and 
ready  to  follow  the  king  to  whatever  extent  he  pleased  in  all 


sent.     Thus  likewise  the  Scotch  pro- 
verb : 

' '  Kiss  a  carle,  and  clap  a  carle,  and 
that's  the  way  to  tine  a  carle, 
Knock    a    carle,    and  ding  a  carle, 
and  that's  the  way  to  win  a  carle." 

Barrington  on    the  Statutes,   p.  310, 
note,  5th  ed.  4to,   London  1796.    The 


French  nobility  reaped  the  fruit  of 
this  at  the  French  Revolution.  The 
Scotch  nobility  escaped  reaping  similar 
fruit  by  the  union  of  Scotland  with 
England. 

*  House   anciently  meant  room   or 
chamber. 

'  Letters  and  Journals,  vol.   iii.   p. 
35,  Edinburgh  1842. 

S    2 


2G0 


HISTORY  OV  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


matters,  either  of  Church  or  State  ;*  during  a  great  part  of 
the  17th  century,  the  power  which  the  Scottish  nobility  still 
retained  over  their  vassals,  the  strength  of  their  fastnesses, 
and  their  distance  from  the  seat  of  Government,  gave  them 
when  banded  together  so  much  power  of  a  not  ineffectual 
armed  resistance,  that  they  might  stiU  be  considered  as  re- 
taining some  of  the  features  of  a  military  aristocracy.  But 
the  Parliament  of  England  and  its  General  CromweU  showed 
them  that  neither  their  feudal  power,  nor  the  military 
habits  of  their  vassals,  nor  the  rugged  and  mountainous 
nature  of  their  country  could  resist  a  military  aristocracy, 
compared  to  the  valour,  skill,  and  resources  of  which  their 
pretensions  to  military  aristocracy  were  but  a  shadow  and 
an  empty  name.  For  this,  among  other  reasons,  I  will  in 
these  pages  generally  designate  them  as  an  oligarchy  rather 

than  an  aristocracy. 

Tlie  Reformation  or  religious  revolution  in  England  and 
Scotland  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  the  political  revo- 
lution in  the  seventeenth  century  stand  to  each  other  in 
the  relation  not  only  of  antecedent  and  consequent,  but  of 
cause  and  effect.    May,'  as  it  appears  to  me,  makes  a  great 
mistake  in  saying  that  mixing  up  religion  in  the  dispute 
about  laws  and  liberties  rather  injured  the  cause  of  the 
Piirliament.     On  the  contrary  the  forces  of  the  Parliament 
had  the  worst  of  it  till  Cromwell  beat  up  his  drum  for  the 
ardent  and  energetic  souls  lodged  in  strong  bodies,  who  had 
long  been  groaning  under  a  most  grievous  spiritual  thral- 
dom, and  were  burning  to  do  battle  against  the  Powers  of 
Darkness,  which  in  their  vocabulary  meant    the  Powers 


*  Lord  Fleming  in  a  letter  to  King 
James  expresses  his  zealous  desire  to 
follow  his  master  in  all  matters,  either 
of  Church  or  State,  declaring  that 
different  conduct  was  inexcusable  in  a 


subject.— XorcZ  Hailes's  LeUers  of  Hie 
Time  of  James  I.     Letter  2nd. 

2  History  of  the  Parliament,  lib.  i. 
p.  115. 


1649.]      THE   CAUSE   OF  THE   POVERTY   OF  THE  CHURCH.        261 

Spiritual   and  Temporal  tliat  then  ruled  in  England.      M. 
Guizot  ^  endeavours  to  account  for  the  important  part  which 
the  religious  revolution  played  in  the  political  revolution  by 
saying  that  in  England  the  religious  revolution  had  been 
brought  about  by  the  king  and  nobility,  not,  as  in  Germany, 
by  the  people  ;  that  consequently,  while   royalty,  nobility 
and  episcopacy  divided  among  them  the  rich  spoils  of  the 
papal  church,   the  religious   revolution  left  many   of    the 
popular  wants  unsatisfied.       The   case  of  Scotland  mi^^ht 
appear  at  first  sight  to  bear  more  resemblance  to  the  case 
of  Germany  than  to  that  of  England,  inasmuch  as  in  Scot- 
land the  religious  revolution  presented  some  popular  fea- 
tures which  it  did  not  in  England,  and  the  form  of  church 
government  which  the  Reformation  established  in  Scotland 
was  democratical.     But  I  much  doubt  whether  the  popular 
will  had  more  to  do  with  the  Reformation  in  Scotland  than 
it  had  in  England.     There  were  moreover  many  amuse- 
ments and  not  a  few  things  of  a  more  substantial  kind, 
(when  the  church  lands  passed  into  the  hands  of  laymen), 
which  the  people  lost  by  the  change,  and  the  loss  of  which 
was  grievous  to  them  at  the  time.     For  instance,  the  exhi- 
bition of  Robin  Hood  and  his  band  was  a  favourite  amuse- 
ment in  Scotland  as  well  as  in  England.     And  though  in 
1555   it  was  ordered   by  a   statute  of  the  ParHament  of 
Scotland  that  "na   manner  of  person   be   chosen   Robert 
Hude,  nor  Little  John,  Abbot  of  Unreason,  Queen  of  May 
nor  otherwise,"   we   find   six  years  after,  in   1561,  John 
Knox   complaining  that  "  the  rascal  multitude  were  stirred 
up  to   make  a  Robin  Hude,  whilk  enormity  was  of  many 
years  left    and   damned    by  statute   and  Act  of   Parlia- 
ment ;  yet  would  they  not  be  forbidden."     Thej'  raised  a 

'  Histoire  de  la  Civilization  en  Eui'ope,  Le9on  13. 


262 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


serious  tumult,  and  made  prisoners  the  magistrates  who 
endeavoured  to  suppress  it.  They  continued  these  festivities 
down  to  1592.  It  is  evident  that  the  furious  presbyterian 
/./  zeal  of  the  Jenny  Geddeses  and  Maiise  Headriggs  was  the 
growth  of  a  later  period — was  the  product  in  fact  of  the 
teaching  of  a  church  rendered  democratical  (at  least  as  far 
as  democratical  implied  poverty)  by  the  aristocracy  or  oli- 
garchy who  brought  about  the  reformation  in  Scotland. 
For,  though  it  may  appear  somewhat  paradoxical,  the  popu- 
lar or  democratical  form  which  the  Church  government 
assumed  in  Scotland  was  really  owing  to  the  intensely  aris- 
tocratical  nature  of  the  religious  revolution  in  that  country.* 
And  the  aristocratical  nature  of  that  religious  revolution 
was  owing  to  the  power  of  the  aristocracy  in  Scotland. 
This  power,  though  it  was  in  part,  in  great  part  no  doubt, 
a  consequence  of  the  low  state  of  manufkctures  and  com- 
merce, of  the  comparatively  small  power  of  the  Crown,  and 
.  of  the  physical  character  of  the  country  itself,  was  also 
connected  with  moral  causes  which  had  exercised  for  many 
ages  a  deep  and  strong  influence  on  the  minds  of  the  people 
of  Scotland,  an  influence  which  it  required  many  ages  of 
misgovemment,  of  injustice,  of  oppression,  and  cruelty  to 
destroy.^      The  reformed  clergy  complain  that  those  who 


«  The  Scottish  nobility  and  gentry 
are  directly  charged  by  the  Scottish 
historians  with  preferring  the  Presby- 
terian form  of  church  government 
from  the  hope  of  plunder.  John- 
ston, Hist.  Rer.  Brit.  Lib.  I.  p.  16, 
1655,  says  two  classes  of  men  ap- 
proved the  Presbyterian  form  "  unum 
genus  laicorum,  qui  ad  proprietatem 
ac  directum  dominium  bonorum  Ec- 
clesiae  munitam  banc  viam  putarunt, 
alterum  cleri,  qui  ambitione  lapsi,  et 
gloriae  cupidi,   in  licentiara  turbarum 


efirenatam  ac  indomitam  eruperunt  ; 
disputatiouibus  ac  tribunitiis  con- 
cionibus  populum  paratum  incitarunt." 
See  also  Spottiswood,  pp.  86,  164, 
folio,  London,  1677. 

2  That  this  influence  still  continued 
in  great  force  in  the  middle  of  the 
17th  century  appears  from  abundant 
evidence.  Captain  Hodgson,  when  he 
first  entered  Scotland  with  Cromwell 
in  Septr.  1648,  was  struck  with  it. 
"  The  gentry  of  the  nation  "  he  says, 
Memoirs,  p.  124,  *'  have  such  influence 


1649.] 


THE  SCOTTISH  FEUDAL  ARISTOCHACY. 


263 


had  got  possession  of  the  Church  lands,  and  tithes,  and  who 
had  before  made  a  great  outcry  against  the  exactions  of  the 
Romish  Church,  "  are  now  more  rigorous  in  exacting  tithes 
and  other  duties  paid  before  to  the  Church,  than  ever  the 
papists  were,  and  so  the  tyranny  of  priests  is  turned  into 
the  tyranny  of  lords  and  lairds.  For  this  we  require  that 
the  gentlemen,  barons,  lords,  earls,  and  others  be  content  to 
live  upon  their  own  rents,  and  suffer  the  Church  to  be 
restored  to  her  right  and  liberty,  that  by  her  restitution 
the  poor  that  heretofore  have  been  oppressed  may  now 
receive  some  comfort  and  relaxation."  ^  But  the  lairds, 
lords,  and  earls  turned,  as  might  have  been  expected,  a  deaf 
ear  to  the  requisition  of  John  Knox  and  his  clerical  bre- 
thren. 

There  was  an  essential  difference  between  the  English 
and  Scottish  feudal  aristocracies.  The  English  feudal  aris- 
tocracy consisted  of  the  leaders  of  a  conquering  caste  ;  and, 
though  they  might  inspire  fear  and  perhaps  admiration  not 
unmixed  with  hatred,  could  call  up  none  of  that  other  class 
of  emotions  which  were  associated  in  the  mind  of  a  Greek 
with  Miltiades,  Leonidas,  Themistocles,  in  that  of  a  Roman 
with  Camillus  and  the  Scipios,  in  that  of  a  Scotchman  with 
Wallace,  Bruce,  and  Douglas.  There  are,  or  at  least  were, 
no  names  that  an  English  poet  could  invoke  with  such 
effect  as  a  Greek  poet  or  orator  could  invoke  the  names  of 
those  who  fought  at  Marathon,  at  Salamis,  at  Plataea,  or  as 


over  the  commonalty  that  they  can 
lead  them  what  way  they  please." 
his  is  however  an  exaggerated  state- 
ment, since,  as  we  shall  see,  they 
often  could  not  lead  them  to  serve  in 
these  wars.  They  were  obliged  to  use 
force,  to  drive  not  lead. 
*  Spottiswood,  p.  161.     The  extract 


in  the  text  is  from  a  form  of  Church 
policy  framed  by  John  Knox,  partly  in 
imitation  of  the  reformed  churches  of 
Germany,  partly  of  that  which  he  had 
seen  in  Geneva,  and  presented  in  the 
Convention  held  at  Edinburgh  in 
January  1559-60. 


264 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


.[Chap.  V. 


Scott  invoked  the  to  a  Scotchman  talismanic  names  in  these 
lines — 

**  What  vails  the  vain  knight-errant's  brand  ] 
0  Douglas,  for  thy  leading  wand  ! 

Fierce  Randolph  for  thy  speed  ! 
0  for  one  hour  of  Wallace  wight, 
Or  well-skiU'd  Bruce  to  rule  the  fight !" 

While  the  English  feudal  aristocracy  owed  their  lands  to 
their  conquest  of  those  who  tilled  those  lands,  the  Scottish 
feudal  aristocracy,  or  the  best  portion  of  them,  held  or  were 
understood  to  hold  lands  which  had  been  granted  to  their 
ancestors  for  services  done  with  their  swords  in  the  defence 
of  Scotland   against  foreign   invaders,  Danish   or  English. 
This   at  least   was   the  theory.     But  this  theory  did  not 
apply  to  that  large  extent  of  lands  which  had  belonged  to 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  were  seized  by  the  nobility 
at  the   Reformation.     The  root  of  the  title  to  the  other 
lands  remained   however  undisturbed,  and  entwined   with 
many  heroic  memories.     The  names  of  those  who  had  once 
held  those  lands  are  linked  indissolubly  with  many  an  old 
but  well-remembered  battle-field,  with  many  a  mountain, 
with  many  a  grey  rock,  with  many  a  wild  glen  and  moun- 
tain-stream,  which,  though  there    now    only  the   solitary 
angler  throws  his  fly,  and  the  as  solitary  water-ouzel  seeks 
its  food,  roEs  on  haunted  for  ever  by  the  spirits  of  those 
who  in  times  long  gone  by  fought  and  bled  and  died  for 
religion  and  liberty.      It  is  this  historic  renown  that  gives 
a  tenfold  charm  to  scenes  wild  and  rugged  indeed  but  of 
great  natural  beauty.     The  stream  clear  as  crystal  pursues 
its  course  at  the  bottom  of  a  deep  glen,  the  sides  of  which 
are   crags  of  stupendous  height  and  fantastic  shape,  hoary 
with  the  storms  of  innumerable  ages,  and  rugged  and  bare, 
save  where  some  solitary  birch-tree,  or  oak,  or  wych-elm,  or 


1649.] 


CHURCH  PROPERTY  IN  SCOTLAND. 


265 


mountain-ash  has  twined  its  roots  amid  the  rocky  crevices. 
But  the  wild  ravine  is  associated  with  memories  not  its 
own.  Rock,  cave,  tree,  torrent  speak  still  of  the  deeds  and 
sufferings  of  those  who  bled  and  died  for  the  independence 
of  Scotland,  who  "  fell  devoted,  but  undying."  And 
though  those  men  have  been  dead  near  600  years,  the  eye 
of  the  dullest  peasant  in  Scotland  will  still  brighten  at  the 
very  sound  of  their  names.  The  heaths,  the  mountains, 
the  crumbling  ruins  of  the  rock-built  castles  are  all  conse- 
crated by  the  same  memories  :  and  form  the  imperishable 
monument  of  those  who  have  no  other  sepulchre,  to  whom 
the  barbarous  policy  of  the  English  invader  refused  even  a 
grave  ;  afibrding  a  striking  illustration  of  the  truth  of  the 
words  in  the  funeral  oration  of  Pericles,  in  Thucydides,  that 
"  of  illustrious  men  all  their  native  land  is  the  sepulchre.''  ^ 
In  Scotland,  the  whole  of  the  property  which  had 
belonged  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  which  has 
been  estimated  as  amounting  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation 
to  "  little  less  than  one-half  of  the  property  in  the  nation,"  ^ 
was  seized  by  the  nobility  and  gentry.  This  seizure,  in 
all  cases  an  act  of  pubhc  robbery,  was  in  some  instances 
attended  with  the  most  savage  cruelty.  Nor  was  it  likely 
that  those,  who  had  thus  gotten  possession  of  all  this  pro- 
perty, would  give  up  their  prey  at  the  solicitation  of  the 
reformed  clergy.     When  the  latter  proposed  a  plan  for  the 


Thucyd.  II.  43.  Hobbes  translates 
these  words  *'  to  famous  men  all  the 
earth  is  a  sepulchre,"  which,  though 
the  word  yti  is  ambiguous,  was  not 
what  was  here  meant ;  the  meaning, 
as  is  apparent  from  the  context,  being 
not  the  whole  earth  absolutely,  but  only 
the  whole  earth  or  territory  of  Attica. 
'■^  *'  The  Scottish  Clergy  paid  one- 
half  of  every   ttix   imposed   on   laud  ; 


and  as  there  is  no  reason  to  think  that, 
in  that  age,  they  would  be  loaded  with 
any  unequal  share  of  the  burden,  we 
may  conclude  that,  by  the  time  of  the 
Reformation,  little  less  than  one-half 
of  the  property  in  the  nation  had 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  a  society 
which  is  always  acquiring  and  can 
never  lose." — Rohertsoiis  Hist,  of 
Scotland,  vol.  i.  pp.  141,  142,  4th 
edn.,  London,  1761. 


26Cj 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


maintenance  of  a  national  Church  out  of  this  national  pro- 
perty, and  also  of  hospitals,  schools,  and  universities, 
though  they  did  not  go  farther  than  Henry  the  Eighth  so 
liberal  in  promises  had  done,  the  lords  who  had  seized  the 
Church  property  said  the  plan  of  John  Knox  was  a 
"  devout  imagination,"  but  visionary  and  impracticable  ; 
and  they  retained  by  force  the  whole  of  the  church  pro- 
perty for  their  own  use.  Hence  not  only  the  poverty 
of  the  church,  but  of  the  universities  in  Scotland,  and  the 
consequent  discouragement  and  decay  of  sound  learning, 
together  with  many  consequences  of  this,  tending  to  a 
slavish  subjugation  on  one  side  and  an  exorbitant  insolence 
on  the  other.  And  hence  those  revenues  of  a  few  indi- 
viduals in  Scotland  ;  revenues  which  at  the  present  day  by 
the  enormous  increase  of  rent  within  the  last  century,  if 
devoted  to  their  legitimate  purpose,  would  not  only  edu- 
cate the  great  bulk  of  the  people  well,  and  give  to  those 
who  evinced  superior  abilities  a  superior  education,  but 
would  relieve  all  classes  nearly  altogether  fi'om  taxation. 

The  passage  which  I  have  quoted  in  a  note  a  page  or 
two  back  from  a  contemporary  historian  ^  describes  the 
Presbyterian  form  of  Church  government  as  supported  by 
two  classes  of  men,  the  one  consisting  of  the  powerful  lay- 
men who  looked  to  the  plunder  of  the  old  Church,  tlie 
other  of  the  clergy  who  hoped  to  attain  power  and  popu- 
larity by  popular  eloquence.  Besides  these  two  classes, 
there  was  a  third  class  consisting  of  the  great  body  of  the 
people  who,  having  been  kept  in  a  state  of  very  dense 
ignorance  by  the  Komish  priesthood,  were  in  a  condition  to 
receive  any  impressions  which  their  new  teachers  and 
preachers  sought  to  stamp  on  their  dark  and  uncultured 
minds.      For  convenience  these  two  last  classes,  the  clergy 

*  Johnston,  Her.  Brit.  Hist.  Lib.  I.  p.  16,  lGo5. 


1649.] 


SCOTTISH   PRESBYTERIANS. 


267 


and  the  people,  may  be  treated  as  one,  as  they  both  partook 
largely  of  the  popular  or  democratical  element.  We  have 
thus  two  classes  of  Scottish  Presbyterians,  the  one  oli- 
garchical, the  other  democratical. 

It  is  a  remarkable  feature  in  the  history  of  the  Scottish 
Presbyterian  Church  that,  though  in  the  scramble  at  the  over- 
throw of  the  power  of  the  Church  of  Eome  in  Scotland,  the 
nobility  contrived  to  appropriate  to  themselves  even  more  of 
the  wealth  of  that  church  than  the  nobility  in  England  had 
done,  leaving  in  fact  nothing  at  all  to  the  Reformed  Church, 
while  in  England  a  good  deal  had  been  left  to  the  church" 
and  universities,  yet  in  Scotland  the  reformed  clergy, 
unlike  the  reformed  clergy  in  England,  arrogated  to  them- 
selves all,  if  not  more  than  all,  the  power  which  the  pope 
of  Rome  had  formerly  claimed.  In  the  second  declinature 
of  Black,  of  the  King  and  Council,  God,  it  is  said,  has 
given  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to  the  church  ; 
and  the  clergy — (the  clergy  being  "  they  whom  Christ  hath 
called — Christ's  servants  "^ — )  "  are  empowered  to  admonish, 
rebuke,  convince,  exhort,  and  threaten,  to  deliver  unto 
Satan,  to  lock  out  and  debar  from  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.''  ^  And  Mr.  Black  further  says,  "  the  discharge 
and  form  of  delivery  of  my  commission  should  not  nor 
cannot  be  lawfully  judged  by  them  to  whom  I  am  sent, 
they  being  as  both  judge  and  party,  sheep  and  not 
pastors :  to  be  judged  by  this  word,  and  not  to  be 
judges  thereof."  ^ 

The  Scottish  Presbyterians  being  composed  of  several 
distinct  parts,  we  must  be  careful  to  assign  to  each  part 
what  belonged  to  it.  Such  care  is  the  more  needed  inasmuch 
as  the  clerical  part  has  come  in  for  a  larger  share  of  blame 
than  belongs  to  it.     Nevertheless  with  all  the  care  we  can 

»  Calderwood,  pp.  329,  330,       ■'  CalJerwood,  p.  347.        ^  Calderwood,  p.  348. 


268 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


bestow  on  the  subject,  though  some  modern  writers  have 
written  about  the  clergy's  treatment  of  Charles  II.  and 
tlieir  interference  with  military  affairs  with  as  much  con- 
fidence as  if  they  had  been  present,  it  is  extremely  difficult 
if  not  absolutely  impossible  to  give  an  account  which  shall 
be  more  than  an  approximation  to  the  truth. 

We  have  nothing  approaching  to   a  good  contemporary 
picture   of  the   Scottish  Presbyterian   clergy  of  that  time. 
The  representations  of  them  drawn  by  two  literary  artists 
more  than   a   century  after,  Hume  and  Scott,  are  rather 
caricatures  than   pictures.     There   can   be   no   question   of 
one  thing,  namely,  that  they  and  their  successors  for  some 
two  or  three  generations,  whatever  may  have   been  their 
merits   and    their   virtues,  contrived  to  render  themselves 
extremely    disagreeable   to   many  pei-sons,  some  of  whom 
could  repay  the  intolerance  and  the  long  prayers  and  longer 
preachings  with  which  they  had  been  exercised  or  assailed 
with,   the    shafts    of  ridicule,    others    with    even  sharper 
weapons.      The   Scottish    Presbyterian   clergy   were  more- 
over so  far  true  to  what  they  announced  as   their   mission 
that   they  were   by   no  means  disposed  to  look  upon   the 
sins  of  Charles   the  Second  and  the  Duke  of  Buckingham 
with   the   lenient  eye   with   which  Archbishop   Laud  had 
regarded  the  sins  of  Charles's  grandfather  and  Buckingham's 
father.     Besides  the  exaggerated  picture  of  the  interference 
of  the  Presbyterian  clergy  in  pohtical  and  military  affairs, 
(and    it   can    be    shown    that    the    interference    with   the 

military  commanders   that  led  to   so   many  disasters at 

Li  K^syth,  at  Preston,  at  Dunbar,  was  not  by  the  clergy  but 
by  the  nobility  of  the  Committee  of  Estates),  I  am  inclined 
to  think  that,  though  the  clergy  no  doubt  interfered  much, 
though  not  very  much  more  than  the  Independent  zealots^ 
in  matters  of  religion  and  moraHty,  their  interference  was 


1649.] 


SCOTTISH  PRESBYTERIAN  CLERGY. 


269 


not  regarded  with  any  gi-eat  degree  of  observance  far  less 
of  terror  by  the  more  powerful  classes  in  Scotland.  Lord 
Dartmouth  tells  a  story,  told  him  by  Duke  Hamilton,  of 
the  old  Earl  of  Eglinton,  which  seems  to  show  that  men 
of  that  rank  took  the  censures  of  the  church  very  easily. 
The  Earl  of  Eglinton  was  on  the  stool  of  repentance  for 
fornication,  and  on  the  4th  Sunday  the  Minister  called  to 
him  to  come  down,  for  his  penance  was  over.  **  It  may  be 
so,''  said  the  Earl,  "but  I  shall  always  sit  here  for  the 
future,  because  it  is  the  best  seat  in  the  kirk,  and  I  do  not 
see  a  better  man  to  take  it  fi-om  me."  *  This  Earl  of 
Eglinton,  who  belonged  to  the  party  of  Argyle  and  the 
rigid  Presbyterians,  evidently  found  the  censures  of  his 
kirk  as  well  as  her  prayers  and  sermons  bearable,  if  not 
even  pleasant,  provided  he  had  a  comfortable  seat  in  the 
kirk,  even  though  that  seat  was  the  stool  of  repentance. 

The  truth  is,  the  stool  of  repentance  had  in  that  age 
been  made  too  common  and  general  to  be  so  much  of  a 
distinction  any  way  as  it  was  in  the  last  generation  when 
an  eccentric  old  Scotch  peer,  being  told  that  a  moderate 
pecuniary  fine  paid  to  the  kirk  session  would  answer  all 
the  purposes  of  the  stool  of  repentance,  replied — "  No,  he 
should  very  much  prefer  sitting  on  the  stool  of  repentance." 
Whitelock  says  under  date  Feb.  5,  164f  "Letters  from 
Scotland  that  they  bring  all  to  the  stool  of  repentance  that 
were  in  the  last  invasion  of  England."  Loudon  the 
Chancellor,  whose  wife  had  in  her  own  right  the  estate  of 
Loudon,  and  threatened  to  divorce  him  for  his  manifold 
adulteries,  unless  he  submitted  to  the  penance  enjoined  by 
the  clergy,  sat  on  the  stool  of  repentance  in  his  own 
parish  church,  received  a  rebuke   in  the  face  of  the  whole 

»  Burnet's  History  of  his  Own  Times,  vol.  i.  p.  281,  note  D,  Oxford,  1833. 


270 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


congregation.  The  scene  as  described  was  very  charac- 
teristic of  the  time.  The  Chancellor  with  many  tears 
deplored  his  temporary  departure  fi^om  the  covenant,  when 
he  joined  the  party  of  the  Engagement,  that  is,  the  party 
of  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  wliicli  engaged  to  restore  the 
king  by  force  of  arms,  and  solicited  in  his  behalf  the 
prayers  of  the  congregation,  who  at  such  a  refreshing  spec- 
tacle were  dissolved  in  tears  of  joy.  Mr.  JBrodie  says 
that  in  a  MS.  of  Wodrow's  which  he  had  seen  it  is  said 
that  Archbishop  Sharpe  was  at  first  for  the  Engagement ; 
but,  finding  that  it  was  not  a  politic  game,  he  brought 
to  the  stool  of  repentance  all  his  parishioners  who  had  in 
the  least  inclined  that  way.^ 

Hume  and  Scott,  while  they  indulge  their  powers  of 
ridicule  in  speaking  of  Puritanical  or  Presbyterian  intole- 
rance, see  or  appear  to  see  nothing  ridiculous  and  nothing 
hateful  in  the  absurd  yet  savage  intolerance  of  Laud.  Now 
while  we  object  equally  to  the  intolerance  of  both,  we  are 
prepared  to  show  (not  indeed  that  either  party  abounded 
in  wisdom,  but)  that  the  Presbyterians  of  that  time  had 
among  them  on  the  whole  more  wisdom  than  the  Prelatists, 
Laud  and  the  churchmen  of  his  school,  among  whom  I  of 
course  do  not  include  any  of  those  great  thinkers  and 
excellent  writers,  who,  ''by  the  strength  of  their  philo- 
sophical genius  or  by  their  large  and  tolerant  spirit  have 
given  imperishable  lustre  to  the  Church  of  England/'  ^ 
might  have  more  of  what  is  called  learning  than  Baillie 
and  his  Presbyterian  beethren  ;  but  Queen  Elizabeth,  no 
mean  authority,  had  said  long  before  to  the  Bishop  of  St. 
David's  "  I  find  the  most  learned  clerks  are  not  always  the  - 


*  Brodie's  History  of    the    British  ^  Austin's  Province  of  JurispniclenC::fy 

Empire,  vol.  iv.  p.  137,  note.  determined,  p.  81. 


1649.1 


SCOTTISH   PRESBYTERIAN  CLERGY. 


271 


wisest  men  ;  ''  and  we  have  looked  in  vain  among  Laud's 
letters,  diaries,  and  other  writings  for  any  such  proof  of 
wisdom  as  is  found  in  the  following  sentence  of  Baillie  : — 
"  I  am  more  and  more  in  the  mind  that  it  were  for  the  cfood 
of  the  world  that  churchmen  did  meddle  with  ecclesiastical 
afiliirs  only  ;  that,  were  they  never  so  able  otherwise,  they 
are  unhappy  statesmen."  ^ 

There  are  no  collections  of  papers  relating  to  those  times 
from  which  so  much  true  knowledge  of  them  may  be  ob- 
tained as  the  Earl  of  Strafford's  Letters  and  Dispatches  and 
Principal  Baillie's  Letters  and  Journals.  In  the  letters 
between  Laud  and  Strafibrd  are  stamped,  as  no  hands  but 
their  own  could  stamp  them,  the  characters  of  the  prelate 
and  the  peer  who  licked  the  dust  before  the  Stuart  kings, 
and  were  as  domineering  and  insolent  to  their  fellow-sub- 
jects as  if  the  Stuarts  were  already  as  absolute  as  the 
CsDsars  or  the  Bourbons,  and  they  wielded  the  power  of 
Sejanus  or  Eichelieu.  It  has  been  truly  said  "  tell  me 
when  a  man  laughs  and  I  will  tell  you  what  he  is."  The 
very  jokes  that  pass  between  Laud  and  Strafford,  the  grim, 
cruel,  insolent,  tyrannical,  and  withal  base  and  pusillani- 
mous jokes,  tell  more  of  the  two  men's  nature  than 
volumes  of  grave  history  could  tell.  Now  turn  from  those 
volumes,  which  contain  the  correspondence  of  Laud  and 
Strafford,  to  the  Letters  and  Journals  of  Robert  Baillie 
the  Covenanter  and  Presbyterian  minister.  Here  also 
indeed  you  find  narrowness  enough  of  intellectual  vision, 
and  intolerance  enough  too.  But  as  regards  Baillie  and 
his  brethren,  the  Presbyterian  clergy — apart  from  the  Scot- 
tish oligarchy  and  a  few  of  the  more  furious  fanatics  and  fire- 
brands among  the  clergy  by  nature  tyrants  like  Laud  and 
Strafford — you  find  yourself  at  least  among  human  beings 

1  Baillie's  Lettei-s  and  Journals,  vol.  iii.  p.  38.     Edinburgh,  18i2. 


272 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


— like  their  countryman  Baillie  Macwheeble,  men  of  earthly 
mould  after  all — men  indeed  with  many  human  infirmities, 
but  likewise  with  human  hearts  in  which  the  fountains  of 
honesty,  simplicity,  and  pity  have   not  been  dried   up  by 
that  pride  and  ambition  which  had  transformed  Laud  and 
Strafford    into  such    ruthless   tyrants.        This   balance  of 
humanity  in  favour  of  the  Presbyterian  clergy  was  partly 
the  effect  of  the  absence  of  the  objects  of  worldly  ambition, 
which  the  constitution  of  the  English  hierarchy  set  before 
the  eyes  of  such   men  as  Laud.       Yet  the  Presbyterian 
church  did  not  really  possess  that  absolute  independence  of 
the  State  which  it  professed.     For  the   Scottish  oligarchy 
required  for  their  purposes  a  poor  church  as   the   English 
kings  required   for  their    purposes    a  rich   church ;     and 
Argyle  and  his  oligarchical   committee   made  use  of  the 
Scottish  kirk  precisely  as  King  James  and   King  Charles 
made  use  of  the  English  church.^     And  Oliver  Cromwell 
made    a  similar  use   of  the   religious  element   among  the 
Independents  or  sectaries,   as  the   Presbyterians  contemp- 
tuously called  them,  a  use  which  leads  me  to  call  attention 
to  a  main  cause  of  the  Independents'  strength  as  it  was  of 
the  Presbyterians'  weakness. 

It  is  important  to  remark  that  the  troops  of  Cromwell, 
whose  religious  enthusiasm  combined  with  discipline  and 
valour  proved  more  than  a  match  for  the  high  spirit  and 
impetuous  onset  of  the  Cavaliers,  appear  to  have  enlisted 
of  their  own  free  will,  and  not  to  have  been  forced  to  serve 
as  the  poor  oppressed  Scottish  peasantry  were  by  their  lords 
and  lairds.  Beside  •  this,  every  man,  however  humble  his 
original  rank  in  life,  who  entered  the  parliamentary  army, 
might  rise  by  his  own  merit  to  the  highest  military  rank  ; 

^  Sir    Edward    Walker's   Historical       Scotland  in  1650,  p.  194.      London, 
Discourses— Journal     of      Affairs     in       folio,  1705. 


1649.]  PRESBYTERIANS  AND  INDEPENDENTS.  273 

and  moreover  if  he  felt  or  fancied   he  had  a  call  from 
Heaven  to  preach  or  teach   the  peculiar  conclusions  which 
he  had  come  to  from  reading  the  Bible,  he   was  as  much 
entitled,  in  the  opinion  of  his  comrades  and  officers,  to  act 
as   a  preacher,  as  if  he  had  studied  at  a  university   and 
taken  orders   from  a  bishop  or  a  presbytery.     Yet   their 
toleration  admitted  the  preaching  of  men  who  made  reli- 
gion  a  profession.    Thus  we  are  informed  that  -  on  Sunday 
the  27th  Oct.   1650    there  preached   in  the  cathedral  at 
Carlisle  m  the  forenoon  the  Governor's  chaplain,  in  the  after- 
noon an  officer  of  our   army/''     CromweU  would  indeed 
take  care  with  his   wary  eye  «ne  quid   detrimenti  respub- 
Ilea  caperet,-  that  no  harm  might  come  of  any  preacher  un- 
usually  violent  or  mad  in  his  notions  ;  and   he  would  for 
the  most  part  be  able  to  do  that  by  first  listening  with  an 
air  of  edification  and  then  praying  and  preaching  himself. 
It  IS  clear  that  by  this  process  such  evils  as  are  alleged  to 
have  befallen  the  Presbyterians  could  not  have  happened  in 
Crom weirs  army.     Cromwell  did  his  work  by  being  reaUy 
supreme  in  his  army,  by  being   at  once  king,  priest,  and 
prophet  among  his  soldiers.       He   was  not   the  man  to 
permit  any  holy  Mr.  Blattergowl  or  gifted  Gilfillan  to  stop 
his  march  or  prevent  him  from  fighting  on  a  Sunday  on  the 
ground   of   saving  the  nation  from  the  sin   of  Sabbath- 
breaking  ;  or,  under  pretence  of  revelations   obtained  from 
Heaven  by  much  wrestling  with  the  Lord  in  prayer,  to  force 
him  to  fight   against    his    own    better  judgment.      Oliver 
could  wrestle  with  the  Lord  in  prayer  himself,  and  he  had 
his  own  revelations  and  his  own  signs  and  visions  from  on 
high,  of  which  he  knew  the  interpretation  better  than  any 


*  Letters  from  the  Head-Quarters  of 
our  Array  in  Scotland,  p.  323 -pub- 
lished in  Sir  H.  Slingsby's  and  Captain 


Hodgson's  Memoirs,  with  notes  by  Sir 
Walter  Scott.     Edinburgh,  1806. 


274 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


ordained  interpreter  of  them  all.  And  as  Cromwell  thus 
suffered  himself  to  be  controlled  by  no  theocracy  in  the 
shape  of  a  Kirk  Commission,  established  at  his  head- 
quarters, neither  would  he  have  marched  as  he  did  to  unin- 
terrupted victory,  if  he  had  submitted  as  Baillie  did  at 
Kilsyth,^  and  Preston,  and  David  Leslie  at  Dunbar,^  to  be 
dictated  to  by  the  oligarchical  members  of  the  Committee 
of  Estates, 

The  Independents  were  also  in  their  own  opinion  of 
themselves  a  peculiar  and  chosen  people.  For  they  too 
claimed  a  monopoly  of  God,  and  declared,  like  the  Presby- 
terians, that  their  enemies  were  God's  enemies.  A  favour- 
ite expression  of  CromwelFs  was  *'  to  have  the  execution 
of,"  or  "to  be  the  executioners  of  the  Lord's  enemies.'' 
Nevertheless  they  were  undoubtedly  more  tolerant  towards 
other  forms  of  Protestantism  than  the  Presbyterians :  and 
in  some  matters  connected  with  toleration  they  evinced  on 
several  occasions  a  spirit  very  different  from  the  Presby- 
terian. Tims  Mr.  Howard,  the  Sheriff  of  Cumberland, 
having  applied  to  the  Council  of  State  for  special  assis- 
tance on  the  subject  of  witchcraft,  is  curtly  informed  that 
the  Council  can  give  him  no  directions  concerning  the  dis- 
covery or  punishment  of  witches,  but  refer  him  to  the 
usual  course  of  law.^ 

In  estimating  the  character  of  fanatics  an  error,  I  appre- 
hend, of  some  magnitude  slips  into  the  calculation  by 
assuming  that  honest  fanatics  are  necessarily  honest  men. 
Whereas,  without  professing  to  state  the  proportions  with 
epigrammatic  point  at  the  cost  of  accuracy  by  saying  that 
a  man  is  half  fanatic  and  half  knave,  we  may  say  truly 

*  See  Lieut. -Gen,  Baillie's  **Vindi-  '  See  Baillie's  Letters  and  Journals, 

cation  for  his  own  part  of  Kilsyth,  and  vol.  iii.  p.  111.     Edinburgh  1842. 

Treston  "  in  Principal  Baillie's  Letters  ^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 

and  Journals,  vol.  ii.  p.  420-f.  May  13,  1650.  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


1649.] 


CHARACTER   OF   FANATICS. 


275 


enough  of  some  men  that  all  of  them  that  is  not  knave  is 
fanatic,  or  that  all  of  them  that  is  not  fanatic  is  knave. 
The  keeping  this  in  view  will  assist  somewhat  in  furnishing 
a  key  to  the  character  of  such  men  as  Cromwell,  where  the 
addition  of  other  ingredients   to   the  composition   of   the 
character  will  of  course  alter  the  above-stated  proportions, 
but  where  the  existence  of  pure  or  true  fanaticism  will  be 
no  guarantee  for  the  existence  of   pure  or  true   honesty. 
An  honest  man  however,  if  he  be  a  fanatic,   wiU  be   an 
honest  fanatic  and  not  the  less  an  honest  man.     But  in  the 
c^se  of  a  knave,  in  consequence  of  the  falsehood  which  is 
a  part  of  his  cbara<3ter,  if   he  profess  himself   a  fanatic, 
it    will    be    always    difficult    to    say   how    much    of    his 
fanaticism    is    real    and    how   much    pretended,    for    of 
course  a  knave  is  capable  of  being  a  fanatic,    as    he   is 
capable  of  being  a   maniac ;   and   in   both  cases  he  may 
pretend  to  be  more  than  he  is :    for  a  man  who  trades 
in  falsehood  may  feign  fanaticism  as  he  may  feign  madness 
or  anything  else. 

Among  the  Independents  as  among  the  Presbyterians  of 
that  time  there  were  undoubtedly  many  honest  men,  who 
were  likewise  honest  fanatics.     Those  men  were  peculiarly 
liable  to  be  deluded  by  men  of  their  respective  parties  who, 
though  they  might  be  more  or  less  honest  in  their  fanati- 
cism,  were  as  regarded   the  other    part    of    their  nature 
actuated  by  motives  of  self-aggrandizement  and   worldly 
ambition.      It  was  thus  that  Cromwell  was  able  to  deceive 
so  long  his  old  friends   among  the  leaders  of  the   Inde- 
pendents,  and  that  the  Covenanted  Oligarchy  of  Scotland 
were  able  to  delude  stiU  longer  so  many  of  the  Scottish 
Presbyterians.     To  Cromwell  and  his  parasites  the  "  Good 
Old  Cause  "  became  a  thing  to  sneer  at.    To  Vane,  to  Scott, 
to  Harrison,  and  to  many  more,  it  was  "  a  cause  not  to  be 

T  2 


27G 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


repented  of,"  though  such  adherence  was  the  inevitable  path 
to  the  scaffold  and  the  grave.  So,  while  to  the  Covenanted 
Oligarchy  (for  it  were  an  abuse  of  language  to  call  that 
knot  of  paltry  tyrants  an  aristocracy)  the  "  Covenant " 
was  an  instrument,  drawn  in  legal  form  by  that  wretched 
Chancellor,  not  only  to  perpetuate  their  possession  of  the 
plunder  they  had  already  obtained,  but  to  add  to  their 
spoil  large  shoes  of  the  fat  lands  of  the  English  arch- 
bishops, bishops,  deans  and  chapters,  archdeacons  and  all 
other  ecclesiastical  officers,  depending  on  that  hierarchy,^ 
who  had  anything  worth  taking  ;  and  to  reduce  those 
noble  foundations  for  the  encouragement  of  sound  learning, 
the  English  Universities,  to  the  miserable  starved  condition 
of  the  Scotch  Universities  ;  to  many  of  the  poor  people  of 
Scotland  the  "  Covenant ''  was  a  cause  for  which  they  were 
ready  to  suffer  persecution,  imprisonment,  torture,  and 
death. 

The  Scottish  Presbyterians  being  thus  composed  of  two 
principal  distinct  parts  or  parties,  we  must  be  careful,  as  I 
have  said,  to  assign  to  each  party  what  belonged  to  it. 
On  the  side  of  the  popular  or  democratical  party  there 
was  in  the  laymen  much  sincerity  and  much  ignorance  ; 
and  in  the  clergy  such  pretensions  as  we  have  quoted, 
combined  with  much  vehemence,  a  little  learning,  and 
mental  faculties  in  such  a  state  that,  while  their  credulity 
was  boundless  in   the  matter  of  witches  and  hobgoblins,^ 


In 


See  the  1st  and  2nd  clauses  of 
the  "  Solemn  League  and  Covenant." 
These  clauses  were  evidently  drawn 
with  care  by  lawyers,  while  most  of 
the  others  savour  strongly  of  the  Pres- 
byterian pulpit  of  that  day.  The 
words  in  the  first  clauses  of  the  Instru- 
ment as  agreed  to  by  the  English 
Parliament,  "according  to  the  word  of 
God  "    were   inserted    by    Vane,  and 


enabled  the  English  Parliament  to 
deny  that  they  had  sworn  to  adopt  the 
Presbyterian  form  of  Church  govern- 
ment. 

'  A  remarkable  examijle  of  this  is 
afforded  in  the  trial,  in  1688,  of  Philip 
Standsfield  for  the  murder  of  his 
father.  Sir  James  Standsfield,  of  New 
Mills,  in  Scotland.  One  of  the  wit- 
nesses was  Mr.  John  Bell,  minister  of 


1649.] 


SCOTS   CLERGY  AND  NOBILITY. 


277 


they  would  have  rejected  Galileo's  doctrine  about  the 
motion  of  the  earth ;  and  to  them,  as  to  the  Pope  and  the 
Jesuits,  "  the  starry  Gahleo,  with  his  woes,"  would  have 
appeared  but  an  impious  and  blasphemous  impostor. 
On  the  side  of  the  oligarchical  party  there  were  pride, 
ferocity,  rapacity,  cruelty  and  fraud.  It  was  the  oligar- 
chical party  that  roasted  men  alive  to  get  possession  of 
Church  lands  ;  that  sold  their  king  to  his  deadly  enemies, 
and  then  turned  round  when  it  suited  their  purpose  and  in 
the  name  of  tliat  king's  son  tortured  with  iron  boots  and 
thumbscrews  their  old  Presbyterian  friends  and  allies. 

But  though  this  oligarchy  may  have  looked  upon 
humanity,  justice,  and  honesty  as  plebeian  virtues,  unworthy 
of  their  regard,  there  was  one  virtue  which  it  was  im- 
portant to  them  that  they  should  possess  under  the  cir- 
cumstances of  those  troubled  times.  I  mean  that  quality 
to  which  the  Komans  principally  applied  the  word  virtue, 
and  which  may  be  called  military  virtue.  And  military 
vii-tue,  which  has  been  considered  to  belong  especially  to  an 


the  gospel,  aged  forty  years.     In  his 
written    declaration    this    clergyman, 
who  was  a  guest  in  Sir  James  Stands- 
field's  house  on  the  night  of  the  mur- 
der,   says: — "I   declare   that  having 
slept  but  little,  I  was  awakened  in  fear 
by  a    cry  (as   I   supposed)  and  being 
waking  I  heard  for  a  time  a  great  din, 
and  confused  noise  of  several  voices, 
and  persons  sometimes  walking,  which 
affrighted  me  {mpposing  them  to  he  evil 
wicked  spirits);    and    I   apprehended 
the   voices  to  be  near   the  chamber- 
door  sometimes,  or  in  the  transe  [pas- 
sage], or  stairs,  and  sometimes  below, 
which  put  me  to  arise  in  the  night  and 
bolt  the  chamber  door  further,  and  to 
recommend  myself  by  prayer,  for  pro- 
tection and  preservation,  to  the  majesty 
of  Grod  :  and  having  gone  again  to  bed, 


I  heard  these'voices  continue.    ...    I 
could  testify  that  Sir  James  was  in  his 
right  reason  at  ten  o'clock ;  wherefore 
/  inclined  to  think  it  was  a  violent 
murder  committed  hy  wicked  spiiits." 
— Hargrave's  State  Trials,  voL  iv.  p. 
283 ;  and  Howell's  State  Trials,  vol.  xi. 
p.  1403.     The  Presbyterian  clergy  also 
arrogated  to  themselves  some  of    the 
powers  of  the  Hebrew  prophets.     Ac- 
cording to  Wodrow,  Mr.  John  Welsh  had 
predicted  that  this   Philip  Standsfield 
would  come  to  a  public  death  by  the 
hands  of  the  hangman.      "This  was 
accomplished,"    says    Wodrow,    ''and 
Mr.   Standsfield  acknowledged  this  in 
prison  after  he  was  condemned,   and 
that  God  was  al)out  to  accomplish  what 
he  had  been  warned  of." 


27S 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


aristocracy,  did  certainly  once  belong  to  them — when  they 
were  an  aristocracy  and  not  an  oligarchy.     They  were  now 
fallen  upon  times  that  looked  lowering  enough  to  suggest  a 
prayer  for  the  aid  of  some   of  those  heroes   of    their  race, 
who  in  days  long  gone  by  had,  fighting   against  the  most 
fearful  odds,  secured  by  their  valour  and  conduct  the  in- 
dependence of  their  country  ;  whose  very  names   sounded 
still  to  their  countrymen  like  a  spell  of  invincibility.     For 
the    time   had   been    when    the    Scottish    aristocracy    had 
abounded  in  virtues  not  merely  military  but  even  heroic. 
In  one  family,  in  particular,   that   of   Douglas,   the  most 
powerful  and  heroic  in  the  annals  of  Scotland,  there  had 
never  been  wanting,   for  more  than  ten  generations,  men 
capable  both  of  managing  state  affairs  and  of  commanding 
armies.      But  that  well-spring  of  military  qualities  had  for 
ages  ceased  to  flow.     And  this  oligarchy  throughout  these 
wars  employed  soldiers  of  fortune  to  lead  their  armies — 
men  who  had  made  war  a  profession  or  trade,  but  were  not 
the  more  on  that  account  masters  of  the  art.     Yet  even  at 
that  time  that  Scottish  oligarchy   possessed  one  member 
whose  military  talents,  if  they  had  known  how  to  employ 
them  to  advantage,  might  have  given  a  different  issue  to 
this  contest  from  that  which  it  had. 

The  history  of  James  Graham,  Earl  and  afterwards 
Marquis  of  Montrose,  is  a  remarkable  instance  of  that 
particular  weakness  of  an  oligarchy  which  Thucydides,  who 
had  opportunities  of  observing  the  practical  working  both 
of  oligarchies  and  democracies  which  we  do  not  possess, 
pointed  out  more  than  two  thousand  years  ago.  Thu- 
cydides indeed  confines  his  observation  to  the  case  of  an 
oligarchy  made  out  of  a  democracy,  as  exemplified  in  the 
events  which  he  was  narrating  as  having  then  taken  place 
at  Athens — and   when  Thucydides's  leanings  anrainst   de- 


1649.] 


THE  MARQUIS   OF  MONTROSE. 


279 


mocracies  and   demagogues   are   taken   into    account,    his 
opinion  in  this  case,  being  contrary  to  his  general  bias  or 
his  party  or  class  prejudices,  is  entitled  to  the  more  weight. 
The  substance  of  what  he  says  is  that  an  oligarchy  made 
out  of  a  democracy  is  chiefly  destroyed  by  every  one,  that 
is,   every  member  of   the   oligarchy,   claiming  not  to    be 
equal,  but  to  be  far  the  first — but  in  a  democracy,  election 
being  made,  a  man  bears  the  result  better,  as  not  beincr 
defeated  by  his  equals.^     It  is  certainly  true  of  oligarchies 
generally,  whether  made  out  of  a  democracy  or  not,  that 
their  internal  feuds  or  quarrels  arising  out  of  jealousy  or 
rivalry  have  produced  great  mismanagement  of  affairs  both 
in  war  and  peace,  and  in  consequence  great  disasters   to 
themselves  and  the  country  which  had  the  misfortune  to  be 
misgoverned   by  them.     Dr.   Arnold   excepts   the   Roman 
Senate  as  being,  with  respect  to  the  conduct  of  a  war,  no 
fair  specimen  of  oligarchies   in   general.      But   Venice,   he 
says,    "shows    that  no   democracy,   no    tyranny,    can    be 
so    vile   as   the   dregs  of    an  aristocracy    suffered  to  run 
out  its  full  course ;  the  affairs  of  Athens  and   of  Carthac^e 
were  never  conducted  so  ably  as  when  the  popular  party 
was  most  predominant ;  nor  have  any  governments  ever 
shown  in  war  greater  feebleness  and  vacillation  and  igno- 
rance    than    those    of    Sparta,    and,     but    too   often,    of 
England."  2     The  history  of  Scotland  affords  a  vast  body 
of  facts  corroborative  of  these  views  ;  for  it  is  the  history 
of    a    country    in    which,    though    the    Government    had 
always    been    monarchical    in    form,  the    king  had  gene- 
rally been  so  weak  and  the  nobility  so  powerful,  that  the 
Government  might  be  truly  said  to  be  in  substance  more 
oligarchical  than  monarchical.      Even  in  this  war,  accord- 
ing to  one  who  possessed  a  very  minute  as  well  as  accurate 

»  Thucyd.  viii.  89.  »  History  of  Rome,  vol.  ii.  p.  558. 


280 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


knowledge  of  such  parts  of  Scottish  history  as  did  not 
involve  a  very  laborious  sifting  and  weighing  of  evidence, 
"  the  cause  of  Prelacy  or  Presbytery,  King  or  Parliament, 
was  often  what  was  least  in  the  thoughts  of  the  Scottish 
barons,  who  made  such  phrases  indeed  the  pretext  for  the 
war,  but  in  fact  looked  forward  to  indulging,  at  the  expense 
of  some  rival  family,  the  treasured  vengeance  of  a  hundred 
years."* 

The  case  of  Montrose  was  a  notable  instance  of  this. 
Montrose  began  his  career  as  a  Covenanter,  but  found 
himself  supplanted  by  Argyle,  ^  a  man  of  considerable 
political  craft,  but  of  no  military  talent.  Now,  as  the 
experience  of  all  history  from  the  earliest  to  the  most 
recent  times  proves,  military  talent  in  any  high  degree  is 
rare  and  extremely  difficult  to  discover ;  for  indeed  it  can 
only  be  discovered  by  practical  experiments  of  the  most 
costly  kind.  To  the  rivalry,  which  as  we  have  seen  is 
inherent  in  the  nature  of  oligarchies,  there  was  added  on 
this  occasion  a  deadly  ancient  feud  between  the  families  of 
Montrose  and  Argyle.  Moreover,  while  the  dark  crafty 
character  of  Argyle  had  to  ordinary  observers  the  show  of 
prudence  and  wisdom,  Montrose  appeared  to  them,  though 
a  bold  and  to  some  extent  able,  a  vain  and  rash  young 
man,    whose    fiery    character    and   great    ambition  might 

»  Sir    Walter    Scott.       History    of  neral    Baillie's   "Vindication  for  his 

Scotland  continued  in  Tales  of  a  Grand-  own  part  of   Kilsyth  and   Preston  " 

father,   vol.   i.  p.    455.      Edinburgh,  Baillie's  Letters    and    Journals,    vol. 

1846.  ii.    p.     420.t        Edinburgh,     1841. 

2  Argyle  did  not  nominally  command  Robert    Baillie    says    of     Montrose's 

the  army,  but  the  soldiers  of  fortune,  desertion  of  the  Covenanters,    **  His 

Alexander  Leslie,   David   Leslie,   and  first  voyage  to   Aberdeen   made   him 

Baillie,    appointed  by  his    influence,  swallow  the  certain  hopes  of  a  Gene- 

were  controlled   completely  and  with  rallat  over  all  our  armies  ;  when  that 

most  disastrous  consequences,  as  ap-  honour  was  put  on  Leslie,  he  incon- 

peared  at  Kilsyth,  Preston,  and  Dunbar,  tinent  began  to  deal  with  the  king." 

by  Argyle  and  other  noblemen  of  the  Vol.  ii.  p.  261. 
Committee  of  Estates.    See  Lieut.  -Ge- 


1649.] 


STATE  OF  PARTIES  IN  SCOTLAND. 


281 


render  him  perhaps  rather  a  dangerous  friend  tlian  a  for- 
midable enen)y.      The   covenanted  oligarchy  of    Scotland 
accordingly     committed    the    great     political     blunder     of 
throwing  him  aside  for  Argyle,  whose  abilities  were  worse 
than  useless  at  such  a  time,  and  they  soon  learned  to  their 
cost  that  Montrose,   whatever  he  might   have   been  as  a 
friend,  was  a  very  formidable  enemy.     I  am  no  admirer  of 
Montrose's  character,  though  his  great  abilities  are  beyond 
a   question ;   for,  if  he  was   a  poet   and   a  scholar,  these 
accomplishments  do  not  appear  to  have  been  able  to  make 
him   a  man   either  of  principle  or  humanity ;  yet  during 
these  wars  his  must  on  the  whole  be  considered  as  coming 
nearest  to  the  highest  standard  of  military  genius.      It  is 
true  that  he  was  surprised  by  David  Leslie  at  Philiphaugh. 
But  with  such  resources  as  Leslie  possessed,  Montrose  was 
not  likely  to  have  committed  the   blunders  committed  bv 
Leslie    at   Dunbar,   even    though    the    first    and    greatest 
blunder,  that  of  moving  his  troops  from  Down  Hill,  was  not 
Leslie's  but  that  of  the  Committee  of  Estates.     And  neither 
Leslie  nor  Cromwell  ever  showed  military  genius  approaching 
to  that  displayed  by  Montrose   in   the  battle  of  Aulderne, 
which   only   wanted   numbers  and   slaughter  on  a  greater 
scale  to  place  it  on  a  level  with  some  of  the  most  wonderful 
achievements    of  the    genius    of   Hannibal  and   Frederic. 
With  such  an  incapable  king  as  Charles  insisting  on  giving 
orders  and  on  being  obeyed,  the  ablest  general  could  hardly 
have   achieved  final   success  ;  but  if  Montrose  had   taken 
the  strong  instead  of  the  weak  side,  or  rather  if  the  strong 
side  had  taken  him  (for  his  taking  the  weak  side  was  n#t 
matter  of  choice,  but  of  necessity),  I  think  it   extremely 
probable    that    Cromwell    would    neither    have    won    the 
battle  of  Dunbar,  nor  of  Worcester,  would  not  have  con- 
quered   Scotland,    and    would    not    have   been    Protector. 


282 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


We  should  then  have  had  two  very  able  men  opposed  to 
each  other,  the  one  with  the  greater  military,  genius  ;  the 
other  with  the  greater  political  sagacity ;  Hannibal  to  the 
Roman  consul ;  but  Hannibal  with  more  resources  and 
more  vantage  ground  than  the  Carthaginian  had  in  Italy. 
Who  shall  say  what  might  have  been  the  issue  of  the 
contest  ? 

There  were  at  this  time  three  parties   in   Scotland,  the 
rigid  Presbyterians,  the  moderate  Presbyterians,  and  the 
Royalists.      The  first,  headed  by  Argyle,  was  made  up  of  a 
few  of  the  nobility,  Eglinton,  Cassilis,  Lothian,  and  others, 
of  the  greater  part  of  the  clergy,  and  of  the  people  of  the 
middle  and  lower  ranks,  chiefly   in  the  western  counties. 
But  though  many  persons  of  the  middle  and  lower  classes 
might  be  said  to  belong  to  this  party,  the  influence  of  such 
persons  on  its  counsels  was  extremely  small.     The  aristo- 
cratical    portion    of    the   party,    which    though    small    in 
number,   preponderated   in   influence,  was  in  favour  of  a 
republic,  so  far  as  a  republic  might  transfer  the  power  of 
the  king  to  themselves,  while  they  held  fast  to  the  appear- 
ance of  monarchy  as  necessary  to  the  preservation  of  their 
exclusive  privileges.     This   party  was  determined  not  to 
restore    monarchy   except    on    certain    conditions,    which 
should  limit  the  power  of  the  king  and  extend  their  own. 
The  second  party  was  chiefly  composed  of  the  nobility 
and  gentry  and  the  representatives  of  the  larger  towns,  and 
was  headed    by  the   Hamiltons,  Lauderdale,  Dunfermhne, 
and  others.     This  party,  like  the  first-mentioned,  professed 
to  adhere  to  the  Covenant ;   and  perhaps  the  principal  dis- 
tinction between  these   two  parties   may  be   stated  to  be 
that  the  leaders  of  the  moderate  Presbyterians  more  mani- 
festly made  use  of  the   Covenant  as  an  instrument  for 
their    own  worldly  aggrandizement.      If  Lauderdale  may 


1649.]  PRINCE  CHARLES   PROCLAIMED   KING  OF  SCOTLAND.    283 

be  in  any  degree  taken  as  a  type  or  even  as  a  specimen  of 
this  party,  the  figure  which  he  subsequently  made  as  not 
only  a  renegade,  but  a  cruel  and  tyrannical  persecutor  of 
those  stern  enthusiasts  who  acted  up  to  what  they  under- 
stood to  be  the  meaning  of  that  Covenant  which  he  had 
professed  as  well  as  they,  would  lead  us  to  form  a  very 
unfavourable  opinion  of  its  honesty. 

The  third  party  consisted  of  the  absolute  Loyalists, 
fi:iends  and  followers  of  Montrose,  such  as  the  Marquis  of 
Huntly,  Lord  Ogilvy,  a  few  other  noblemen  and  gentlemen, 
and  some  Highland  chiefs.  And  if  Montrose  may  be  taken 
as  a  specimen  of  this  party,  as  Lauderdale  of  the  last-men- 
tioned, the  absolute  Loyalists,  though  they  committed  many 
savage  and  unjustifiable  acts,  may  nevertheless,  when  their 
crimes  are  placed  beside  the  hundred  villanies  and  cruelties 
of  Lauderdale,  be  pronounced  brave  and  honourable  men.^ 
After  the  death  of  King  Charles,  the  rigid  Presbyterians 
in  accordance  with  their  doctrine  of  monarchy  in  the 
State  and  republicanism  in  the  Church,  and  likewise  in 
accordance  with  their  doctrine  of  forcing  their  opinions 
upon  all  other  men, — a  doctrine  expressed  in  the  words  of 
their  Covenant,  in  which  they  swear  that  they  shall  not 
"  give  themselves  to  a  detestable  indiflerency  or  neutrality 
in  that  cause,"  were  bound  to  call  to  the  throne  Charles, 
the  eldest  son  of  their  late  king,  provided  he  would  con- 
sent to  take  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  for  the  sup- 
port of  Presbytery,  and  the  putting  down  of  all  other 
forms  of  religion.  Accordingly,  in  the  beginning  of  Feb- 
ruary 164f  Prince  Charles  was  at  Edinburgh  solemnly 
proclaimed  King  of  Scotland  by  consent  of  the  Scottish 


*  Baillie's  Letters  and  Journals,  vol. 
iii.  p.  35,  et.  seq.  ed.  Edinburgh,  1842, 
Burnet's  Mem.  of  the    Hamiltons,   p. 


336.     Thurloe's  State  Papers,  vol.  i. 
pp.  73,  74. 


284 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


Parliament ;  aud  it  was  agreed  that  commissioners  with 
certain  instructions  should  be  sent  to  invite  him  to  Scot- 
land.^ The  instructions  given  to  the  Scotch  commissioners 
were :  1.  That  he  take  the  covenant.  2.  That  he  put  from 
him  all  who  have  assisted  his  father  in  the  war,  particularly 
Montrose — else  not  to  treat  with  him.  3.  That  he  brine*' 
but  one  hundred  with  him  into  Scotland,  and  none  who 
have  assisted  his  father  in  arms.  4.  That  he  brincr  no 
forces  into  Scotland  from  other  nations  without  their  con- 
sent.' And  he  was  not  to  be  admitted  to  the  actual 
power  as  king,  until  he  should  bind  himself  to  ratify  all 
acts  of  Parliament  by  which  Presbyterian  Government,  the 
Directory  of  Worship,  the  Confession  of  Faith,  and  the 
Catechism  were  established ;  and  in  civil  affairs  to  conform 
himself  entirely  to  the  direction  of  Parliament,  and  in 
ecclesiastical  to  that  of  the  Assembly.  Commissioners 
were  sent  to  Charles  at  Breda  to  offer  him  the  throne  of 
Scotland  on  these  terms. 

On  the  26  th  of  February  the  Speaker  of  the  English 
Parliament  acquainted  the  House  with  a  letter  the  Scots 
Commissioners  had  sent  him,  at  their  going  away,  which 
was  without  leave.  The  letter  was  full  of  bitterness 
against  the  Parliament  and  their  late  proceedings  against 
the  king,  the  House  of  Lords,  and  the  secluded  members. 
The  House  ordered  guards  to  be  sent  to  Gravesend  after 
the  Scots  Commissioners  to  apprehend  them,  and  at  the 
same  time  passed  the  following  declaration.  "  The 
Parliament  having  received  a  paper  dated  Feb.  24th 
subscribed  by  the  Earl  of  Lothian,  Sir  John  Chiesley,  and 
Mr.  Glendinning,  in  the  name  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Scotland,  and  taking  the  same  into  their  serious  considera- 
tion,   they   do  declare,  that  the   said   paper  doth   contain 

»  Whitelock,  p.  381.  Feb.  12,  164».       2  Whitelock,  p.  392.  Mar.  27,  1649. 


I  m 


1649.]         SCOTS  COMMISSIONERS  SENT  HOME  BY  LAND.  285 

much  scandalous  and  reproachful  matter  against  the  just 
proceedings  of  this  Parliament ;  and  an  assuming,  on  the 
behalf  of  that  kingdom,  to  have  a  power  over  the  laws 
and  government  of  this  nation  to  the  high  dishonour 
thereof;  and  lastly,  a  design  in  the  contrivers  and 
subscribers  of  it,  to  raise  sedition  and  lay  the  grounds  of 
a  new  and  bloody  war  in  this  land  ;  that,  under  the 
specious  pretences  in  that  paper  contained,  they  may 
gain  advantages  to  second  their  late  perfidious  invasion." 
It  was  ordered  that  a  message  with  a  duplicate  of  this 
declaration  be  sent  to  the  Parliament  and  kinofdom  of 
Scotland,  to  know  whether  they  do  or  will  own  and 
justify  what  hath  been  presented  to  this  Parliament  in 
their  names.  On  the  28th  of  February  the  House  was 
informed  that  according  to  the  above  order  the  Scots  Com- 
missioners had  been  apprehended  at  Gravesend,  as  they 
were  embarking  on  their  return  home,  and  were  now  under 
a  guard  :  and  the  question  being  put,  whether  to  send 
them  back  to  Scotland  by  land  so  guarded,  it  passed  in 
the  affirmative/ 

On  the  27th  of  February  the  Council  of  State  ordered 
that  fifty  pounds  shall  be  imprested  to  Mr.  Eowe,  who 
held  the  post  of  Scout  Master  General  in  the  army,  for 
his  journey  into  Scotland  to  ride  post  to  carry  a  letter 
and  message  to  the  kingdom  of  Scotland,  and  that  a  post 
warrant  be  granted  unto  him  for  the  more  quick  dispatch 
of  his  journey  :^  and  in  his  instructions  he  is  directed  not 
to   stay  above  a  certain  number  of  days  for  an  answer/ 


164«. 


1  Whitelock,     p.     384,     Feb.     26, 
Commons'  Journals,  26  and  28 

Feb.  164|. 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
a  Meridie,  Die  Martis,  27  Feb.  164§. 
MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


*  Ibid,  same  day — "Instructions  to 
William  Rowe  Esquire,  Envoye  from 
the  Council  of  State  to  the  Parliament 
of  Scotland:  srnd  ibid.  28  Feb.  164|, 
"  An  additional  Instruction  for  Mr. 
Rowe." 


286 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


On  the  same  day  the  Council   also  ordered  "  that  it  be 
returned  in  answer  to  Mr.  Sexby  that  this  Council  takes 
notice   of  his   care  and  diligence  used  in  the  execution  of 
the  order  of  the  House    concerning  the   staying  of    the 
Scotts  [sic]  Commissioners  ;  that  they  do  approve  of  the 
civilities  offered   by  him  unto  them  in  tendring  unto  them 
the  use  of  the  best  Inn  in  Gravesend  for  their  accomoda- 
tion/'^   On  the  1st  of  March  the  Council  ordered  ''  that  the 
whole  business  of  the  sending  of  the  Scotts  Commissioners 
with  a  guard  into  Scotland  be  referred  to  the  consideration 
of  the  Lord  General  (Fairfax),  Lieut.- General  (Cromwell), 
and  Sir  William  Constable,  who  are  to  report  back  their 
opinion  concerning  it  to  this  Council."^     In    the  after- 
noon of   the.  same  day  the   Council  ordered    "that    the 
necessary  charges  of  the  Commissioners  of  Scotland  shall 
be  defrayed  by  the  State  in  their  journey  home  ;  and  that 
two  hundred  pounds  be  advanced  out  of  the  public  revenue 
upon  account  to  the  captain  of  the  guard  who  shall  be 
commanded  to  the  service  of  conveighging  [sic]  the  Scotts 
[sic]  Commissioners  to  Scotland."  ^ 

On  the  following  day,  the  2nd  of  March,  it  was  ordered 
"  that  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Earl  of  Lothian,  Sir  John 
Chiesly,  and  Mr.  Glendinning,*  to  let  them  know  that  the 
House  did  order  that  they  should  be  sent  to  Scotland  by 
land,  and  that  we  have  appointed  Captain  Kichard  Dolphyn 
to  command  the  guard,  and  that  he  hath  money  to  provide 
them  diet,  horses,  coaches,  and  other  necessary  accomoda- 
tions by  the  way ;  that  this  notice  is  given  that  they  may 
put  themselves  into  a  posture  for  their  journey."     On  the 


>  Order  Book  of  tlie  Council  of  State, 
27  Feb.  1641  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
1  March,  164|.    MS  State  Paper  Office. 


3  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
a  Meridie  ;  1  March,  164|. 

*  In  the  Order  Book  this  name  is 
written  * '  Lendonyng." 


1649.] 


THE  SCOTS  COMMISSIONERS. 


287 


same   day  there  are  the  following  minutes  :  "  That  there 
be  also  an  instruction  to  Captain  Richard  Dolphin  to  keep 
a  journal  of  all  remarkable  passages  by  his  way,  and  that 
he  take  witnesses  of  any  special  matter  that  shall  fall  out 
so    as    oath   may    hereafter  be    made   of   it:"   "That   an 
order  be  sent  to   Commissary  General   Ireton   to  send  a 
convoy  of  horse  to  Tilbury  side  to  go   with  the  Earl  of 
Lothian  and  the  rest   to  Scotland,  and  to  be  relieved  at 
Ferry    Briggs.'' ^       Instructions    are     likewise    given     to 
Captain  Dolphin  : — 1.  As  to  safe  conduct,  to  protect  from 
all  violence  and  incivilities  on  the  journey.      2   "  You  are 
to  take  care  that  none  be  suffered  to  speak  with  them 
upon    the    way  in    England  but   in   your  presence,    that 
nothing   may  be  done  by  them   to   the  prejudice  of   the 
Commonwealth/'      3.   "   When    you    shall    be    come    to 
Berwick  you  are  to  dispatch  away  a  messenger  with  the 
letter  to  the  Parliament  or  Committee  of  Estates  of  Scot- 
land.     And  if  they  shall  desire  that  they  [the  Scots  Com- 
missioners]  may   come  to   Edinburgh   or  any   other  place 
in  Scotland   you   are  to   suffer  them   to  go  accordingly." 
4.   "  Out  of  the  dP200  in  your  custody  upon  account  you 
are    to    provide    coach   horses,  diet,   and    other  necessary 
accomodations." 2       On    the    5th    of    March    a   ''Private 
Instruction  "   was  added,   which  savours  of   the   military 
caution  and  foresight  of  Cromwell,  who  was,  as  we  have 
seen,  one  of  the  committee  of  three  to  whom  this  business 
"was  referred.      "When  your  messenger  that   carries  your 
letter  to  Edinburgh  shall  be  returned,  if  you  find  by  him 
that  Mr.  Rowe  [the  English  envoy  before  mentioned]  be 
deteyned  [sic']  there  or  elsewhere  in  Scotland,  j^ou  are  then 
only  to  dismiss  the  Earl  of  Lothian  and  Mr.  Lendoning  and 


»  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
2  March,  164g.  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


Ibid. 


288 


HISTORY   OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


1650.] 


deteyn  Sir  John  Chieslie  until  Mr.  Eowe  be  returned  to 
you  or  that  you  have  other  order  from  the  Parliament  or 
this  Council/'  Od  the  5th  of  March  it  was  also  ordered 
"  that  it  be  delivered  to  Captain  Dolphin  as  a  verbal  in- 
struction that  if  the  Earl  of  Lothian,  Sir  John  Chieslie, 
and  Mr.  Lendonyng  will  bear  their  own  charges  by  land, 
that  he  is  to  let  them  do  it,  notwithstanding  anything  in 
his  Instructions."  ' 

On  the   7th  of   March  the  following  "Additional   In- 
struction    for    Captain     Dolphin''    was    entered    in     the 
minutes.       "Whereas    the    Earl    of    Lothian,    Sir    John 
Chieslie,  and    Mr.    Lendonyng    have    signified    that    they 
will  bear  their  own  charges  in  their  journey  and  not  accept 
the  defraying  of    their  charge  by   this  State  ;    you  have 
therefore   herewith  imprested  to  you  upon  account  J^lOO 
in  lieu   of  the   .^£^200    formerly  appointed   for  that  service, 
which  is  for  supply  of  such  extraordinary  occasions  which 
may  fall  out  in  your  journey."     And  on  the  same  day  a 
post  warrant  is  ordered  to  be  granted  to  Captain  Dolphin 
for  the  taking  up  of  twenty  horses  upon  the  way  for  the  use 
of  the  Scots  Commissioners  and  their  retinue,  they  paying 
for  them  the  rates  usual  upon  the  road.      The  warrant,  after 
reciting  that  the  Scots  Commissioners  had  resolved  to  make 
use  of  horses  from  stage  to  stage  for  themselves  and  their 
retinue,  requires  all  justices  of  the  peace,  &;c.  "upon  sight 
hereof  to  furnish  twenty  good  and  sufficient  horses  with 
two  sufficient  guides  from  stage  to  stage  and  place  to  place 
from  Blackwall  to  Berwick  for  the  said  service,  they  the  said 
Earl   of  Lothian,  &;c.    paying  for  the   same  the  ordinary 
and  usual  rates."  ^     At  the  same  time  the  discharge  of  the 
"  ship  John  of  Kircaldie  "  is  notified  in  the  minutes. 

»  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  «  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 

Die  Lunae,  5  March,  164|.     MS.  State       7    March,   164|.       MS.    State   Paper 
Paper  Office.  Office. 


MONTROSE'S  LAST  EXPEDITION. 


289 


All  this  appeared  a  proceeding  of  a  very  high  nature 
on  the  part  of  a  government  the  leading  members  of  which 
were  designated  by  Mr.  Denzil  Holies  as  "mean  trades- 
men, '  and  who  certainly  were  men  who  did  not  trouble 
themselves  to  go  for  their  pedigrees  beyond  the  battle 
of  Naseby,  towards  an  oligarchy  of  which  the  principal 
members  valued  themselves  on  the  imagination  of  pedigrees 
gomg  back  to  or  beyond  the  Flood. 

It  appears  from  the  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State 
that  the  English  rulers  were  fully  aware  that  they  would 
have  a  war  with  Scotland  upon  their  hands   soon.     The 
followmg  orders  evince  their  unrelaxing  vigilance      "That 
aU  the  guns  which  were  at  Pontefract  Castle  (except  only 
the  two  guns  and  mortar-piece  belonging  to  the  garrison 
ot  Hull)   be  delivered  to  such  as  Sir  Arthur  Ha^elric.  shall 
appoint  for  the  better  defence  of  the  garrison  at  Berwick  "» 
"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  Sir  Arthur  Haselrig  [governor 
of  Nev^^castle]  to  have  special  care  that  Berwick  and  Car- 
hsle  be  carefully  garrisoned."^    "  That  it  be  reported  to  the 
House   that  the   letter  sent   to  the  Parhament  of  England 
by  that  of  Scotland  is  of  such  a   nature  as  it  lays  an  in- 
capacity  of   prosecuting   the    former  demands    by  way  of 
treaty.      And  Sir  H.  Vane  is  to  make  the  report  " '   "  That 
a  letter  be  written  to  the  commander   of  the   two  troops 
of  horse  of  Col.  Hacker's  regiment  that  lately  were  about 
Oarhsle  to  continue  in  those  parts  till  they  receive  further 
order  and  in  the  meantime  that  they  do  what  they  can  to 
repress  the  mischiefs  that  are  daily  done  to  the  country  by 
the  moss-troopers."*     "That   a   letter  be  written   to   the 


1  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State 
aMeridie,  26  March,  1649.    MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 


Die  Lunfe,  2  July,  1649.     MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 

^  Ibid,  same  day. 

*  Ibid.  23  Octob.  1649,  a  Meridie. 

U 


290 


HISTORY   OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


Commissioners  for  the  Customs  to  give  order  unto  the 
several  ports  of  England,  That  no  goods  whatsoever  which 
may  be  made  use  of  for  the  furnishing  of  arms  or  raising 
of  war  be  permitted  to  go  out  of  this  nation  into  Scotland 
upon  any  pretence  whatsoever/' ' 

We  have  seen  that  one  of  the  instructions  given  to  the 
Scottish  commissioners  who  were  sent  to  treat  with  Prince 
Charles  was  to  insist  on  his  putting  from  him  all  who  had 
assisted  his  father  in  the  war,  particularly  Montrose.  On 
the  other  hand  Montrose  advised  Charles  to  reject  the  terms 
of  the  Presbyterians,  and  offered  his  services  to  place  him 
on  the  throne  by  force  of  arms.  Charles  was  willing  to 
treat  with  both  of  these  parties  at  the  same  time ;  and  he 
granted  a  commission  to  Montrose  to  attempt  a  descent  on 
Scotland,  while  he  kept  on  foot  a  negotiation  with  the 
Presbyterian  commissioners. 

Montrose,  who  was  somewhat  more  than  suspected  of 
having  headed  or  directed  ^  the  royalist  ruffians  who  mur- 
dered Dorislaus,  the  resident  of  the  English  Commonwealth 
in  Holland,  and  who  is  reported  by  Clarendon  and  proved  ^ 
by  other  evidence  to  have  offered  to  assassinate  the  Hamil- 
tons  and  Argyle,  but  who  must  be  admitted  to  have  been, 
as  Scott  has  said  of  Dundee,  careless  of  facing  death  him- 


*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
Die  Veneris,  23  Nov.  1649.  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 

^  Even  Hume  says  that  the  royalists 
who  murdered  Dorislaus  were  "  chiefly 
retainers  of  Montrose."  Chap.  60, 
Burnet  says  *'  Whitford,  son  to  one  of 
their  [Scotch]  bishops  before  the  wars 
— the  person  that  had  killed  Dorislaus 
in  Holland — had  committed  many 
barbarous  murders  with  his  own  hands 
in  Piedmont  of  women  and  children." 
Hist,   of  His  Own  Times,   vol.  iii.  p. 


115.     8vo.    Oxford,    1833  ;   and    see 
Whitelock,  p.  460. 

^  Hume  endeavours  to  prove  that 
Clarendon  must  have  been  mistaken 
in  ascribing  such  an  ofier  to  Montrose  : 
since,  during  the  time  when  he  was 
reported  to  have  undertaken  the  as- 
sassination, Montrose  was  in  prison. 
But  see  the  evidence  taken  before  a 
secret  committee  of  the  Parliament, 
and  published  by  Mr.  Laing,  in  his 
History  of  Scotland. 


1650.] 


MONTROSE  DEFEATED   AND   TAKEN. 


291 


self.  If  he  was  ruthless  in  inflicting  it  upon  others,  accord- 
mgly   set   out   on  this  his  last   expedition.       The  events 
of  this  expedition  showed  that  in  his   former  enterprises 
what  might  at  first  sight  have  looked  like  rashness  partook 
not  a  little  of  a  daring  yet   wise  and  far-sighted  policy 
But  in  the  present  enterprise  there  appeared  far  more  of 
rashness  than  of  wisdom  of  any  kind.     If  it  be  true  as  has 
been  aUeged,  that  he  was  misled  by  a  pretended  prophecy 
or  prediction  that  to  him  alone  it  was  reserved  to  restore 
the  king's  authority  in  all  his  dominions,  we  must  bear  in 
mind   that  in  that  age  the  giving  credence  to  such  predic- 
tions did  not  by  any  means  warrant  such  inferences  respect- 
ing the  minds  of  those  who  gave  such  credence  as  it  would 
do  now.  To  say  nothing  of  minor  instances,  Wallenstein  was 
a  believer  in   astrology,  a  man  who  in  the  excesses  com- 
mitted    by  his   brutal  soldiery  and  perhaps   in  some  other 
points,  bore   some   resemblance   to   Montrose,  though  with 
far  greater  forces  at  his  disix)sal  than  Montrose  ever  had, 
Wallenstein    never    showed    either    Montrose's    military 
genius,  or  his  i^ersonal  hardihood  and  endurance  of  fatigue 
and  privation. 

In  the  spring  of  1650  Montrose  sailed  from  Hamburgh 
for  the  Orkney  Islands   with   some  arms  and  money  and 
about  six  hundred  German  mercenaries,  officered  chiefly  by 
Scottish  exiles.     The  6shermen  who  inhabited  those  remote 
islands   were    unprepared  for  resistance,  and   about  eight 
hundred  of  them  were  forced  into  his  service,  though  unac- 
customed  to  the   use  of  arms.      He   then   crossed^  to  the 
main  land,  where  he  hoped  amid  the  northern  clans  to  be 
able   to  raise  a  large  army.      But  as  he  marched  through 
Caithness  and  Sutherland,  the  natives  fled  at  his  approach, 
remembering  his  former  cruelties.     Strachan,  an  officer  under 
David  Leslie,  was  dispatched  against  him  with  about  two 

u  2 


292 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


hundred  and  thirty  horse/  while  Leslie  followed  with  four 
thousand  more.  Montrose  had  no  horse  to  bring  him 
intelligence,  and  his  cause  must  have  been  as  unpopular  in 
tliat  part  of  the  country  as  it  was  formerly  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Philiphaugh,  where  none  of  the  country  people 
gave  him  any  information  of  the  nearness  of  the  enemy. 
But  he  probably  thought  that  his  affairs  were  in  that  con- 
dition that  he  must  advance  at  any  risk.  However  that 
might  be,  here  as  at  Philiphaugh,  Montrose,  whom  his 
enemies  on  other  occasions  had  never  found  unprepared,  was 
surprised.  As  he  advanced  beyond  the  pass  of  Inverchar- 
ron,  on  the  confines  of  Koss-shire,  Strachan  issued  from  an 
ambuscade  in  three  divisions  and  attacked  him.  The 
first  division  was  repulsed  ;  but  the  second,  headed  by 
Strachan  himself,  routed  the  whole  of  Montrose's  troops. 
The  Orkney  men  threw  down  their  arms,  the  Germans 
retreated  to  a  wood  and  surrendered  ;  the  few  Scottish 
companions  of  Montrose  made  a  brave  but  vain  resistance. 
Montrose's  own  horse  had  been  shot  under  him.  His 
friend  Lord  Frendraught  gave  him  his,  and  the  marquis 
throwing  off  his  cloak  bearing  the  star,  fled  from  this  his 
last  fight.  He  afterwards  changed  clothes  with  an  ordinary 
Highland  kern,  and  swam  across  the  river  Kyle.  Exhausted 
with  fatigue  and  hunger,  he  was  at  length  taken  by  a  Eoss- 
shire  chief  who  was  out  with  a  party  of  his  men  in  arms. 
Montrose  discovered  himself  to  this  man,  who  had  once 
been  one  of  his  own  followers,  as  to  a  friend.  But,  tempted 
by  a  reward  of  four  hundred  bolls  of  meal,  this  chief  deli- 
vered his  old  commander  into  the  hands  of  David  Leslie. 

The   career  and  fate  of  Montrose  furnish  an  instructive 
example  of  the  evils  of  civil  war ;  and  the  accounts  given 


*  Balfour,  vol.  iv.  p.  9.     He  adds  :       Rosse  came  up  to  the  execution   with 
**  Capt.  William  Rosse  and  Capt.  John       80  foot  out  of  the  country  forces." 


1644.]  MONTROSE'S  CRUELTIES  AT  ABERDEEN.  293 

by  various  writers  of  that  career  and  that  fate  afford  a  not 
less  instructive  illustration  of  the  effects  of  faction  in  per- 
verting truth,  and  in  turning  into  poison  what  should  be 
wholesome  food.       Some  men  have  sought  power  and  what 
IS  called  glory  by  deeds  of  the  most  detestable  cruelty,  not 
merely  shedding  blood  in  battle,  but  shedding  the  blood  of 
unarmed  men,  nay  of  women  and   children.      And  other 
men   have   sought  to  make  the  evil  spirit  that  prompted 
such   men   to   seek  ^lory  through   such  deeds  assume  the 
semblance  of  an  angel  of  light.      If  a  time  shall  ever  come 
when  men  shall  be  seen  as  they  are  or  were,  and  not  darkly 
through   the   coloured   clouds   which  poets  and   historians 
have   thrown  around   them,  and  their  deeds ;  and  if  those 
men   in   whose  deeds  the   evil  greatly  preponderated  over 
the  good  shall  be  judged  according  to  their  deeds ;   a  corre- 
sponding judgment  will  be  pronounced  on  those  who  have 
held  up  such  men  as  fit  objects  for  the  unqualified  approval 
of  mankind. 

It   is  undoubtedly  the  part  of  a  mean  spirit  to  celebrate 
Its  victory   over  an   honourable  enemy  by  dragging  him 
m  triumph  fiom  town  to  town  in  a  mean  garb    °But  they 
who  thus  treated  Montrose   would  no  doubt  deny  that  a 
man  who  carried  on  war  as  Montrose  carried  it  on  was  an 
honourable  enemy.     Sir  Walter  Scott  says  that  his  "un- 
worthy victors  now   triumphed  over  a  heroic  enemy  in  the 
same  manner  as  they  would  have  done  over  a  detected  felon.'" 
Yet  what  account  does  Sir  Walter  Scott  himself  give  of 
Montrose's  treatment  of  the  town  of  Aberdeen  ?    "  Many 
were  killed  in  the  street ;  and  the  cruelty  of  the  Irish  in 
particular  was  so  great,  that  they  compelled  the  wretched 
citizens  to  strip   themselves  of  their  clothes  before   they 

'  History  of  Scotland  contained  in       chap.  46   p   479 
"Tales  of   a    Grandfather,"  toI.   i.,  '    •        • 


294 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


killed    them,   to    prevent    their  being   soiled    with  blood. 
The   women    durst    not    lament   their   husbands  or    their 
fathers  slaughtered  in  their  presence,  nor  inter  the   dead 
which   remained  unburied    in   the  streets   until  the   Irish 
departed/'  ^      There   were   other  frightful    outrages    com- 
mitted by  those    barbarians   on  the  women   and  children 
which    Sir  Walter   Scott  does  not  mention.     The  defence 
made  by  Sir  Walter  Scott  for  Montrose  is  that  he  "  neces- 
sarily gave   way  to  acts  of  pillage  ajid  cruelty,  which  he 
could  not  prevent,  because  he  was  unprovided  with  money 
to   pay  his   half-barbarous  soldiery/' ^      -^y^^  {f  Montrose 
wanted   the  citizens'  money,  might  he  not  have  taken  it 
without  permitting   his   soldiers  to  murder  them  and  their 
children  ?      Such   cruelties  were  not   only  a   crime  but   a 
blunder  and  proved  that  Montrose,  while  he  undoubtedly 
possessed   military  genius  of  no  common  order,  altogether 
wanted  political  genius.     Cromwell's  severity  in  Ireland  was 
partly  dictated  by  policy,  partly  meant  as  punishment  not 
merely  to  ordinary  rebels,  but  to  mutineers  and  murderers 
who   had   committed   crimes   with  circumstances  of  almost 
unexampled  cruelty.    Montrose's  cruelty  at  Aberdeen  (for  it 
cannot  be  called  mere  severity),  as  regarded  policy,  only  served 
to  make  about  three-fourths  of  the  population  of  Scotland 
the  mortal  enemies  of  him  and  his  cause,  and,  as  regarded 
punishment,  so  far  was  the  town  of  Aberdeen  from  deserv- 
ing punishment  for  rebellion  against  Charles,  that  Montrose 
himself  had  actually  on  a  former  occasion  punished  it  for 
its  loyalty.     Altogether  then  Montrose's  treatment  of  Aber- 
deen seems  the  conduct  of  a  man  in  whom  the  logical  errors 
of   the   head  were  not  corrected  by  the  instincts  of   the 
heart,  which  saves  many  men  from  the  errors  of  the  head. 


'  History  of  Scotland,  contained  in       42,  p.  437. 
' '  Tales  of  a  Grandfather, "  vol.  i.  chap.  2  75^^^ 


1650.] 


MONTROSE'S  CHARACTER. 


295 


It  is  not  easy  to  analyse  the  heart  of  that  man  who  in 
his  dying  hour   could  look  without  remorse  or  even  regret 
on  those  four  days  of  September,  1644,  including  that  Sun- 
day, the  15  th  of  September,  when  there  was  neither  preach- 
ing nor  praying  in  Aberdeen  and  nothing  but  the  death- 
groans  of  men  and  the  shrieks  and  wail  of  women  through 
all  the  streets,  and  when  the  king's  lieutenant,  who  had  in 
the  name  of  "  King  Charles  the  Good  "  caused  all  these 
things,   could  not  enter  or  leave  his  quarters  in  Skipper 
Anderson's  ^  house  without  walking  upon  or  over  the  bloody 
corpses  of  those  not  slain  in  battle  and  over  streets  slippery 
with  innocent  blood.      Montrose's  chaplain  and  panegyrical 
biographer   Bishop  Wishart   has  prudently  thought  fit   to 
pass   over   the   proceedings  of  his  hero   in   Aberdeen  alto- 
gether in  silence.      Montrose  himself  declared  that  he  had 
never  shed  blood  except  in  battle.    But  the  facts  are  proved 
by  Spalding,  a  townsman  of    Aberdeen,  present   on    the 
occasion,  who  was  firmly  attached   to   episcopacy  and   the 
king's  cause,  and  a  well-wisher  to  the  general  success  of 
Montrose,  who  must  consequently  in  this  case   have  been 
an  unwilling  witness,  and  whose  testimony  may  therefore 
be  considered  as  conclusive.      We  therefore  have  before  us 
the  strange   phenomenon  of  a   man,  who  cannot  be  consi- 
dered as  a  pure  barbarian  by  bloody  birth,  and  education, 
performing   deeds   that   place  him  on  a  moral  level  with 
Nana  Sahib,  and  for   what?  to  enable   King  Charles  the 
First   to  do  with   impunity  whatever  had  been  done  by 
King  James,   who   had  murdered  by  divine  right  two  of 
Montrose's  uncles. 

The   explanation   may  be  found  partly  perhaps  in  two 
qualities  which  entered  largely  into  the  character  of  Mon- 


*  Spalding,  vol.  ii.  p.  266. 


296 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


trose,  unbounded  pride  ^  and  strong  fanaticism.     The  pride 
of   a  Scottish  oligarch    was    then,   as  it   is  now,   bound- 
less.    To  such  a  man  the  body  of  the  people  of  Scotland 
were,  if  they  are  not  still,  a  mere  mass  of  base  gutter- 
bloods;  whose   ignoble  blood   was,  to   borrow   the   words 
which   Sir  Walter  Scott  has  put  into  the  mouth  of  Mon- 
trose's antitype    Graham   of    Claverhouse,  but    ^' the    red 
puddle  that  stagnated  in  the  veins  of  psalm-singing  mecha- 
nics,   crack-brained    demagogues,    and    silly    boors."       To 
murder  such  human  beings  in  the  most  cruel  and  cowardly 
manner  in  cold  blood  was,  it  seems,  to  judge  from  what  we 
know  of  Montrose  and  Dundee,  an  act  of  which  there  was 
no  need  to  be  ashamed.      Their  fanaticism,  for  those  men 
were  fanatics  too  and  worshipped  an  idol  as  loathsome  and 
as   cruel  as  the  superstition  which  they  imputed  to  their 
enemies,  altogether  silenced  within  them  the  voice  of  con- 
science.     There  is  no  mild  remedy  to  cure  such  fanaticism 
as  this.     In  those  days  the  charge  of  CromwelFs  cuirassiers 
and  the  shock  of  his  pikemen  did  something ;  in  later  times 
the  crash  of  the  guillotine  and  the  thunder  of  Bonaparte's 
cannon   have  done  something  more  towards  giving  to  the 
class  of  Montrose  and  Dundee  in  Scotland  and  elsewhere  a 
rather  dim  perception  that  they  had  made  some  slight  errors 
in  their  reckoning  concerning  the  canaille  or  gutter-bloods. 
Is  it  surprising  that  Montrose   as  he  was  led  a  prisoner 
through  the  country  and  the  towns  where  his  troops  had 
committed   so   many  deeds   of  rapine   and  cruelty  should 
have  been  assailed  with  curses  ?    Is  it  not  rather  surprising 

*  Montrose's  inordinate  pride  is  par-  so  proud  a  spirit  is  strange, 

tic.ilarly  recorded    by  his   contempo-  He,  Antrim,  Huntly,  Airlie^  Nithsdale,' 

raries  ;  and  it  was  united  with  great  and  more  are  ruined  in  their  estates  '; 

power  of  dissimulation,  by  no  means  so  public  commotions    are   their  private 

unusual  a  combination  as  Baillie  seems  subsistence."— ^aiVZie's   Letters     and 

to  imagine.     "  The  man  "  says  Baillie,  Journals,  vol.  ii.   p.  74.  Edinburgh 

''is  said  to  be  very  double,  which  in  1841. 


1650.] 


MONTROSE'S  CHARACTER. 


297 


that  he  should  not  have  been  torn  in  pieces  ?  Let  any  one 
place  himself  in  the  situation,  not  of  a  man  who  had  lost 
his  male  relatives  in  battle  against  Montrose—that  would 
have  been  a  thing  in  the  ordinary  course  of  events— but  of 
a  man  whose  fields  had  been  laid  waste,  whose  houses  had 
been  burned,  whose  father,  mother,  wife,  daugl)ters,  sisters 
had  been  butchered  by  this  hero  after  the  model  of  one  of 
the  heroes  of  Plutarch,  (many  of  whose  heroes  were  in  truth 
but  sorry  scoundrels),  and  then  let  such  a  one  say  whether 
he  would  have  considered  Montrose  entitled  to  the  treatment 
of  an  honourable  and  generous  enemy  ?  Nay  more— if  there 
was  a  man  wearing  the  "  semblance  of  a  kingly  crown," 
who  commissioned  this  Montrose  and  who  avowed  and 
sought  to  profit  by  his  atrocities,  will  any  man  say  there 
was  no  good  done  by  "  garring  such  a  king  ken  that  he 
too  had  a  lithe  in  his  neck  ? " 

The  route  by  which  Montrose  was  conducted  to  Edin- 
burgh crossed  the  river  South  Esk  not  far  from  his  own 
house  of  Old  Montrose.  The  beautiful  valley  through 
which  the  South  Esk  flows  from  the  Grampians  to  the 
sea  is  rich  in  historical  associations.  Towards  the  upper 
part  of  it  stand  Glammis,  the  ancient  castle  of  Macbeth, 
and  the  ruins  of  Finhaven,  the  castle  of  that  Earl  of 
Crawford,  known  as  "the  Tiger  Earl.'^  Farther  down  on 
a  rock  overhanging  the  river  is  the  castle  of  Brechin,  wliich 
Sir  Thomas  Maule  bravely  defended  against  Edward  I. 
and  his  army,  till  he  was  killed  upon  the  ramparts,  with 
his  last  breath  commanding  his  men  not  to  surrender.  But 
the  greatest  name  associated  with  that  valley  and  that 
river  is  that  of  the  Marquis  of  Montrose,  who  was  born  in 
the  town  of  Montrose  where  the  South  Esk  joins  the  sea, 
and  passed  much  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  at  his  house 
of  Old  Montrose  about  four  miles  up  the  river.   The  aspect 


298 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


of  that  quiet  valley  more  rich  and  wooded  than  is  usual 
in  Scotland,  the  gentle  sloping  green  hills  near,  the  huge 
chain  of  the  blue  Grampians  in  the  distance,  the  clear 
and  rapid  stream  rushing  over  its  pebbled  bed — all,  while 
they  reminded  Montrose  of  those  other  days  before  ambi- 
tion and  revenge  had  done  their  work  upon  a  character  by 
nature  brave  and  chivalrous,  formed  a  strange  contrast  with 
that  stormy  and  adventurous  life  which  was  soon  to  have 
a  violent  and  terrible  end. 

Montrose's  guards  stopped  with  him  for  a  short  time  at 
Kinnaird,     the  house   of    his  father-in-law,   the    Earl    of 
Southesk.      Kinnaird  is  only  about  two  miles  distant  from 
Montrose's  own  house  at  Old  Montrose,  situated  like  Kin- 
naird  on   the    banks   of  the  river  South   Esk.      Between 
JVIontrose's  mansion-house  of  Old  Montrose  and  the  town 
of  Montrose  is  a  basin  or  sort  of  estuary  about  four  miles 
in   length   and    two   in    breadth,    dry  at    low  water  and 
filled  by  every  returning  tide,  through  which  the  South 
Esk  rushes    to   meet    the   German    Ocean.     At   Kinnaird 
Montrose  procured  liberty  from  his  guards  to  see  two  of 
his  children.     But   neither  the  sight  of  them  nor  of  the 
scenes  of   his  early   and   tranquil   days  appears    to   have 
occasioned  in   him   the   display  of   any   outward   sign    of 
emotion.        "  Neither    at    meeting    nor    parting,"    says 
Wishart,  "  could  any  change  of  his  former  countenance  be 
discovered,  or  the  least  expression  heard  which  was  not 
suitable  to  the  greatness  of  his  spirit.      During  the  whole 
journey  his  countenance  was  serene  and  cheerful  as  of  one 
who  was  superior  to  all  reproach."^ 

But  the  captive  conqueror,  though  his  pride  and  force 
of  character  enabled  him  to  bear  with  no  outward  sif^n  of 
emotion  that  terrible  reverse  of  fortune,  and  to  smile  at 

^  Wishart,  p.  380. 


1650.] 


MONTROSE'S   CHARACTER. 


299 


the  insults  of  his  enemies  with  a  sedate  and  unshrinking 
eye,  was  a  poet  as  well  as  a  great  soldier,  and  those  scenes 
of  his  youth  beheld  under  such   circumstances  must   have 
awakened  a  host   of  recollections.      The  electric  power  of 
thought  would  bring  back,  though  but  for  a  moment,  the 
memory    of    early  friends — some   of    them    dead — others 
friends   no   longer — the  memory  too  of  those    dreams   of 
early  youth  when  the  bound  of  his  ambition  was   but  to 
make  one  loved  name  "  famous  by  his  pen  and  glorious  by 
his  sword,"  and  accomplish  for  it  more  than  Brian  de  Bois 
Guilbert  did  for  the  name  of  Adelaide  de  Montemare.  And 
though  Montrose's  early  life  may  have  been  as  unprosperous 
as   that  of   the  haughty  Templar,  it  may  have  left,  in  a 
soul  still  haughtier  and   more  daring  than  Bois  Guilbert's, 
the  traces  of  a  lifelong  sorrow.^     But  it  is  but  for  a  fleet- 
ing hour  he   can  look  on  those  scenes  now  with  all  their 
sweet  and  bitter  memories.     Though  there  had  passed  his 
childhood  ;  though    there  his   youth   had  felt  the  spell   of 
beauty  and  dreamt  the  dream  of  love  ;  though  there   the 
clear  and  rapid  stream,   the    dark  pine   wood,  the  broomy 
haugh,  the  furze  and  the  very  ragwort  had  for  him  a  charm 
denied  to  the  luxuriance  of  a  more   southern   clime  ;  his 
age  shall  not  repose  there  :   and  strangers  shall  dwell  in  the 
ancient  abode  of  his  fathers.     Some  of  the  walls   of  his 
house  and  some  of  the  trees  he  planted  may  still  stand.    So 
fleeting  is  man  !     The  feeblest  work  of  his  hands  is  more 
enduring.      The    houses    he    builds,    the  trees    he    plants, 
outlast   him  by  centuries.      The  trees  which  Bacon  planted 
in  Gray's  Inn  Gardens,  the  trees  under  which   Cromwell, 


*  In  his  **  Legend  of  Montrose," 
Sir  Walter  Scott,  who  was  deeply 
versed  in  Scottish  family  history, 
makes  Montrose  say  to  Lord  Menteith 
in  reference  to  the   latter's  love  for 


Annot  Lyle — **  I  am  sorry  for  you — I 
too  have  known — but  what  avails  it  to 
awake  sorrows  which  have  long  slum- 
bered ! " 


soo 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


and  Milton  and  Newton  walked  at  Cambridge,  still  stand 
and  are  conscious  of  the  presence  of  summer  and  winter, 
of  spring-time  and  autumn,  but  the  hands  that  planted 
them  are  dust,  and  the  hearts  that  throbbed  under  their 
shade  shall  be  gladdened  by  spring  no  more.  Strange  !  that 
to  this  intellectual  being,  with  faculties  to  comprehend  the 
Universe,  with  "  thoughts  that  wander  through  Eternity,'* 
there  should  have  been  assigned  an  earthly  existence  of 
such  brief  duration,  as  to  make  it  hardly  a  poetical 
licence  to  say  that  "  Earth  is  but  a  tombstone/'  To-day  the 
eye  is  lightened  with  electric  thought,  and  the  brain  is  busy 
with  work  not  unworthy  of  angels.  Yet  a  little  while — it 
may  be  a  few  years,  a  few  months,  or  only  a  few  days,  and 
the  eye  is  darkened,  and  tlie  brain  motionless  for  ever. 

An  act  of  attainder  had  been  passed  by  the  Scottish 
Parliament  against  Montrose  while  he  was  layino*  waste 
the  country  of  Argyle  in  the  winter  of  1644.  Under  this 
act  he  was  condemned  before  he  reached  Edinburgh  to  the 
death  of  a  traitor.  He  was,  according  to  the  special  order 
of  Parliament,  met  at  the  gates  of  Edinburgh  by  the  magis- 
trates attended  by  the  common  hangman.  With  his  arms 
pinioned  and  bareheaded  he  was  placed  on  a  high  bench 
fixed  on  a  cart,  and  conducted  through  the  streets,  his 
principal  officers  coupled  together  preceding  him.  When  he 
was  brought  before  the  Parliament  to  hear  his  sentence, 
Loudon  the  Chancellor,  formerly  Sir  John  Campbell  of 
Lawers,  a  kinsman  of  Argyle,  upbraided  him  in  a  long 
and  violent  declamatory  harangue  with  his  breach  of  the 
Covenant,  with  his  cruel  wars,  and  the  murders,  treasons, 
and  conflagrations  which  they  had  occasioned.  Montrose 
was  sentenced  to  be  hanged  on  a  gibbet  thirty  feet  high, 
and  to  hang  for  three  hours  ;  his  head  to  be  fixed  on  the 
tolbooth  or  prison  of  Edinburgh,  his  body  to  be  quartered, 


1660.] 


MONTROSE'S  SENTENCE. 


301 


and  a  limb  to  be  placed  over  the  gates  of  each  of  the 
other  four  principal  towns  of  Scotland,  Glasgow,  Stir- 
ling, Perth,  and  Aberdeen. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  Montrose,  whose  courage 
and  fortitude  had  been  proved  not  only  on  so  many  fields 
of  battle,  but  in  marches  in  the  midst  of  winter  over  track- 
less mountains  covered  with  snow,  where  the  pangs  of 
hunger  had  been  added  to  an  amount  of  fatigue  and  cold, 
which  alone  would  have  destroyed  men  of  softer  frames  and 
weaker  nerves — should  have  shrunk  to  meet  the  death 
which  Strafford  and  Laud,  which  Vane  and  Argyle  faced 
courageously.  So  far  from  feeling  any  uneasiness  about 
the  consequences  of  his  acts  Montrose  spent  part  of  the 
night  before  his  execution  in  the  composition  of  some  verses, 
which  he  wrote  with  the  point  of  a  diamond  upon  the 
window  of  his  prison,  and  in  which  he  expresses  his  confi- 
dence ^  that  the  God,  whose  attributes  the  Christian  faith 
certainly  does  not  reconcile  with  Montrose's  butcheries  of 
the  unarmed  and  defenceless,  "  will  raise  him  with  the  just." 
A  man,  who  could  believe  that  the  God  whose  attributes 
are  wisdom  and  justice  would  "raise  him  with  the  just" 
for  committing  deeds  of  rapine  and  murder  for  the  avowed 
purpose  of  making  us  and  our  children  and  our  children's 
children  to  all  generations  the  slaves  of  the  Stuarts,  must 
be  pronounced  hardly  less  a  fanatic  than  the  fifth-monarchy 
man  who  believed  that  at  the  great  battle  of  Armageddon  he 
was  destined  to  ride  as  one  of  the  captains  of  Him  on  the 
White  Horse,  conquering  and  to  conquer,  when  tlie  voice  of 
the  angel  shall  call  all  fowls  that  fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven 


*  The  two  concluding  lines  of  these 
verses, — which  consist  of  only  eight  lines 
altogether  and  are  not  a  fair  specimen 
of  Montrose's  poetical  genius  for  he 
has  left  some  verses  which  are  above 
mediocrity  while  these  are  rather  below 


it — are  : — 

**  I'm  hopeful  thou'lt  recover  once  my 

dust, 
And  confident  thou'lt  raise  me  with 

the  just." 


302 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


to  feed  on  the  flesh  of  kings,  and  the  flesh  of  captains,  and 
the  flesh  of  mighty  men.       Fanaticism  under  many  aspects 
is  always  the  same  at  heart  ;  and  that  heart  l^eing  possessed 
by  a  Are  unquenchable  may  be  said  to  carry  about  with  it 
its  own  hell.       That  fire    burns    with    the   same   fury  in 
Mahomet,   in   Mary  Tudor,  in   Beaton,   in  Calvin,   in  the 
murderers  of  George  Wishart,  in  the  murderers  of  Thomas 
Aikenhead.       When  human  selfishness,  fierce  and  ravenous 
as  tlie  brute  instinct  of  the  most  ferocious  beast  of  prey, 
regards  its   own  gratification  as  a  duty  and  a  virtue,  the 
result   is  that  degree  of  unrelenting  cruelty  which  knows 
neither  forgiveness,   nor  pity,   nor    remorse.       Montrose's 
enemies  were  God's   enemies.       Cromwell's  enemies  were 
God's    enemies.      The  Presbyterians  again  held  that  both 
Montrose    and    Cromwell    were    to    be    hewed    in    pieces 
as  Samuel  hewed  in  pieces  Agag,  when  he  rebuked  Saul 
for   sparing   the   king  of  the  Amalekites,  and  for  having 
saved   some   part  of  the  flocks  and  herds  of  that   people 
although   he  had  strictly  complied  with  the  command  of 
the  prophet  in  "  slaying  both  man  and  woman,  infant  and 
suckling.''      Here   were   three  distinct  parties  who  hated 
each  other  with  the  most  deadly  hatred,  all  and  each  laying 
claim  to  be  special  favourites  of  the  Almighty,  and  to  have 
a  special  commission  from  the  Most  High  to  do  unto  each 
other  as  the  Jews  did  to  the  heathen,  that  is,  to  the  nations 
whose  country  they  seized.    If  it  be  not  blasphemy  to  turn 
the  name  of  God  to  such  uses,  what  is  blasphemy  ? 

On  the  21st  of  May,  1650,  Montrose  walked  from  his 
prison  to  the  Grassmarket,  the  common  place  of  execution 
for  felons,  where  a  gibbet  of  extraordinary  height  was 
erected.  Here  the  clergy  again  pressed  him  to  own  his 
guilt,  and  refused  him  absolution,  unless  he  manifested 
repentance.  Montrose's  pride  and  courage  did  not  and 
were  not  Hkely  to  bend  to  any  of  their  threats  of  damna- 


1650.] 


MONTROSE'S  EXECUTION. 


303 


tion,  grounded  as  they  were  on  the  audacious  assumption 
that,  like  their  old  and  hated  enemy  the  Bishop  of  Rome, 
they  were  the  vicegerents  on  earth  of  the  Omnipotent.     A 
book  containing  the  printed  history  of  his  exploits  was  bung 
around  Montrose's  neck  by  the  hangman.      He  smiled  and 
said  he  was  prouder  of  the  history  than  he  had  ever  been 
of  the  Garter.      Having  finished  his  prayers  and  asked  if 
any  further  insult  remained  to  be  put  upon  him,  he  calmly 
submitted    to   his  fate.      He  was  in  the  38th  year  of  his 
age.      Sir  Walter  Scott  in  the  Legend  of  Montrose,  speaks 
of   Montrose's  long   brown   hair,   grey  eye,  and  sanguine 
complexion.      An  original  miniature  exhibited  in  the  Loan 
Court  of  the   South  Kensington  Museum   in   1862  repre- 
sents  him   with  yellowish   hair,  high  cheek   bones,  and   a 
rather  pale  complexion.      It  is  probable  when  we  compare 
the   impression   made  on   us   by  his  portraits  with  the  im- 
pression his  living  self  made  on  so  good  a  judge  of  men  as 
De   Eetz    who    knew  him    personally   and    mentions  him 
in  his    memoirs  as  one    of   those  heroes    of  whom    there 
are   no    longer  any   remains  in  the    world,   and   who  are 
only  to  be  met  with  in  Plutarch,  that  his  features  when 
lighted    up  by  the   soul   within    produced    an  impression 
more    favourable   than    that   which    his   portraits   convey. 
According   to   the    sentence  tlie  head   of   the    Marquis  of 
Montrose  was  fixed  upon  the  to]  booth  of  Edinburgh,  (over 
against  that  of  his  unfortunate  uncle  the  young  Earl   of 
of  Gowrie  murdered  by  King  James  in  August,  1600),  with 
an   iron  cross  over  it  lest  any  of  his  friends  should  take  it 
down.^     After  the  battle  of  Dunbar,  Montrose's  head  was 


*  Wishart's  Memoirs  of  the  Marquis 
of  Montrose,  p.  405.  Edin.  1819. 
The  head  of  the  Earl  of  Gowrie  being 
there  in  1650  when  Montrose's  head  was 
set  up  must  have  remained  there  50 


years  ;  not  blown  away  by  the  wind  as 
Birrell  intimates  it  might  be.  "  The  19 
Nov.  (1600)  the  Earl  of  Gowrie  and 
his  brother  haulit  to  the  gibbit  and 
hangit  and  quarterit.     And  thairefter 


304 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


taken  down  by  Cromwell's  orders  ;  and  it  may  be  hoped 
that  the  Earl  of  Gowrie's  was  taken  down  at  the  same 
time  and  decently  buried. 

Although  Montrose's  mihtary  genius  rose  far  above  that 
of  the   other   men  of  that  time  who  united  qualities  that 
are  not  now  found  together,  he  was  only  one  of  many  who 
in  Britain  during  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries, 
as  in  Spain  during  the  sixteenth  century,  were  eminent  at 
once  as  soldiers  and  as  men  of  letters.       Cervantes  greatly 
distinguished  himself  at   the   battle  of  Lepanto,  where  he 
received   three   arquebuse   wounds,  two   in  the  breast,  and 
one  in  the  left  hand,  which  maimed  him  for  life.     Lope  de 
Vega  sailed  in  the  Armada.      Boscan  served  with  distinc- 
tion as  a  soldier.       His  friend  Garcilaso  de  la  Vega  fell  at 
the  head  of  a  storming  party,  being  the  first  to  mount  the 
breach    of  a     tower,    which   he    was   ordered   to  carry  by 
assault.      The   Earl  of  Surrey,  to    whom   as  a  poet   both 
Spenser  and  Milton  are  indebted,  and  whose  works  went 
through  four  editions  in  two  months,  and  through  seven 
more  in    the  thirty   years   after   their  first  appearance  in 
1557,  besides  their  circulation  in  garlands,  broadsheets,  and 
miscellanies,  served  two  campaigns  in  France.      Sir  Philip 
Sidney  was  a  poet  as  well  as  a  soldier.     Sir  Walter  Raleigh 
was  at  once  a  soldier,  sailor,  poet,  and  historian.       Richard 
Lovelace  fought  for  the  king  all  tlu^ough  the  civil  war ;  and 
afterwards   raised  a  regiment  in  the  French  service,  com- 
manded it,  and  was  wounded  at  Dunkirk.    George  Withers 
served  as  a  captain  of  horse  in  the  expedition  of  Charles  I. 
against  the  Scotch  Covenanters  in  1639,  (which  was  also 
the  first  campaign  of  Lovelace) ;  and  three  years  after  he 

thair  twa  headis  set  upoun  the  haid  of  in  "  Pitcairn's  Criminal  Trials  "  vol  ii 

the  prisone-hous,  thair  to  stand  quhiU  pp.  45-247,  from  Original  MS     Adv' 

the  wind  blaw  thame  away."— i?o6^rf  Lib.  Edinburgh. 
BirrdVs  Diary,  Nov.  19,  1600,  cited 


1650.] 


MONTROSE'S  EXECUTION. 


305 


sold  his  estate  and  raised  a  troop  of  horse  for   the  Par- 
liament.    John  Bunyan  served  as  a  private  soldier  in  the 
Parliamentary  army.      But  of  all  these,  if  some  have  sur- 
passed Montrose  in  literary,  none  have  come  near  him  in 
military  achievements ;  and  I  am  not  aware  that  there  is 
any  other  man  on  record  who  has  united  in  an  equal  degree 
poetical  and  military  genius.     Montrose  was  certainly  a  most 
accomplished  man ;  and  I  regret,  for  the  honour  of  human 
nature,  that  he  should  have  tarnished  his  name  by  cruelty. 
There   are  indeed  well-authenticated   facts    in  his  history 
that  seem  to  show  that  he  was  not  by  nature   cruel   or 
ungenerous,  and  that  he  was  not  an  exception  to  the  rule 
that  brave  men  are  not  cruel.     Nevertheless  the  plea  put 
forward  for  him  that  he  necessarily  gave  way  to   acts   of 
piUage  and  cruelty  from  inability  to  pay  his  half-barbarous 
soldiery  wiU  not  avail  him  much  ;  and  history,  painting  him 
as  he  was,  wiU  paint  him  as  a  great  man  with  dark  spots 
on  his  fame. 

The  royafist  writers  represent  the  people,  and  many  even 
of  Montrose's  bitterest  enemies  as   weeping  on  the  occa- 
sion of  his   execution.     That  age  was  much  addicted  to 
tears,  as  is  manifested  when  we  find  such  a  man  as  Crom- 
well, and  even  the  whole  House  of  Commons,  occasionally 
dissolving  into   floods  of  tears.     It  may  therefore,  though 
it  certainly  seems  strange,  be  true  that  the  people  of  Scot- 
land should  weep  even  for  a  man  who  had  treated  them  as 
Montrose  had  done,  as  people  naturally  weep  at  any  great 
reverse  of  fortune.      In  regard  to  the  mean   spite  imputed 
to  the  ruling  party  in  Scotland  at  the  time,  as  exhibited  in 
the  various  studied  insults  offered   to   Montrose,  the  whole 
matter  may  be  summed  up  in  a  very  few  words.      If  Mon- 
trose in  his  wars  adhered  to  the  recognized  course  of  war- 
fare of  civilised  men  as  the  term  was  then   understood,  all 


306 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


insult  offered  to  him  as  a  prisoner  was  undoubtedly  a  mean 
revenge,  and  an  ignominy  recoiling  upon  those  who  offered  it. 
But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  it  be  true  that  Montrose  carried 
on  war  like  a  cruel  and  reckless  savage,  it  would  be  drawing 
rather  too  largely  on  human  forbearance  in  Scotland  two 
hundred  years  ago  to  expect  that  he  should  receive  the 
treatment  which  men  of  honour  and  humanity  are  anxious 
to  give  to  a  conquered  enemy  who  has  done  nothing  to 
forfeit  his  right  to  honourable  treatment. 

Some  writers  have  asserted,  but  without  producing  autho- 
rity for  the  assertion,  that  Montrose  at  the  beginning  of  his 
career  joined  the  Covenanters  from  disgust  at  neglect  from 
the  Court.  But  when  we  call  to  mind  that  Montrose's 
mother  was  the  sister  of  the  Earl  of  Gowrie  and  of 
Alexander  Euthven,  so  basely  murdered  by  James  the 
First,  and  that  his  aunt  Beatrix  Ruthven  had  received 
througli  the  Queen  and  Sir  Thomas  Erskine  a  very  different 
version  of  that  dark  transaction  called  by  King  James  the 
Gowrie  Conspiracy,  from  that  which  King  James  put  forth, 
we  do  not  need  to  have  recourse  to  any  supposition  of 
neglect  from  the  Court  to  account  for  the  fact  of  a  young 
man,  so  intelligent  and  so  well-educated  as  the  Earl  of 
Montrose,  thinking  it  necessary  to  devise  means  to  diminish 
rather  than  to  increase  the  power  to  do  evil,  both  to  the 
nobility  and  people,  of  the  royal  family  of  Stuart.  Wishart's 
work  is  so  much  a  mere  panegyric  that  it  is  no  authority 
on  disputed  points.  But  the  testimony  of  Principal 
Baillie,  the  best  authority  and  beyond  all  suspicion,  is, 
before  Montrose's  desertion  of  the  Covenanters,  very  favour- 
able to  his  general  character,  and  throws  no  doubt  on  his 
sincerity.  It  is  remarkable  too  that,  so  far  from  affording 
the  least  hint  of  cruelty  in  Montrose's  character,  Baillie 
objects  to  his  too  great  lenity.      "  The  discretion,''  he  says, 


1639.] 


MONTROSE'S  LENITY  IN   1639. 


307 


"  of  that  generous  and  noble  youth  was  but  too  great.     A 
great  sum  was   named  as   a   fine   to   that  unnatural  city 
[Aberdeen]    but  all  was  forgiven."^     And  again:    "  Our 
forces   likewise  disbanded,  it  was  thought,    on   some   mal- 
contentment    either    at    Montrose's    too   great    lenitie    in 
sparing  the  enemies    houses,   or  somewhat  else."^      This 
was  in  March  1639  when  Montrose  then  only  twenty-six 
or   twenty-seven  years  of  age  went  against  Aberdeen  as 
Lord  General,  with  the  Earl  Marischall,  the  Lord  Erskine, 
the  Lord  Carnegie,  the  Lord  Elcho,  "his  Excellencie  Felt 
Marshal  Leslie,"  and   an  army  of  9000   men.^     Now,  as 
one    of   the    charges    brought   against    Montrose    by    the 
Parliament  of  Scotland   in    their  declaration   of  the   24th 
January   1650  was,  that   "being   a  man  of  a  mean  and 
desperate  fortune,  and  not  meeting    with  that   esteem  and 
reward  which  he  in  his  vanity  proposed  to    himself,  at  the 
first  pacification  he  began  to  hearken  to  the  promises  of  the 
Court,"  how  came  it  that,  "  being  a  man  of  a   mean   and 
desperate  fortune,"  and  so  young,  he  was  appointed  to  this 
important  command  ?     The  inference  is  that  the  oligarchy 
which    then    governed    Scotland     must,     notwithstanding 
their  habitual  blindness  to  such  qualities,  have  perceived 
in  Montrose,  young  as  he  was,  the  qualities  fit  for  com- 
mand;    and    that  Argyle  possessing  great    craft,    (though 
no   talent  for   war),  and  the  power  arising  fi-om  a  much 
greater  estate  or   at  least    a    much    greater    "following," 
than  Montrose,  which  in  an  oligarchy  confers  the  highest 
offices   without    regard    to    fitness,    had   influence    in    the 
Council    to    have    Montrose    superseded    and    Alexander 


*  Baillie's  Letters  and  Journals, 
vol.  i.  p.  197.  Edinburgh  1841.  Ban- 
natyne  Club  edition.  Baillie  calls 
Aberdeen  "that  unnatural  city"  on 
account  of  its  leaning  to  prelacy. 


*  Baillie's  Letters  and  Journals, 
vol.  i.  p.  205. 

3  Spalding,  vol.  i.  p.  107.  Edin- 
burgh, 1829.  2  vols.  4to.  Banna- 
tyne  Club  edition. 

X  2 


:308 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


Leslie,  an  old  soldier  of  fortune  and  military  pedant, 
put  in  his  place.  Montrose's  vindictive  feelings  on  this 
occasion  were  also  probably  much  exasperated  by  the 
fact  of  the  existence  of  an  old  feud  between  his  family 
and  that  of  Argyle.  Seeing  therefore  no  hope  for  the 
exercise  of  those  great  military  talents,  which  with  the 
instinct  of  genius  he  felt  that  he  possessed,  in  th^  service  of 
the  Covenanters,  he  determined  to  offer  his  services  to  the 
Koyal  cause.  And  however  much  reason  he  may  have  had 
to  dislike  the  supremacy  of  the  Stuarts,  he  would  probably 
have  very  much  preferred  it  to  the  supremacy  of  Argyle 
and  Loudon,  which  would  have  been  in  other  words  the 
supremacy  of  tlie  Campbells.  If  this  was  the  alternative, 
it  is  idle  to  say  that  it  was  Montrose's  duty  as  a  man  of 
principle  to  bow  to  the  order  which  superseded  him  and 
placed  another  in  his  command.  Moreover,  where  the 
Government  is  little  else  but  a  scramble  for  power  among 
a  few  families,  the  modern  standard  of  political  morality 
cannot  be  applied.  It  is  proper  to  add  that  some  of 
Montrose's  greatest  enemies  have  allowed  that,  though  he 
could  not  bear  an  equal,  and  was  always  ready  to  destroy 
an  adversary,  whether  by  heroism  in  the  field  or  less 
honourable  means,  he  was  always  generous  to  those  who 
testified  their  sense  of  his  superiority.  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that,  if  Montrose  with  his  military  genius  had  held 
the  command  of  the  armies  of  the  Scottish  Covenanters, 
the  struggle  would  have  assumed  an  aspect  different  in 
many  respects — but  that  the  result  would  have  been  more 
favourable  to  the  ultimate  establishment  of  good  govern- 
ment and  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  is  very  far  from 
probable,  for  to  look  for  such  a  result  from  that  corrupt  and 
tyrannical  oligarchy  which  then  and  long  after  misgoverned 
Scotland,  was  quite  out  of  the  question.      In  such  a  case  it 


1650.] 


ARRIVAL  OF  CHARLES  IN  SCOTLAND. 


309 


is  absolutely  necessary  to  destroy  before  there  can  be  any 
hope  to  reform. 

Montrose,    when    brought    before    the    Scottish  Parlia- 
ment   to    hear   his    sentence,    had    said  in    reply  to    the 
Chancellor  Loudon's  violent  harangue  against    him,  that 
"although   it  was   impossible   in   the  course  of  hostilities 
absolutely  to  prevent    acts   of    military   violence,  he  had 
always    disowned  and   punished  such   irregularities.      He 
had  never,"  he  said,  "  spilt  the  blood  of  a  prisoner,  even  in 
retaliation  of  the  cold-blooded  murder  of  his  officers  and 
friends,    nay    he    had    spared    the    lives  of   thousands    in 
the   very    shock   of    battle."      He    might    also    have    told 
that    Chancellor  and   the   rest  of  his  judges  that  all  the 
crimes    imputed    to    him,   if   proved   on   the   clearest  evi- 
dence, would  not  leave  behind  them  a  stain  so  indelible 
as  the  fingering  of  a  certain   sum  of  English  gold,  which 
was  not  unknown  to  that  Chancellor  and   his  accomplices 
or    brother   judges,    and    which  was   the   price   of  blood. 
Though  those  men  died  in  their  beds  and  Montrose  died  by 
the  hands  of  the  hangman,  had  they  all  come  before  Dante's 
infernal  tribunal,  the  prisoner  would  not  have  been   con- 
demned to   so   deep  a   part  of  the  abyss   as  some  of  his 
judges.     For  if  to  Montrose  would  have  been  assigned  a 
place  with   Ezzelino  in  the  lake  of  boiling  blood  of  Bull- 
came,  the  traitors  who   sold   the   king  who  trusted  them 
would   have  had  their  portion  with  Judas  Iscariot  in  the 
eternal  ice  of  Giudecca. 

Urry,  who  had  changed  sides  several  times  during  the 
civil  war,  and  had  been  sometimes  the  enemy,  sometimes 
the  follower  of  Montrose,  was  executed  with  others  of  tlie 
marquis's  followers,  among  whom  \yas  Whitford,^  one  of  the 
assassins  of  Dr.  Dorislaus.     Lord  Frendraught,  who  when 

»  WMtelock,  p.  460. 


SIO 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


Montrose's  horse  was  killed  under  him  had  generously 
given  him  his  own  to  enable  him  to  escape,  having  been 
taken  prisoner,  to  avoid  the  ignominy  of  a  public  execu- 
tion, starved  himself  to  death.  The  Marquis  of  Huntly, 
after  having  been  sixteen  months  in  prison,  had  been 
beheaded  at  Edinburgh  more  than  a  year  before.^ 

Meanwhile  the  commissioners  of  the  Scottish  Parlia- 
ment continued  to  carry  on  the  treaty  with  Charles. 
That  prince  had  little  inclination  to  agree  to  the  terms 
the  covenanted  oligarchy  offered  him,  and  no  hesitation 
about  the  morality  of  accomplishing  his  ends  by  any  other 
means,  even  by  the  means  proposed  by  Montrose,  namely 
butchering  one  half  of  his  subjects  that  he  might  reign 
absolutely  over  the  other  half  But  when  Montrose's 
defeat  and  execution  were  reported  to  him,  he  agreed, 
seeing  no  other  resource  for  the  present,  to  accept  the  crown 
of  Scotland  on  the  terms  offered,  which  were  taking  upon 
him  the  obligations  of  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant, 
and  absolute  compliance  with  the  will  of  the  Scottish  Par- 
liament in  civil,  and  with  that  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Kirk  in  ecclesiastical  affairs.  The  treaty  having  been 
concluded  on  these  conditions, — conditions  which  to  a  man 
of  Chai'les's  tastes  and  habits  made  his  life  as  a  kin^  in 
Scotland  considerably  less  pleasant  than  life  in  a  garret  in 
some  continental  town  where  he  might  at  least  enjoy,  un- 
molested by  the  howl  of  Presbyterian  sermons  and  impre- 
cations, some  scantling  of  the  luxuries  he  loved — Charles 
sailed  from  Holland  about  the  middle  of  June,  landed  on 
the  coast  of  Scotland  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  Spey, 
and  advanced  to  Stirling. 

About  the  middle  of  June  in  this  year  Mr.  Ascham, 


'  Whitelock,    p.    392.     March   27,       was  beheaded  at  the  cross  in  Edin- 
1649.       "The    Marquis    of    Huntly      burgh." 


1650.] 


ASSASSINATION   OF  ASCHAM. 


3J1 


whom  the  English  Parliament  had  sent  as  their  agent  into 
Spain,  was  assassinated  at  an  inn  in  Madrid,  together  with 
his  interpreter,  by  six  Englishmen  ;  who  inquiring  for  Mr. 
Ascham  were  admitted  to  his  chamber.  As  Mr.  Ascham, 
who  was  at  dinner  with  his  interpreter,  rose  from  the  table 
to  salute  them,  the  foremost  laid  hold  on  him  by  the  hair 
anji  stabbed  him.  The  interpreter  endeavoured  to  escape, 
but  he  was  stabbed  by  another ;  and  they  both  fell  down 
dead.  The  murderers  fled  for  refuge  to  the  Venetian 
ambassador's  house,  but  he  refused  them  entrance,  and  they 
then  took  sanctuary  in  the  next  church.  When  the  Par- 
liament were  informed  of  this  affair  by  their  late  agent's 
secretary,  they  first  ordered  that  a  letter  should  be  written 
to  the  King  of  Spain,  and  signed  by  their  Speaker,  to 
demand  justice  on  the  murderers  of  Mr.  Ascham.  Next^ 
Sir  H.  Mildmay  reported  from  the  Council  of  State,  that^ 
in  regard  of  this  horrible  assassination  and  murder  and 
also  of  several  late  advertisements  they  had  received  of 
divers  persons  being  come  into  England  with  intention  of 
like  murder  and  assassination  ;  and  because  some  faithful 
persons  to  the  State  are  particularly  designed  to  be  attempted 
upon,  it  was  the  Council's  opinion  the  House  should  be 
moved  to  take  into  consideration  what  they  published,  in 
the  Declaration  of  the  18th  of  May,  1649,  on  occasion  of 
the  murder  of  Dr.  Dorislaus,  and  give  order  that  some- 
thing might  be  done  effectually  in  pursuance  thereof,  to 
discourage  and  deter  such  bloody  and  desperate  men,  and 
their  accomplices,  from  the  like  wicked  attempts  for  the 
future.  Thereupon  the  House  resolved  that  six  of  those 
persons  who  had  been  in  arms  against  the  Parliament, 
and  who,  not  being  admitted  to  composition,  were  then  in 
their  power  and  at  their  mercy,  should  be  speedily  proceeded 
against  to  trial  for  their  lives,  before  the   High  Court  of 


312 


HISTOEY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  V. 


Justice,  upon  their  former  offences,  on  occasion  of  the 
horrid  and  execrable  assassination  of  Mr.  Ascham  and  his 
interpreter.^  It  was  not  however  till  the  I7th  of  Feb- 
ruary 1  65-|,  when  they  probably  felt  themselves  ready  for 
a  war  with  Spain,  that  the  Council  of  State  ordered  a 
paper  to  be  delivered  to  the  Spanish  ambassador,  demanding 
justice  on  the  murderers  of  Mr.  Ascham.^ 


^  Pari.    Hist.  vol.    iii.,    pp.   1351, 
1352. 


2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
17  Feb.  1654.   MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

As  soon  as  the  English  Parliament  heard  that  the  eldest 
son  of  the  late  king  of  England  had  arrived  in  Scotland, 
they  prepared  for  war  with  that  country.  Cromwell,  who 
had  been  summoned  home  from  Ireland  by  the  Parliament 
some  months  before,  had  taken  his  seat  in  the  House 
on  the  4th  of  June.^  His  entry  into  London  almost 
resembled  a  Roman  triumph.  Many  members  of  the 
Parhament  and  Council  of  State,  among  whom  was  Fair- 
fax the  Lord  General,  guarded  by  a  troop  of  horse  and  a 
regiment  of  foot,  and  attended  by  a  large  concourse  of 
citizens,  went  out  two  miles  to  meet  him.  "When  Crom- 
well came  to  Tyburn,  the  place  of  public  execution, 
where  a  great  crowd  of  spectators  was  assembled,  a  cer- 
tain flatterer  pointing  with  his  finger  to  the  multitude 
exclaimed :  *'  Good  God,  sir,  what  a  number  of  people 
come  to  welcome  you  home  1 ''  Cromwell  smiling  replied — 
"  But  how  many  more,  do  you  think,  would  flock  together 
to  see  me  hanged,  if  that  should  happen  ? ''  The  con 
temporary  writer  who  relates  this  incident  adds,  "there 
was  nothing  more  unlikely  at  that  time,  and  j^et  there  was 
a  presage  in  these  words,  which  he  often  repeated  and 
used  in  discourse.''  ^ 


'    Pari.    Hist,   vol.  iii.   pp.    1345,       late  Troubles  in  England — (Translation 
1347.  of   the  Elenclius  Motuum)— Part  ii. 

'  Bates — Eise  and  Progress  of  the      p.  97. 


314 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


Fairfax,  though  not  himself  a  presbyterian,  being  as 
has  been  commonly  supposed  persuaded  by  his  wife 
and  her  presbyterian  chaplains,  declined  the  command 
of  the  English  army  and  threw  up  his  commission. 
The  Council  of  State  sent  a  deputation  consisting  of 
St.  John,  Whitelock,  Cromwell,  Harrison  and  Lambert, 
to  Fairfax  to  endeavour  to  prevail  on  him  to  take  the 
command  of  the  army  destined  to  march  into  Scotland. 
The  main  argument  of  Fairfax  for  resigning  his  com- 
mand was  that  the  invasion  of  Scotland  could  not  be 
justified,  as  the  Scots  had  proclaimed  no  war  with  England, 
and  it  was  contrary  to  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant 
for  the  one  country  to  commence  war  against  the  other. 
To  this  the  answer  was  that  the  Scots  had  already  broken 
the  Covenant  by  the  Engagement  ;  and  that,  though  the 
Engagement  had  been  disavowed  by  a  subsequent  Par- 
liament or  party,  yet  their  whole  conduct  latterly  had 
manifested  a  determination  to  support  the  cause  of  Charles 
Stuart  against  the  people  of  England ;  that  therefore 
war  was  inevitable,  and  the  only  question  was  whether 
Scotland  should  be  the  seat  of  war,  or  the  Scots  should 
be  allowed  to  organize  their  forces,  to  march  into  England, 
and  be  joined  by  a  party  there.  Fairfax  declared  his 
willingness  to  march  against  the  Scots  if  they  entered 
England,  but  he  was  against  hostilities  till  that  event 
occurred.  It  being  however  resolved  to  carry  the  war 
into  Scotland,  he  resigned  his  command.^ 

An  act  was  passed  on  the  26  th  of  June  repealing  the 
act  whereby  Thomas  Lord  Fairfax  had  been  appointed 
captain  general  and  commander-in-chief  of  all  the  forces 
of  the  English  Parliament ;  and  another  act  was  passed 
the  same     day,  nemine    contradicente,    constituting    and 

1  Whitelock,  p.  460.     Ludlow,  vol.  i.  p.  314. 


1650.] 


WAR  WITH  SCOTLAND. 


315 


appointing  Oliver  Cromwell,  Esquire,  to  be  captain  general 
and  commander-in-chief  of  all  the  forces  raised  and  to  be 
raised  by  authority  of  ParHament  within  the  Common- 
wealth of  England.  By  the  29th  of  June  Cromwell  had 
left  London  and  was  on  his  march  to  Scotland.^  He  was 
desired  by  the  Council  of  State  to  assume  the  title  of 
"General  of  the  forces  of  the  Parliament  of  England,"  and 
to  receive  no  letters  from  Scotland  without  such  address.^ 

Mrs.  Hutchinson  affirms  that  what  many  said  that 
Cromwell  undermined  Fairfax,  was  false  ;  for  in  Colonel 
Hutchinson's  presence  he  most  earnestly  importuned 
Fairfax  to  keep  his  commission,  lest  his  resignation  should 
discourage  the  army  and  the  people  in  that  juncture  of 
time,  but  by  no  means  prevail,  although  he  laboui^ed  almost 
all  the  night  with  most  earnest  endeavours.^  Ludlow 
says  "  he  acted  his  part  so  to  the  life  that  I  thought  him 
sincere.''  The  opinion  that  Cromwell  was  sincere  was 
entertained  at  the  time  by  all  those  who  formed  the 
deputation  sent  by  the  Council  of  State  to  Fairfax. 
Subsequent  events  however  induced  them  to  alter  their 
opinion,  and  to  think  that  Cromwell  did  not  wish  to 
succeed  in  persuading  Fairfax  to  retain  his  commission, 
but  already  regarded  his  appointment  to  Fairfax's  place  as 
a  step  to  the  absolute  power  he  aimed  at.  But  in  all 
these  persons  this  opinion  as  to  Cromwell's  sincerity  in 
trying  to  persuade  Fairfax  to  retain  his  commission  was  an 
afterthought ;  and  I  think  it  not  improbable  that  their 
first  opinion  was  correct,  and  that  Cromwell  was  sincere. 
Neither  would  his  sincerity  on  this  point  affect  the 
question    of    any  ulterior   designs   he    might   then    have 


1  Whitelock,   p.    460.     Pari.   Hist. 
voL  iii.  pp.  1350,  1351,  1352. 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
29  June,    1650.       MS.  State    Paper 


Office. 

3  Mrs.  Hutchinson's  Memoirs  of 
Colonel  Hutchinson,  p.  344.  Bohn's 
edition.     London,  1854. 


316 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


formed,  for  he  had  found  by  long  experience  that  Fair- 
fax's being  commander-in-chief  did  not  prevent  him,  the 
lieutenant-general,  from  doing  nearly  what  he  liked  in  and 
with  the  army.  Besides,  independently  of  the  question 
of  his  sincerity  or  insincerity  on  this  occasion,  there  are 
several  contemporary  witnesses  who  affirm  that  by  that 
time  he  had  begun  his  operation  of  moulding  the  army  to 
his  mind  by  weeding  out  of  it  the  godly  and  upright- 
hearted  men,  both  officers  and  soldiers,  and  filling  their 
places  partly  with  cavaliers,  partly  with  personal  friends 
and  relatives  and  others  who  would  ''make  no  question 
for  conscience'  sake.''  These  last  words  are  Mrs.  Hutchin- 
son's,^ who  joins  them  with  some  others  which,  beiug  rather 
more  than  "  almost  scolding,"  ^  do  not  mend  her  argu- 
ment. Her  testimony  however  is  supported  by  that  of 
Richard  Baxter,  and  by  that  of  Ludlow.  But  then  their 
memoirs  like  hers  were  written  after  the  event  ;  and  we 
may  be  permitted  to  doubt  whether  the  event  did  not, 
perhaps  involuntaril}'',  colour  their  recollections  of  the  past. 
In  fact  Ludlow,  like  Harrison  and  many  others,  discovered 
Cromwell's  designs  somewhat  of  the  latest — that  is,  after 
they  were  executed.  Moreover  Cromwell  was  a  man  who 
rather  watched  and  took  advantage  of  opportunities  than 
sought  to  make  them.  It  is  therefore  improbable  that  he 
had  any  designs  of  a  definite  character  at  this  time  or 
indeed  long  after.  And  though  Mrs.  Hutchinson  takes 
credit  afterwards  for  penetration  in  seeing  what  Cromwell 
was  about  when  she  says  that  his  mode  of  proceeding 
"  was  unperceived  by  all  that  were  not  of  very  penetrating 
eyes,"  '  anyone  who  takes  a  comprehensive  view  of    the 


*  Memoirs  of  Col.   HutcMnson,  p.       terms  of  the  women's  petition  to  the 
342.     Bohn's  edn.  London,  1854.  parliament  in  behalf  of  John  Lilburne. 

2  Whitelock's    description    of     the  ^  Memoirs,  p.  342. 


1650.] 


CROMWELL  COMMANDEE-IN-CHIEF. 


317 


whole  business  must  see  tliat  the  deeper  designs  of  a  man 
of  the  capacity  of  Cromwell  were  not  likely  to  be  so  laid 
as  to  be  discovered  by  so  common-place  a  man  as  Colonel 
Hutchinson,  or  by  a  woman,  who  however  praiseworthy  in 
her  character  of  a  wife,  evinced  so  little  penetration  as  to 
mistake  her  husband  for  a  hero.  Honest  Ludlow  was  almost 
as  little  likely  to  penetrate  and  countermine  such  a  man  as 
Cromwell  as  Colonel  Hutchinson.  Ludlow  indeed  in  after 
days,  when  in  poverty  and  in  exile  he  wrote  his  memoirs,  sad 
and  disenchanted  though  still  unsubdued,  having  indeed  if 
any  man  ever  had  a  "  soul  invincible,"  noted  that  at  a  cer- 
tain time  the  grand  moral  distinction  between  the  parlia- 
mentary and  all  other  armies  began  to  be  destroyed — "  and 
then  the  troops  of  the  Parliament,"  he  says  "  who  were  not 
raised  out  of  the  meanest  of  the  people  and  without  dis- 
tinction, as  other  armies  had  been,  but  consisted  of  such  as 
had  engaged  themselves  from  a  spirit  of  liberty  in  the 
defence  of  their  rights  and  religion,  were  corrupted  by  him, 
kept  as  a  standing  force  against  the  people,  taught  to 
forget  their  first  engagements  and  rendered  as  mercenary 
as  other  troops  are  accustomed  to  be."  ^ 

Whether  or  not  those  who  mention  what  they  caU 
Cromwell's  designs  of  usurpation  in  their  subsequently 
written  memoirs  penetrated  Cromwell's  designs  at  the  time, 
there  is  sufficient  evidence  that  he  was  not  only  sus- 
pected but  publicly  charged  with  such  designs  at  an  early 
period  by  John  Lilburne  and  other  discontented  officers 
of  the  army.  But  then  the  very  fact  of  such  charges  being 
made  by  such  men,  whatever  degree  of  penetration  the 
making  of  them  might  show,  rather  tended  to  strengthen 
CromwelFs  power  than  to  shake  it.  For  even  assuming 
that  Lilburne's  charges  were  proved,  and  Cromwell  dis- 

*  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  iii.  p.  21. 


318 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


missed  from  his  command,  and  Lilburne  or  some  one 
recommended  by  Lilburne's  party  put  in  his  place,  what 
result  could  have  been  expected  but  the  bringing  in  the 
royalists  upon  the  nation  pell-mell  ?  For  the  whole  of  poor 
Lilburne's  short,  busy,  restless  life  shows  that,  with  some 
talent  as  a  pamphleteer  and  even  more  talent  as  a  speaker, 
he  had  no  talent  whatever  as  a  man  of  effective  action, 
none  of  that  talent  of  which  both  Cromwell  and  Monk 
had  so  much. 

At  the  head  of  an  army  of  sixteen  thousand  ^  men 
Cromwell  now  invaded  Scotland.  If  we  compare  the 
number  of  this  army  with  the  numbers  of  the  armies  with 
which  the  first  and  second  Edwards  invaded  Scotland, 
taking  into  account  also  the  considerable  increase  of  popu- 
lation between  the  fourteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries, 
though  the  increase  cannot  be  ascertained  with  any  degree 
of  exactness,  we  are  struck  with  the  smallness  of  the 
amount  of  this  army  of  the  seventeenth  century.  But 
sixteen  thousand  men,  well-treated,  well-fed,  well-armed, 
animated  by  a  religious  enthusiasm  that  made  them  look 
on  death  not  merely  without  fear  but  as  a  passage  to 
eternal  happiness  and  honour,  accustomed  to  discipline  and 
to  victory,  and  led  by  Oliver  Cromwell,  were  really  more 
formidable  than  a  hundred  thousand  men  led  by  King 
Edward  the  Second,  when  moreover  in  the  one  case  the 
army  opposed  to  them  was  led  by  the  Committee  of 
Estates,  in  the  other  case  by  Robert  Bruce. 

About   the   time  of  Charles's  landing,  the  Scottish  Par- 
liament  having  received  certain  intelligence  of  Cromwell's 

»  "Mordington,  24  July,  1650.     A  the  horse  5415,  the  foot  10,249;   in 

list  of    the   regiments  of    horse  and  toto   1Q,Z5V'—Sev.    Proc.  'in  Pari 

foot  rendezvoused  and  marched  with  July  25  to  August  1,  in  Cromwelliana* 

the  Lord  General  Cromwell  into  Scot-  p.  85.  ' 

land.     The  whole  thus,  the  train  690, 


1650.] 


THE  SCOTTISH  LEVIES. 


319 


advance,  were  under  a  necessity  of  reinforcing  their  army 
then  consisting   of    2500   horse   and    3000  foot.^      After 
much   debate   an   act  of   levies   passed   for    raising   above 
30,000    horse   and   foot  throughout  the  kingdom.      Very 
different  from  the  mode  pursued  in  England  was  the  mode 
of    recruiting   the  army  for  the   Kirk,   as  it   was   called, 
though   it  was  in   fact  an  army  raised  for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  in  Scotland  under  the  name  of  Charles  II.,  as 
a  phantom  king,  a  sort  of  heptarchy  composed  of  a  body 
of  petty  kings,  whose  tyranny  was  likely  to  be  as  galling 
as  that  of  the  worst  of  the   Stuarts.^     Those  who  have 
not  examined  the  matter  are    apt    to    imagine    that    the 
Scottish   peasantry    flocked    to    the    so-called   standard  of 
the    Kirk  in    1650   as    some    thirty    years    later  when, 
goaded  into  madness   by  the  cruelty   of  Claverhouse  and 
Lauderdale,  they  opposed   successfully   their  undisciplined 
valour    to    the   onset    of    veteran    troops    at    Drumclog. 
This  is  very  far   from   being  the   case.      The  same  great 
writer,  who  has  given  a  picture  of  the  skirmish  at  Drum- 
clog  that   will  live  as  long  as  the  language  in  which  it 
is  written,  has  also  on  another  occasion  given  a  description 
of  the  state  of   mind  in  which  a  Scottish  peasant  followed 
his  lord  to  the  battle  of  Bothwell  Bridge,  which  represents 
to   the  life  the  feelings  with  which,  according  to  abundance 
of  the  best  evidence,  the  bulk  of  the   Scottish  peasantry 
left  their  homes  under  the  conduct  of  their  lairds  and  lords 
to  be   slaughtered  at  Dunbar,  or  as  prisoners  either  to  die 
of  famine   and  pestilence  or  be  transported  to  the  English 
settlements   in  America.      Such  was   the    fate    for  which 
thousands  of  poor  men  were  dragged  from  their  homes  by 
their  native  oppressors,  by  those  who  neither  knew  how  to 


»  Sir  Edward  Walker,  p.  160. 


2  Ibid.  p.  194. 


320 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


lead  armies  themselves  nor  would  leave  them  to  the  leading 
of  those  who  did  know.  Duke  Hamilton  pressed  every 
fourth  man  in  certain  districts  for  his  miserable  expedition 
into  England/  Many  yeomen  in  Clydesdale  "  upon  fear 
to  be  levied  by  force  "  fled  from  their  houses  to  ioudoun 
Hill.^  The  English  army  in  their  march  through  Berwick- 
shire saw  not  any  Scotchman,  but  the  streets  of  the  small 
towns  and  villages  were  full  of  Scotch  women,  very  many 
of  whom  bemoaned  their  husbands,  who,  they  said,  "  were 
enforced  by  the  lairds  to  gang  to  the  muster/'^  The 
Highlanders,  notwithstanding  their  vaunted  attachment  to 
their  chiefs,  were,  latterly  at  least,  as  little  disposed  to  go  to 
war  at  the  command  of  their  tyrants  as  the  Lowlanders. 
Obedience  to  his  chief  was  indeed  the  creed  in  which  the 
Highlander  was  brought  up.  But  how  far  that  obedience 
was  hearty  and  willing  appears  from  the  fact  that  in  1745 
nothing  but  force  could  draw  the  men  from  their  houses.* 
And  in  1715  the  methods  adopted  by  those  feudal  or 
patriarchal  tyrants  to  force  their  vassals  into  a  rebellion 
against  the  established  government  appear  from  a  letter 
written  by  the  Earl  of  Mar  to  the  baillie  of  his  lordship  of 
Kildrummie  and  dated  September  9,  1715,  in  which  he 
says,  "  I  have  used  gentle  means  too  long,  .  .  .  Let 
my  own  tenants  in  Kildrummie  know  that  if  they  come 
not  forth  with  their  best  arms,  I  will  send  a  party  imme- 
diately to  burn  what  they  shall  miss  taking  from  them. 
And  they  may  believe  this  only  as  a  threat,  but,  by  all 
that's  sacred,  I'll  put  it  in  execution,  let  my  loss  be  what 


*  Captain    Hodgson's    Memoirs,   p. 
124. 

*  Baillie' s    Letters    and    Journals, 
vol.  iii.  p.  48.     Edinburgh,  1842. 

^  Relation  of  the  Fight  at  Leith,  p. 
270,    published   with   Slingsby's   and 


Hodgson's  Memoirs,  and  other  original 
documents,  namely  dispatches  and 
letters  relating  to  this  campaign. 

"*  Jacobite  Correspondence,  quoted 
in  Mr.  Hill  Burton's  Life  of  Simon 
Lord  Lovat,  pp.  151,  152. 


1650.] 


THE  SCOTTISH  LEVIES. 


321 


it  will,  that  it  may  be  an  example  to  others.      You  are  to 
tell  the  gentlemen  that  I  expect  them  in  their  best  accoutre- 
ments on  horseback,  and  no  excuse  to  be  accepted  of.'^  * 
Add   to   this  that  the  men  were  miserably  paid,  if  paid  at 
all,  and  very  scantily  fed  on  food  of  the  coarsest  descrip- 
tion, and  that  they  could  never  rise  to  the  rank  of  officers, 
and  you  have  a  strong  contrast  to  the  weU-fed,  weU-clothed,' 
and,  though   punished  for  breach  of  discipline  with  unre' 
lenting  severity,  well-treated  freemen  who  filled  the  ranks 
of  the  English  Parliamentary  armies.  The  officers  appointed 
to   command   the  Scottish  levies  thus  raised  were,  at  least 
according  to  the  authority  of  a  royalist  who  did  not  regard 
them   with  a  favourable  eye,  "  for  the  most  part  ministers' 
sons,  clerks,  and  such  other  sanctified  creatures,  who  hardly 
ever  saw  or  heard  of  any  sword  but  that  of  the  spirit."  ' 
Good  officers  must  have  discovered  by  this  time  that  it  was 
better  to  seek  service  where  it  was  more  likely  to  lead  to 
promotion  and  reward   than   under  a  Government  whose 

»  The  letter  is  printed  in  full  in  Sir  that  had  scarce  as  much  wind  left  as 

Walter  Scott's  History  of  Scotland,  con-  serve  the  necessary  purpose  of  my  ain 

tamed  in  "Tales  of  a  Grandfather,"  lungs,    *  Sound,  you  poltroon  !  Bound, 

vol.     11.  pp.     271,    272,    Edinburgh,  you  damned  cowardly  villain,  or  I  will 

1846.     We  now  see  that  the  descrip-  blow  your  brains   out !'    and,    to   be 

tion  given  by  the  old  sexton  of  Her-  sure,  I  blew  sic  points  of  wlr,  that 

mitage  to  the  Master  of  Ravenswood  the    scraugh   of     a    clockin-hen    was 

is  hardly  over-coloured:—*'  There  was  music  to  them."     The  inducement  ap- 

auld  Ravenswood  brandishing  his  An-  plied  to  their  soldiers  by  the  Prussian 

drew  Ferrara  at  the  head,  and  crying  tyrants  was  of  a  similar  nature  to  this, 

to  us  to  come  and  buckle  to,  as  if  we  In   action   a   line   of    sergeants,   each 

had  been  gaun  to  a  fair,— there  was  armed  with  a  heavy  cane,  stood  behind 

Caleb  Balderston,   that  is  living  yet,  each  rank,  one  for  every  three  soldiere, 

flourishing  in  the  rear,  and  swearing  so  that  they  had  the  enemy  in  front| 

Gog  and   Magog  he  would   put  steel  and  these  terrible  tyrants  behind,  who 

through  the    guts   of    ony  man  that  rendered   running  away  a   matter   of 

turned  bridle,— there  was  young  Allan  difficulty  and  danger.     The  cuirassiers 

Ravenswood,  that  was  then  Master,  wi'  and  pikemen  of  Cromwell  had  no  need 

a  bended  pistol  in  his  hand,— it  was  a  of  such  stimulants, 
mercy  it  gaed  na  aff,— crying  to  me,  «  Sir  Edward  Walker,  p.  162. 


322 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


1650.] 


THE  SCOTTISH  LEVIES. 


323 


chancellor  was  a  colonel  of  regiments  of  horse  and  foot, 
of  which  he  took  the  pay,  leaving  others  to  do  the 
duty. 

It  is  indeed  true  that  men  treated  as  the  Scottish 
peasants  and  even  the  Scottish  gentlemen  (as  appears  from 
what  has  been  said)  were  treated  by  their  feudal  superiors 
have  fought  successfully.  But  there  was  when,  as  in  the 
great  Scottish  war  of  independence,  whether  better  treated 
or  not,  they  fought  under  great  and  popular  leaders,  Wal- 
lace, Bruce,  and  Douglas,  for  a  popular  and  worthy  object ; 
or,  it  might  be,  under  one  of  those  great  and  terrible 
tyrants,  such  as  Frederic  of  Prussia,  a  tyrant  of  invincible 
energy,  untiring  industry,  and  extraordinary  capacity,  but 
not  under  an  oligarchy  or  knot  of  small  imbecile  tyrants, 
which  for  three  centuries  among  all  its  members  had  not 
mustered  brains  enough  to  govern  a  hen-roost  or  to  drive 
a  flock  of  geese  across  a  common. 

It  has  sometimes  been  supposed  that  the  Scottish  armies 
during  these  wars  were  in  part  at  least  composed  of  the 
veteran  Scottish  troops  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  on  whom 
that  great  king  relied  the  most  not  only  for  their  invincible 
steadiness  but  for  their  unbounded  daring  ;  who  at  the 
battle  of  Leipsic  almost  annihilated  the  terrible  veterans 
of  Tilly  ;  and  who  in  the  storm  of  the  castle  of  Marien- 
berg  performed  a  feat  of  arms  more  wonderful  even  than 
Bonaparte's  famous  passage  of  the  Bridge  of  Lodi.  But 
this  was  not  the  case.  In  1650  application  was  made  to 
the  French  Court  for  permission  for  Douglas's  (formerly 
Hepburn's)  and  the  other  Scots  regiments,  which  since  the 
death  of  Gustavus  Adolphus  had  passed  into  the  service  of 
France,  to  return  to  Scotland  with  Charles  II.  But 
Lewis  XIV.  declined  to  accede  to  the  request,  and  promised 


H 


to  give  them  their  pay  with  greater  regularity  in  future.* 
It   is   undoubtedly  true   that  there  were  several  officers  in 
the   service  of  the   Scots  Parliament  (the  two  Leslies  and 
others)  who  had  served  under  Gustavus  Adolphus.     But 
though  in  common  and  inaccurate  language  they  may  be 
said  to  have  learnt  the  art  of  war  under  a  great  master, 
the  art  of  war  is  an  art  which  cannot  be  learnt  under  any 
teacher  but  nature.      And  events  proved  but  too  well  that 
neither  Alexander  nor  David  Leslie  was  ever  a  master  of 
it.      One  fact  tells  volumes  against  both.       I  have  already 
mentioned  the  introduction  of  the  use  of  the  cartridge  by 
Gustavus   Adolphus  as   well   as  the  fact  that  it  was  not 
generally  used  till  near  a  century  after.^     The  deadly  effect 
of  the   fire  of  the  Scots  brigades  in  the  wars  of  Gustavus 
Adolphus  in  consequence  of  the  advantage  of  the  cartridge 
was  often  proved.      And  the  first  thing  that  a  commander 
of  any  superior  intelligence  would  have  done  would  have 
been   to   introduce  it   wherever  he  commanded.     That  it 
was   not  introduced   among   the  Scots   troops   sufficiently 
appears  jfrom  one  of  the  articles  of  the  surrender  of  Edin- 
burgh Castle  to  Cromwell,  by  which  it  is  stipulated  that 
the   soldiers   may  depart  "  with   their  arms   and  baggage, 
with  drums  beating  and  colours  flying,  matches  lighted  at 
both   ends,  and  ball  in  their  mouths  as  they  are  usually 
wont   to   march.''      This  clearly  shows  that  the  cartridges 
were  not  used,  and  that  the  baU  was  put  loose  or  separately 
into  the  gun. 

It  is  a  strange  spectacle  to  observe  the  language  which 
these  two  bodies  of  fanatics,  each  of  which  believed  them- 

*  Records  of    the  British  Aniiy—  Esq.,  Adjutant-General's  Office,  Horse 

Printed  by  Authority— Historical  Re-  Guards.     London,  1847.     P.  44. 

cord  of  the  First  or  Royal  Regiment  of  «   Historical   Record   of    the     First 

Foot.     Compiled  by  Richard  Cannon,  Regiment  of  Foot. 

Y    2 


824 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  YI. 


1650.] 


JklONK. 


325 


selves  the  special  and  exclusive  favourites  and  confidants 
of  Heaven,  held  to  each  other.  The  Presbyterians  de- 
clared the  army  commanded  by  Cromwell  to  be  a  union  of 
the  most  perverse  heretical  sectaries  of  every  different 
persuasion,  agreeing  in  nothing  but  their  desire  to  effect 
the  ruin  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  the  destruction  of 
the  Covenant,  to  which  most  of  their  leaders  had  sworn 
fidelity.  Cromwell  was  Antichrist,  over  whose  head  the 
curse  of  God  hung  for  murdering  the  king,  and  breaking 
the  Covenant.^  He  was  Agag,  and  revelations  had  been 
made  to  tliem  that  he,  with  his  army  of  sectaries  and 
heretics,  was  delivered  into  their  hands  to  be  dealt  with  as 
Samuel  had  dealt  with  Agag  and  the  Amalekites.  The 
Independents  were  by  no  means  behind-hand  in  this  war 
of  words,  though  after  their  success  at  Dunbar  they  could 
afford  to  exhibit  a  little  more  profession  than  their  adver- 
saries of  Christian  charity,  which  was  rather  a  scarce  com- 
modity everywhere  in  those  days.  They  called  Heaven 
and  Earth  to  witness  whether  they  had  not  cause  to  defend 
themselves  by  coming  into  Scotland  with  an  army  to 
hinder  the  Scots  from  taking  their  time  and  advantage  to 
impose  on  them  their  grand  enemy,  whom  the  Scots  had 
engaged  to  restore  to  the  possession  of  England  and  Ire- 
land.* They  declared  that  they  valued  the  Christian 
Church  ten  thousand  times  more  than  their  own  lives  ;  and 
that  they  were  not  only  a  rod  of  iron  to  dash  asunder  the 
common  enemies,  but  a  hedge  (though  unworthy)  about 
the  divine  vineyard.  As  for  the  Covenant,  were  it  not  for 
making  it  an  object  of  idolatry,  they  would  be  content  to 

»    Relation  of  the  Fight  at  Leith,       1806. 
p.   220,  in  Original  Memoirs  written  ^  Declaration  of  the  English  Army, 

during  the   Civil  War.      Edinburgh,       in  Cromwelliana,  p.  84. 


■ 


H 


place  it  on  the  point  of  their  pikes,  and  let  God  judge 
wliether  they  or  their  opponents  had  best  observed  its 
obligations.  Those,  they  said,  that  were  acquainted  with 
the  secrets  of  God  (meaning  themselves)  did  clearly  see 
the  quarrel  was  betwixt  Christ  and  the  Devil,  betwixt 
Christ's  seed  and  the  Devil's.  The  whore  of  Babylon  had 
received  her  deadly  wound ;  let  the  Devil  be  her  cliirur- 
geon.  Their  prayers  for  them  (the  Presbyterians)  should 
be  that  the  Lord  would  pity  and  forgive  them,  in  that 
they  knew  not  what  they  did  ;  and  that  He  would  give 
them  a  clear  sight  of  the  great  work  He  was  then,  in 
those  latter  days,  carrying  on.  Tlieir  bowels  did  in  Christ 
yearn  after  the  godly  in  Scotland,  and  the  arms  of  their 
Christian  love  were  stretched  out  ready  to  embrace  them, 
whenever  God  should  incline  their  hearts  to  carry  on  and 
not  to  gainsay  and  oppose  His  work.  If  however  God 
should  still  suffer  their  eyes  to  be  blinded,  so  that  seeing 
they  would  not  see,  and  their  hearts  to  be  hardened,  so 
as  to  persist  in  gainsaying  and  opposing  the  way  of  the 
Lord,  whatever  misery  befell  their  nation,  either  through 
famine  or  sword,  would  lie  heavy   upon  them.^ 

Before  the  English  army  entered  Scotland,  an  incident 
occurred  which  shows  that  if  Gumble's  statement  that 
Monk  was  known  among  the  soldiers  as  honest  George 
Monk  be  true,  the  opinion  of  the  soldiors  must  have 
changed  from  what  it  was  at  this  time.  At  Newcastle 
Colonel  Bright  threw  up  his  commission  because  the 
general  would  not  give  him  a  fortnight's  time  to  go  home 
to  settle  his  private  affairs.^  When  the  army  was  about 
Alnwick   several    colonels  came    to  the    head   of   Colonel 


^  Relation  of  the  Campaign  in  Scot- 
land, pp.  331,  332,  in  Original  Me- 
moirs written  during  the  Civil  War; 


and  Cromwell  to  the  Governor  of  the 

Castle  of  Edinburgh,  12th  Sept.  1650. 

2  Captain  Hodgson's  Memoirs,  p.  127. 


326 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


Bright*s  regiment,  and  telling  the  soldiers  that  the  general 
was  much  troubled  such  a  regiment  should  want  a  colonel, 
asked  whom  they  would  have  for  their  colonel.  The 
soldiers  told  them  they  had  a  good  colonel,  but  he  had 
left  them,  and  they  knew  not  whom  they  might  have.  The 
colonels  asked  if  they  would  have  Colonel  Monk.  "  Colonel 
Monk  1  "  said  some  of  them,  '*  what  !  to  betray  us  ?  We 
took  him  but  not  long  since  at  Nantwich  prisoner  :  we'll 
have  none  of  him.""  The  next  day  the  colonels  came 
again,  and  asked  if  they  would  have  Major-General 
Lambert  to  be  their  colonel.  At  which  they  all  threw  up 
their  hats  and  shouted  "  a  Lambert  !  a  Lambert ! ''  *  In 
the  whole  of  this  affair,  the  refusal  of  the  short  leave  of 
absence  causing  the  resignation  of  Colonel  Bright,  and  the 
proposal  of  Monk  as  his  successor  undoubtedly  originating 
with  Cromwell,  may  be  clearly  seen  one  very  remarkable 
example  of  "  weeding  out  the  old  officers  and  filling  up 
their  room  with  turn-coat  cavaliers." 

Cromwell  and  Monk  soon  understood  each  other.  Their 
abilities,  though  very  different  in  some  points,  were  very 
like  in  others.  They  were  both  essentially  men  of  action. 
What  was  to  be  done  they  could  do,  from  fighting  a  battle 
to  quelling  a  mutiny,  from  raising  an  army  and  manning  a 
fleet  to  keeping  their  men  in  efficient  fighting  condition  by 
attention  to  the  most  minute  details  of  the  commissariat, 
even  to  furnishing  their  soldiers  amid  the  bogs  of  Ireland 
and  the  mountains  of  Scotland  with  a  sufficient  supply  of 
biscuit  and  cheese,  frequently  assisted  by  a  portion  of  meat 


*  Captain  Hodgson's  Memoirs,  pp. 
139, 140.  Hodgson  was  then  an  officer 
in  that  very  regiment  of  foot,  as  he 
afterwards  was  in  Lambert's  regiment 
of  horse ;  for  Lambert  appears  to  have 
had  a  regiment  of  horse  and  a  regiment 


of  foot  at  the  same  time.  See  Hodg- 
son's Memoirs,  p.  140.  As  to  the 
incident  related  in  the  text,  see  also 
Relation  of  the  Fight  at  Leith,  in  the 
same  collection,  p.  205. 


1650.] 


CROMWELL  AND  MONK. 


327 


or  fish,  chiefly  salmon ;  ^  and  when  better  medical  advice 
was  not  to  be  had,  they  had  their  prescriptions  and  reme- 
dies for  sickness  and  wounds.  Nearly  the  same  might  be 
said  as  to  the  resemblance  of  their  characters.  Their  faces 
also  bore  a  not  inconsiderable  likeness  to  each  other.  The 
best  original  portraits'^  of  both  exhibit  the  same  massive 
structure  of  countenance  and  head,  the  same  look  of  calm 
intelligence  and  invincible  resolution  in  the  eyes  and  mouth. 
Calm  and  indomitable  courage,  and  strong  practical  good 
sense  characterized  both  aHke.  But  here  the  resemblance 
ends,  for  in  Cromwell  there  was  added  an  element  of 
enthusiasm  which  gave  to  his  courage  more  unbounded 
daring  and  to  his  ambition  a  loftier  flight  than  suited 
Monk's  phlegmatic  temperament  and  unimaginative  mind. 
For,  after  all,  Monk  did  not  rise  above  the  common  ranks 
of  men.  And  yet  he  was  a  sort  of  Cromwell — with  the 
courage  and  good  sense  without  the  genius, — without  that 
enthusiastic  element  and  that  unerring  instinct  telling  the 
exact  moment  when  a  blow  is  to  be  struck,  which,  when 
combined  with  courage  and  good  sense,  inspire  a  resistless 
energy  into  a  man's  actions. 

As  regards  the  points  of  resemblance  in  the  characters 
of  these  two  men,  it  is  also  remarkable  that  Monk  and 
Cromwell  though  both  by  birth  gentlemen,  were  both  cha- 
racterized by  a  certain  plainness,  if  not  coarseness,  a  certain 
want  of  refinement  in  their  tastes  and  habits,  which  not 
only  shunned  all  approach  to  foppery  but  tended  to  the 
other  extreme.     We  cannot  imagine  Monk  or  Cromwell  in 

*  It  appears  from  various  minutes  State,  25  Sept.  1649,  and  23  Octob. 

in  the  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  1649,   a  Meridie.      MS.   State  Paper 

State,  that  salmon  for  the  use  of  the  Office. 

troops  in  Ireland  was    purchased    in  ^  There  were  several  original  minia- 

Ireland    at    £15     per    ton,    a    little  tures  of  Cromwell  and  one  of  Monk 

more  than  three  halfpence  per  pound.  exhibited  in   the   Loan  Court   of   the 

—Order    Book    of    the    Council    of  South  Kensington  Museum  in  1862. 


328 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


1660.] 


CROMWELL  INVADES  SCOTLAND. 


329 


the  wildest  days  of  their  youth  the  sort  of  fine  gentleman 
that  Churchill  was  at  the  Court  of  Charles  II.,  or  C^sar  in 
the  Roman  Forum,  when  he  devoted  the  part  of  his  time 
he  did  not  consume  in  pleasure  to  earning  by  his  eloquence 
as  an  advocate  the  popularity  which  was  to  give  him  the 
command  of  armies  and  thereby  the  empire  of  the  world. 

It  may  be  supposed  that  Monk's  rejection  by  the  soldiers 
of  Bright's  regiment  would  be  no  bar  to  the  advancement 
of  the  man  who  had  gained  the  confidence  of  Cromwell, 
not  the  entire  confidence,  for  that  no  one  possessed.  Crom- 
well first  gave  Monk  a  regiment  and  then  appointed  him 
general  of  the  ordnance.' 

On  Monday  the  22nd  of  July  Cromwell's  army  passed 
through  Berwick  and  marched  across  the  border.  A  for- 
lorn first  of  dragoons^  and  then  one  of  horse  were  sent 
forward.  After  these  the  whole  army  marched  for  Scotland 
over  the  bridge,  the  general's  own  regiment  of  horse  and 
Colonel  Pride's  of  foot  leading  the  van.  The  train  marched 
in  the  body  of  the  foot.^  On  the  bounds  between  the  two 
kingdoms  the  general  made  ''a.  large  discourse"  to  the 
ofl^cers,  "  showing  he  spoke,''  says  Captain  Hodgson,  ''  as  a 
Christian  and  a  soldier,"  and  pointing  out  the  inconveniences 
they  should  meet  with  in  Scotland  as  to  the  scarcity  of 
provisions.  As  to  the  people,  he  said,  they  would  find  the 
leading  part  of  them  to  be  soldiers,  and  they  were  very 
numerous,  and  at  present  might  be  unanimous.  And  he 
charged  the  oflicers  to  double,  nay  treble,  their  diligence,  for 
they  might  be  sure  they  had  work  before  them. 

That  night   they   encamped   at   Mordington  about  the 


'  Ludlowe  says  that  Cromwell  * '  made 
up  a  regiment  for  Monk  with  six  com- 
panies out  of  Sir  Arthur  Hasebig's 
regiment  and  six  out  of  Colonel  Fen- 
wick's." — Ludlowe' s  Memoirs,  p.  140. 


London,  1771. 


4to  edition. 

'^  See  p.  44  as  to  the  difference  be- 
tween ''horse"  and  ** dragoons." 

3  Letter  July  26  to  Aug.  2,  in  Crom- 
welliana,  p.  85. 


house,  the  general  and  some  of  his  principal  oflScers  being 
quartered  in  Lord  Mordington's  ^  house,  where  none  were 
found  except  two  or  three  of  the  inferior  servants,  nor  any 
household  utensils.  Some  of  Cromwell's  soldiers  however 
had  brought  a  little  raw  meat  with  them  and  became 
excellent  cooks,  a  back  making  a  dripping  pan  and  a  head- 
piece a  porridge  pot.^  A  slight  incident  occurred  here 
which  may  be  mentioned  as  exhibiting  in  Cromwell  that 
taste  for  humour  which,  as  Dr.  Arnold  says  speaking  of 
Hannibal,  great  men  are  seldom  without.  Cromwell  and 
some  of  his  oflScers  were  looking  out  of  a  window,  and, 
hearing  a  great  shout  among  the  soldiers,  they  spied  a 
soldier  with  a  Scots  kirn  (or  kurn,  in  the  south  of  Eng- 
land pronounced  churn)  on  his  head.  "  Some  of  them," 
says  Hodgson,  "  had  been  purveying  abroad,  and  had  found 
a  vessel  filled  with  Scots  cream,  and  bringing  the  rever- 
sions to  their  tents,  some  got  dishfuls  and  some  hatfuls ; 
and  the  cream  growing  low  in  the  vessel,  one  would  have 
a  modest  drink,  and  heaving  up  the  kirn,  another  lifts  it 
up,  and  all  the  cream  trickles  down  his  apparel,  and  his 
head  fast  in  the  tub  ;  this  was  a  merriment  to  the  officers, 
as  Oliver  loved  an  innocent  jest."  ' 

It  must  not  be  inferred  from  this  that  Cromwell  permitted 
plundering  to  be  practised  by  his  soldiers.  He  published 
a  proclamation  reciting  that  several  soldiers  had  straggled 
firom  their  colours  and  enforced  victuals  from  the  Scots 
without  paying  for  them,  and  commanding  them  not  to 
straggle  half  a  mile  on  pain  of  death ;  and  he  was  not  a 
man  to  let  his  orders  be   disobeyed  with  impunity.*     A 


'  Sir  James  Douglas,  second  son 
of  William  10th  Earl  of  Angus, 
was  created  a  peer  by  the  title  of 
Lord  Mordington,  14th  Nov.  1641. — 
Douglas's  Peerage  of  Scotland. 


2  Letters  in  Crom  welliana,  p.  85. 

3  Captain  Hodgson's  Memoirs,  pp. 
129,  130. 

*  Whitelock,  pp.  465,  466. 


330 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


trooper  in  Colonel  Whalley's  regiment  was  sentenced  by  a 
court-martial  to  have  his  horse  and  arms  taken  from  him, 
and  to  work  as  a  pioneer  for  three  weeks,  for  taking  away 
some  curtains  and  other  things  out  of  a  Scottish  gentleman's 
house.^  A  Serjeant  of  Colonel  Coxe's  regiment  was  exe- 
cuted on  a  gallows  on  Pentland  hills,  there  being  no  tree 
to  hang  him  on,  for  being  present  with  some  soldiers  of 
that  regiment  when  they  plundered  a  house,  and  himself 
taking  away  a  cloak.  Three  soldiers  were  condemned 
with  him,  but  a  pardon  was  brought  them  immediately 
after  the  execution  of  the  other.^ 

On  the  morning  after  the  English  army  entered  Scotland, 
a  trumpeter  came  from  the  Scots  Army,  but,  says  Hodgson, 
to  little  purpose.  The  beacons  were  all  lighted  that  night ; 
the  men  fled,  and  drove  away  their  cattle.^  Cromwell 
having  remained  at  Mordington  Monday  night,  Tuesday 
and  Wednesday,  marched  on  TJmrsday  to  Cockbum's  Path, 
or  Copper's  Path,  as  he  writes  it,*  that  is,  to  the  village  or 
small  town  so  called,  which  is  situated  on  the  northern 
side  of  the  pass  that  has  given  its  nanie  to  the  village. 

It  is  a  remark  of  Dr.  Arnold  that  nothing  shows  more 
clearly  the  great  rarity  of  geographical  talent  than  the 
praise  bestowed  on  Polybius   as   a  geographer,  though  his 


*  Relation  of  the  Fight  at  Leith,  p. 
209. 

*  Relation  of  the  Campaign  in  Scot- 
land, p.  253.  See  other  cases  of 
soldiers  punished  for  violence  to  the 
country  people,  Whitelock,  p.  468. 

3  Captain  Hodgson's  Memoirs,  p. 
130.  Whitelock,  p.  465.  ''The  Bor- 
der beacons,"  says  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
**from  their  number  and  position 
formed  a  sort  of  telegraphic  communi- 
cation with  Edinburgh."  By  the 
Scottish  Act  of  Parliament  1455,  c. 
48,  the  warning  of  the  approach  of 


the  English  was  to  be  by  one  bale,  or 
faggot,  two  bales,  or  four  bales ;  four 
bales  blazing  beside  each  other  were  to 
show  that  the  enemy  are  in  great  force. 
Note  9  to  Canto  III.  of  the  Lay  of  the 
Last  Minstrel.  There  was  never 
greater  need  for  the  four  bales  than 
now,  for  an  enemy  was  advancing 
more  formidable  even  than  Edward 
Longshanks  with  his  host  of  archers, 
knights,  and  men-at-arms. 

*  Cromwell  to  the  Lord  President  of 
the  Council  of  State,  July  30,  1650. 


1650.] 


THE  PASS  CALLED   COCKBURN'S  PATH. 


331 


descriptions  are  so  vague  and  imperfect  that  it  is  scarcely 
possible  to  understand  them.*  It  is  indeed  a  remarkable 
proof  how  little  some  of  the  most  celebrated  writers  seem  to 
have  been  aware  of  the  importance  of  geography  to  history, 
that  we  find  Sir  Walter  Scott  describing  the  Lammermoor 
chain  of  hills  as  "  a  ridge  of  hills  terminating  on  the  sea  near 
the  town  of  Dunbar,''  ^  and  M.  Guizot  confounding  the 
pass  called  Cockburn's  Path  with  the  field  of  Dunbar.^ 

The  Lammermoor  chain  of  hills  rises  in  Edinburghshire 
or  Mid  Lothian,  aud  stretching  along  the  upper  part 
that  is,  the  part  farthest  from  the  sea,  of  East  Lothian  in 
Haddingtonshire,  terminates  on  the  sea,  not  near  the  town 
of  Dunbar,  but  nine  or  ten  miles  south  east  of  it,  in  Ber- 
wickshire, not  far  from  the  boundary  between  Berwickshire 
and  Haddingtonshire,  Cockburn's  Path  being  in  Berwick- 
shire. The  chain,  having  a  strip  of  fertile  land  between  it 
and  the  sea,  runs  in  a  south-eastern  direction  about  a  mile 
to  the  south  or  south-west  of  the  village  of  Cockburn's  Path, 
and  there  turns  nearly  at  right  angles  to  the  east,  that  is, 
towards  the  sea,  presenting  to  the  traveller  along  the  coast 
an  apparently  impassable  barrier  or  wall  of  rock  and 
mountain.  The  Lammermoor  chain  does  not  flatten  itself 
down,  like  the  Grampian  chain,  as  it  approaches  the  sea. 
On  the  contrary  the  sides  of  the  Lammermoor  ridge  of 
hills  are  in  many  places  very  steep,  and  in  some  places 
form  a  perpendicular  wall  of  rock.  The  chain  is  about 
three  miles  in  breadth  at  the  point  where  the  latest  London 
road  passes  it  through  a  defile.  I  say  the  latest  London 
road,  for  altoofether  there  are  three  roads  besides  the  rail- 


*  Arnold's  History  of  Rome,  vol.  iii. 
note  F. 

2  Sir  Walter  Scott's  History  of 
Scotland  contained  in  *'  Tales  of  a 
Grandfather,"  vol.  i.  p.   489.     Edin- 


burgh, 1846. 

'  Guiaot's  Life  of  Monk— see  pp. 
21,  22  of  the  English  Translation, 
London,  1851. 


332 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  TI. 


road,  1.  the  road  called  the  old  coast  road,  2.  the  road  that 
passes  over  the  Pease  Bridge,  and  3.  the  road,  the  most 
modern  of  the  three,  that  runs  through  the  glen,  or  defile 
above  mentioned.  This  has  led  to  some  confusion  respecting 
the  road  by  which  Cromwell's  army  marched.  A  little  care- 
ful investigation  however  soon  clears  up  this  confusion. 

On  the  northern  side  of  the  Lammermoor  chain  of  hills 
where  it  approaches  the  sea,  there  are  two  ravines  which 
meet  at  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile's  distance  from  the  sea. 
In  each  of  these  ravines  runs  a  small  stream  or  burn. 
These  burns  meet  where  the  ravines  meet,  and  the  stream 
formed  by  their  confluence  is  called  the  Pease  Burn.  The 
burn  that  runs  through  the  larger  and  most  southern  of 
the  ravines  is  also  called  the  Pease  Burn ;  and  that  ravine 
through  which  it  runs  is  called  the  Pease  Dean.^  The 
burn  that  runs  through  the  other,  the  smaller  and  more 
northern  ravine,  is  called  the  Heriot  water  or  bum ;  and 
the  ravine  is  called  Tower  Dean  from  an  old  tower,  the 
ruins  of  which  stand  on  its  northern  bank  about  a  mile 
above  the  point  where  the  two  ravines  meet. 

The  country  people  living  in  the  immediate  vicinity  tell 
you  that  the  old  name  of  this  small  ruined  peel  or  tower 
and  of  the  family  to  which  it  belonged  was  Kavenswood 
and  that  this  family  had  another  castle  on  the  sea-shore 
called  Wolfs  Crag.  It  is  evident  that  the  local  story  (it 
cannot  be  accurately  called  a  tradition)  about  this  ruin, 
which  appears  to  have  been  an  obscure,  and,  I  may  almost 
say,  nameless  tower,  bearing  no  resemblance  either  in  mag- 
nitude or  position,  except  its  being  near  the  gorge  of  a 
pass  of  the  Lammermoor  hills,  to  the  imaginary  castle  of 
Ravenswood,  has  arisen  entirely  out  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's 

*  Dean,  in  that  part  of  Scotland,  is      of  the  same  kingdom, 
the  same  word  as  den  in  other  parts 


1650.] 


COCKBURN'S  PATH. 


333 


romance  the  Bride  of  Lammermoor ;  and  furnishes  an  in- 
structive example  of  the  way  in  which  stories  taken 
wrongly  for  local  traditions  often  originate.  Sir  Walter 
Scott's  romances  have  given  rise  to  many  similar  "  tra- 
ditions ''  in  various  parts  of  Scotland,  and  such  "  traditions  " 
may  in  time  be  transformed  into  history.  He  says  him- 
self in  the  Introduction  to  the  Bride  of  Lammermoor : — 
"  The  imaginary  castle  of  Wolfs  Crag  has  been  identified 
by  some  lover  of  locality  with  that  of  Fast  Castle.  The 
author  is  not  competent  to  judge  of  the  resemblance 
betwixt  the  real  and  imaginary  scene,  having  never  seen 
Fast  Castle  except  from  the  sea." 

There  is  a  curious  old  bridge  near  this  old  mined  tower, 
about  twenty  yards  above  the  present  bridge.  This  small 
old  bridge,  now  covered  with  creeping  plants,  which  is  at  the 
bottom  of  the  ravine,  only  a  few  feet  above  the  stream,  and 
is  only  about  3  or  4  feet  wide,  was  the  only  bridge  across 
either  of  these  ravines  at  the  time  of  Cromwell's  invasion  ; 
and,  though  it  might  afford  a  passage  to  horses  as  well  as 
men,  and  might  have  been  used  by  the  borderer  who  in- 
habited the  tower  for  riding  across  the  stream  and  ravine, 
was  manifestly  not  intended  for  the  passage  of  carts  or 
carriages.  But  as  Cromwell  had  with  him  a  train  of 
artillery  with  near  sixty  carriages,^  it  is  evident  that  he  did 
not  march  by  this  road.  The  same  reason  applies  with 
still  greater  force  to  the  common  assertion  that  he  passed 
the  other  and  deeper  ravine  at  the  point  where  the  Pease 
Bridge  now  crosses  it. 

The  depth  of  this  other  ravine  called  the  Pease  Dean,  at' 
the  spot  where  the  Pease  Bridge  now  crosses  it,  is  about  a 
hundred  and   fifty  feet,  and  the  sides  .of    the  ravine  are 
precipitous,  indeed  almost  perpendicular.      It  is  also  very 

'  Captain  Hodgson's  Memoirs,  p.  126. 


334 


HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


narrow  ;  so  that  to  the  eye  of  a  spectator  at  the  rocky 
bottom  a  little  below  the  bridge,  the  deep  gloomy  glen, 
rendered  yet  more  sombre  by  the  overhanging  trees,  shows 
but  a  small  strip  of   sky  overhead.     The    lover    of   the 
picturesque  might  see  there  almost  as  much  to  delight  him 
as  the  poet  of  Fitz  James  saw  in  the  Trossachs'  wild  and 
fairy  glen  ;  the  clear  stream  rippling  along  at  the  bottom 
(for  it  is  but  a  small  burn)  over  its  pebbled  bed,  bordered 
by  wild  flowers,  plants,  and  trees  of  various  kinds  and  of 
great  beauty  which  cover  the  banks  and  spring  from  the 
clefts  and  crevices   of   the   rocks  ;    the  various   hues  also 
beautiful    which  the    atmosphere    and    the   weather   have 
painted  on  the  rugged  crags  during  a  long  series  of  ages ; 
higher  up  the  birch,  ash,  oak,  and  pine  trees,  some  of  them 
shattered  by  lightning   and  tempest   and   others    flinging 
their  boughs   so   as   almost    to    meet    across    the  chasm  ; 
highest  of  all  the  narrow  strip  of  blue  sky.     Those  deep 
glens  form  the  really  beautiful  parts  of  Scotland,  scattered 
as  they  are  through  all  parts  of  the  country  and  strangely 
contrasted  with  the  bleak   landscape  around.      In   many 
parts  of  the  country  this  contrast  is  particularly  striking. 
For  to  a  person  standing  on  the  top  of  the  bank  or  cKff; 
often   formed  partly  of    earth  partly   of   rock,   the  view 
around  is  bleak  and  desolate,  presenting  only  an   expanse 
of  bare  heathy  mountainous  ground.      But  in  the  narrow 
sheltered  glen  below,  at  the  bottom  of  which  the  stream 
pursues    its    course,     now    running    between    two    steep 
precipitous    banks,    now  flowing   on   beneath   hazels    and 
alders,    between    banks     of    a    more    gentle    slope,    then 
tumbling  over  the  edge  of  a  rock  and  plunging  into  a  deep 
abyss  or  linn,  then  once  more  emerging  and  flowing  on 
through  the  more  open  and  grassy  part  of  the  glen,  there 
is  abundance  of  vegetation,  of  grass,  flowers,    trees,  and 


1650.] 


COCKBURN'S  PATH. 


835 


plants,  which  in  their  profusion  and  variety  of  form,  hue, 
and  situation,  present  an  agreeable  and  striking  contrast 
to  the  bleak  scene  above.  But  I  do  not  believe  that 
Oliver  CromwelFs  love  of  the  picturesque  was  such  as  to 
induce  him  even  to  descend  himself  to  the  bottom  of  this 
ravine  at  the  point  where  the  Pease  Bridge  now  stands, 
much  less  to  attempt, — for  it  could  be  nothing  but  an 
attempt — no  power  short  of  miraculous  could  have  led 
either  his  artillery  or  his  cavalry  across  the  ravine  here, 
— to  make  his  army  with  all  its  artillery,  horses,  and 
carriages  descend  on  one  side  and  ascend  on  the  other. 
The  fact  is,  the  Pease  Bridge  is  a  sight  for  sightseers,  and 
those  who  write  guide-books  or  hand-books  for  the  sight- 
seers of  the  Pease  Bridge,  with  a  view  of  accumulating 
as  many  attractions  as  possible  for  their  sight  or  show, 
have  superadded  to  its  other  attractions,  that  this  is  the 
place  where  Cromwell  passed  the  ravine  and  the  place 
which  he  described  as  "  the  strait  pass  where  ten  men  to 
hinder  are  better  than  forty  to  make  their  way.""  ^  I  will 
now  briefly  state  the  facts  of  the  matter. 

Before  the  erection  of  the  bridges,  which  are  of  com- 
paratively modern  date,  the  depth  and  precipitous  banks  of 
these  ravines  rendered  the  crossing  of  them  a  work  of 
difiiculty  in  all  cases — in  the  case  of  an  army  with  artillery 
and  cavalry,  an  impossibility.  The  oldest  road  appears  to 
have  been  made  to  turn  or  evade  the  difficulty,  by  winding 
down  to  the  sea-shore,  where  the  two  ravines  meet  and 
open  out  somewhat.  This  road,  called  the  Path,  Cock- 
burn's  Path,  and  also  the  Path's  Road  or  Peath's  Road, 
corrupted  into  Pease  Road,  gave  its  name  to  the  burn 
made  up  of  the  two  burns ;  to  the  larger  of  the  two 
ravines  ;    and   finally    to  a  bridge  built  across  the  larger 

*  Cromwell  to  the  Speaker,  Sept.  4,  1650. 


336 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


ravine  in  1785-6.^    The  old  coast  road,  the  old  Colbrand's 
Path,     now    called    Cockburn's    Path,    immediately    after 
crossing  the  burn,  named  from   it   the  Path's,   Peath's  or 
Pease  Burn,  in  its  southward  course  turns  to  the  right,  and 
with  an  ascent  of  one  foot  in  ^ve  ascends  over  the  top  of 
the  chain  of    hills   near   the   point  where  that  chain  ter- 
minates at  the  sea.      This  road  was  abandoned   in    1786 
for  that  by  the  Pease  Bridge,  which  in  its  turn  was  super- 
seded  by  the  newer  road  by   Hound  wood,   as   the  latter 
must  now  in  a  great  measure  be   by  the   railroad.      It  is 
therefore  a  mistake  to  say  that  Cromwell  meant  the  chasm 
where  the  Pease  Bridge  now  is,  the  road  to  which  was  not 
in  existence  then  nor  a  hundred  years  after,  by  "  the  strait 
pass  at  Copper's  Path  where  ten  men  to  hinder  are  better 
than   forty   to  make  their   way." '       Now  ''  strait  pass  " 
means  narrow  pass,  a  description  which  applies  completely 
to  the  mode  in  which  the  old  coast  road  winds  and  ascends 
between    steep    banks   from   the   sea-shore   to    the    upper 
platform  of  the  chain  of  hills,  but  not  at  all  to  the  chasm 
where  the  Pease  Bridge  now  stands. 

It  is  curious  and  not  uninstructive  to  observe  the  diffi- 
culty of  getting  at  the  exact  truth  of  a  matter  so  trifling, 
as  this  may  seem  to  some,  after  a  lapse  of  years,  where  new 
roads  have  quite  superseded  old,  but  old  names  still 
remain.  At  first  sight  it  would  seem  that  there  is  no 
connection  between  the  old  coast  or  seashore  road  and  the 
village  of  Cockburn's  Path.  But  after  some  investigation 
you  find  that  a  footpath  leading  off*  towards  the  sea  from 
the  turnpike-gate  at  the  northern  entrance  of  the  village  is 
the  relic  of  the  old  road  which  connected  the  village  with 

*   **  The  Pease  Bridge  was  l)uilt  in  '      2  Cromwell  to  the  Speaker,  Sept.  i, 

1785,   1786."     Statistical  Account  of  1650,  in  Relation  of  the  Campaign  in 

Scotland,     Berwickshire,     Cockburn's  Scotland,  p.  296. 
Path,  p.  311. 


1650.] 


COCKBURN'S  PATH. 


337 


the  Path  Koad.     The  path  road  now  strikes  into  the  new 
road  at  the  railway  station  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  north 
of  the  village.     And  probably  its  line    was  formerly  the 
same,  since  this  point,  where  the  Cockburn's  Path  railway 
station  now  is,  is  called   Path   Head,   as   being  the  place 
where  the  road  called  Cockburn's  Path   begins   its  gradual 
descent  towards  the  sea— which  fact  afibrds  further  corro- 
borative   evidence    that   the  old  coast   road   is  the    road 
called  Cockburn's  Path.     The  circumstance,  that  the  only 
communication  now  between  the  village  and  this  Path  Road 
is  but  a  footpath,  might  look  at  first   as  if   this   old  road, 
called  the  Pease  Road,  or  Path's  Road,  had  not  entered  the 
village  at  all.     But  this  pathway,  though  now  sought  to  be 
reduced  in  breadth,  if  not  stopt  up,  was  evidently  a  cart- 
road  once,  and  widens  into  a  cart-road  still  after  passing 
under  the  railroad.      And,   as    it  goes  right   out  of  the 
village,  it  proves  the  direct  connection  between  the  villao-e 
and  the  Pease  Road,  and  also  proves  that  this  road  was  the 
Cockburn's  Path  by  which  Cromwell's  army  marched. 

This  old  Pease  Road,  proceeding  from  Path  Head  in  a 
south-eastern  direction,  and  descending  gradually  to  the 
sea-shore  about  a  mile  and  a  half  or  two  miles  to  the 
south-east  of  the  village  of  Cockburn's  Path,  traverses  the 
haugh,  or  space  on  a  level  with  the  sea-shore  into  which 
the  two  ravines  having  joined  open,  and  crossing  the  Pease 
Bum,  turns  from  the  sea,  and  begins  to  ascend  almost 
immediately  with  a  rather  steep  ascent,  but  winding  con- 
siderably ;  while  during  the  ascent,  which  continues  for  a 
distance  not  very  considerable,  the  hills  on  the  right  and 
left  command  it.  It  is  here  that  the  difficulty  and  danger 
of  the  pass,  "  where  ten  men  to  hinder  are  better  than 
forty  to  make  their  way,"  are  the  greatest ;  where,  after 
passing  the  burn,  the  road  or  path,  the  Pectse  Road,  winds 


338 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


by  quick  turns  and  by  a  rather  steep  ascent  among   steep 
green  hills,  through  very  narrow  openings. 

It  is  very  remarkable  that  this  pass  closely  resembles 
that  in  which  Hannibal  destroyed  the  army  of  the  Consul 
Flaminius  at  the  Lake  Thrasymenus,  or  Trasimenus  as  it  is, 
I  beheve,  more  correctly  written.  Polybius  states  that  the 
valley  in  which  the  Komans  were  caught  was  not  the 
narrow  interval  between  the  hills  and  the  lake,  but  a  valley 
beyond  that  defile,  and  running  down  to  the  lake  ;  so  that 
the  Romans  when  engaged  in  it  had  the  lake  not  on  their 
right  flank  but  in  their  rear.  Similarly  an  army  marching 
southward  when  engaged  in  the  pass  called  Cockburn's 
Path  would  have  the  sea  not  on  their  left  flank,  on  which 
it  would  be  before  they  turned  to  ascend,  but  in  their  rear. 
The  word  valley  is  perhaps  a  little  ambiguous.  There 
would  however  be  a  sort  of  a  valley — though  a  steep 
winding  hollow  way  would  be  the  more  correct  expression, 
at  least  for  the  pass  called  Cockburn's  Path.  The  military 
eye  of  Cromwell  at  once  saw  the  importance  of  this  pass, 
but  he  had  not  the  military  genius  to  turn  it  to  account  as 
Hannibal  did  the  pass  of  Lake  Thrasymenus.  If  one 
might  presume  to  criticize,  where,  as  Frederic  said,  criticism 
is  so  easy  and  art  so  difficult,  it  would  certainly  seem  that 
Cromwell,  instead  of  depending  wholly  for  his  success  and 
safety  on  a  blunder  of  his  adversary  which  he  could  hardly 
have  looked  for,  might  have  taken  his  measures  so  as  not 
only  to  have  secured  a  retreat  by  this  pass,  but  to  have 
made  it  a  means  of  destroying  his  opponent's  army.  But 
Cromwell,  so  full  of  craft  and  so  fertile  in  stratagem  in  his 
political,  does  not  appear  to  have  possessed  the  same  fer- 
tiHty  in  his  military  character.  And  this  distinction  is,  I 
apprehend,  when  closely  examined,  one  of  deep  significance  ; 
since,   while   in    war    craft   and  stratagem   are   legitimate 


1650.] 


SCOTTISH   VILLAGES. 


339 


weapons,  because  both  parties  use  them  alike,  to  the  best 
of  their  ability ;  in  civil  and  political  affairs  they  are  not 
legitimate  weapons,  because  he  who  uses  them,  like  a 
gamester  who  uses  packed  cards  or  loaded  dice,  takes  an 
unfair  advantage  of  opponents,  and  he  will  have  some,  if 
not  many  such,  who  do  not  use  them. 

When   Cromwell's   scouts  first  came    to  the  villao-e   of 
Cockburn's  Path,  they  fell  in  with  three  Scots,  whom  they 
disarmed   and   took  prisoners.      These  Scots   alleged   that 
they  were  only  countrymen,  and  that  their  ministers  and 
grandees  had  given  out  that  the  English  army  would  kill 
man,  woman,  and  child  ;  and   indeed  had  represented  the 
English  sectaries,  a^  they  called  Cromwell's  army,  to   the 
people  as  being  "  the  monsters  of  the  world."     Cromwell 
ordered  the  men's  swords  and  other  things  taken  from  them 
to  be  restored,  and  the  men  to  be  dismissed.^     One  of  the 
English   scouts  met   with   one  of  the  enemy,  who  ran   at 
him  with  a  lance,  and  broke  it  against  his  armour.^     The 
Scot  seeing  the  English  scout  had  the  better,  quitted  his 
horse,   and  plunged,   the  original  dispatch  says,  down  "  a 
steep  hill ;"    probably  one  of  those  deep   and   precipitous 
glens  or  ravines,  which  characterize  that  district,  probably 
the  glen  now  called  Dunglass  Dean,  {dean  being  there  used 
to  express   what   den  does  in  other  parts    of    Scotland), 
where,    adds   the  English  officer  who   writes  the  account, 
''our  trooper  could  not  follow  him,  but  seized  the  horse." ^ 


^  Relation  of  the  Fight  at  Leith,  pp. 
206,  207,  Captain  Hodgson's  Me- 
moirs, p.  131.  Letters  in  Cromwel- 
liana,  pp.  83,  84,  85. 

2  A  proof  of  the  superior  quality  of 
the  defensive  armour  of  Cromwell's 
troops,  and  that  the  term  *'  Ironsides" 
was  not  applied  without  cause.  There 
was  one  horse  regiment  in  particular 


which  in  those  Scottish  wars  was 
called  ''The  Brazen  Wall"  from  their 
never  having  been  broken. 

3  Relation  of  the  Fight  at  Leith,  p. 
207.  These  ravines  or  glens,  rocky  or 
not,  baffled  the  powers  of  description 
of  the  English  officers,  most  of  whom 
had  never  before  seen  anything  of  the 
kind.     The  words  used  by  them  do  not 

z  2 


340 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


In  the  march  from  Mordington  to  Cockburn's  Path  the 
English  army  did  not  see  any  Scotchman  in  the  places 
they  passed  through  :  but  the  streets  were  full  of  spectre- 
looking  women,  clothed  in  white  flannel  in  a  very  homely 
manner.  In  Dunbar  also  no  men  were  to  be  seen  but 
some  few  decrepid  ones,  and  boys  under  seven  and  old  men 
above  seventy  years  of  age.-^  Cromwell  published  a 
declaration  inviting  all  to  remain  in  their  houses  without 
fear  of  molestation.  At  the  same  time  he  strictly 
enjoined  his  officers  and  soldiers  not  to  ofier  the  slightest 
violence  to  the  persons  or  goods  of  any  not  immediately 
connected  with  the  Scottish  army.  The  infringement  of 
these  orders  he  punished  with  promptitude  and  severity.^ 

The  English  officers  were  naturally  struck  with  the 
contrast  between  the  Scottish  villages  and  the  English, 
particularly  those  of  the  south  of  England.  An  English 
village  is  not  unfrequently  spread  in  picturesque  irregularity 
over  a  space  of  ground  extending  from  half  a  mile  to  a 
mile  or  a  mile  and  a  half  in  length ;  frequently  skirting 
the  edges  of  a  common  fringed  or  dotted  with  fine  old 
trees,  where  every  turn  of  the  winding  road  presents  some 
new  point  of  beauty.  The  village  church  is  a  picturesque 
old  building  of  stone  grey  with  age,  its  old  tower  half 
covered  with  ivy,  having  in  front  of  it  perhaps  an 
immense  yew  tree  some  300  years  old.  A  Scottish 
village  on  the  other  hand  is  merely  a  collection  of  cottages, — 


convey  any  idea  of  the  geographical 
character  of  the  country  which  was  the 
scene  of  this  campaign. 

^  Relation  of  the  Fight  at  Leith,  pp. 
207,  208.  Another  of  the  contem- 
porary accounts  says,  "  The  people  had 
generally  deserted  their  habitations, 
some  few  women  only  were  left  behind  ; 
yet  we    had    this  mercy,    that  their 


houses  thus  forsaken  were  indifferently 
well  furnished  with  beer,  wine,  and 
corn,  which  was  a  very  good  supply  to 
us." — Relation  of  the  Campaign  in 
Scotland^  p.  232.  This  account  does 
not  agree  with  Cromwell's  strict  orders 
against  plundering. 
2  Whitelock,  pp.  465,  466. 


1650.] 


SCOTTISH   VILLAGES. 


341 


at  that  time  hovels  of  clay  or  turf, — placed  close  together, 

end  to  end,  in  rows,  resembling  the  rows  of  negro  cabins 

on  a  planter's  estate,  where  nothing  is  left  to  the  individual 

will  of  the  tenant,  but  he  must  squat  in  the  one  case  as 

the    slave  owner,  in    the    other   as    the  laird  bids   him. 

Whereas  everything  that  gives  beauty  to  an  English  village 

arises  from  the  individual  will  having  had  nearly  as  much 

liberty  to  select    a    spot  for   a  dwelling  as    the  oak   on 

the  village  green  to  shoot  forth  its  boughs  as  nature  bade 

it.     The  distinction  remains  to  this  day  as  striking  as   it 

was  then.     For  where    the  hovels  have  given    place    to 

cottages  built  of  stone,  the  latter  form  a  stiff  monotonous 

structure  occupying  in  the  same  end  to  end  rows  the  same 

ground  formerly    occupied    by   the    clay    hovels,  without 

gardens  or  greensward  between  them  and  the  dusty  road, 

and  without  a  village  green  with  its  scattered  groups  of 

picturesque  old  trees  ;  for  land  it  seems,  is  too  valuable  in 

Scotland  to  be  wasted  on  cottage  gardens  or  village  greens. 

The  English  officers  were  at  that  time  probably  the  more 

struck  with  what  they  considered   the  barbarous  poverty 

of    Scotland,    inasmuch    as    Scotland,    besides    having    a 

nobility  as  old  as  its  hills,  had  given  to  England  a  race 

of  kings  who  declared  they  had  a  title  direct  from  heaven. 

The   spectacle   of  a  Scottish  village  was  not  calculated  to 

impress   them  with  an    idea   that    the    condition   of    the 

people  of  England  would  be  improved   if   they  were  to 

be  governed  by  the  Scottish  king  and  the  Scottish  nobility 

as  the   people  of  Scotland  had  been  governed.     And  in 

this  sense  the  difference  between  an  English  and  Scotch 

village  is  by  no  means  an  insignificant  fact. 

The  command  of  the  Scottish  army  was  held  by  David 
Leslie,  a  well-trained  and  skilful  soldier,  who  had  done 
more  than  the  English  accounts  acknowledge  towards  the 


342 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


winning   of  the   battle   of   Marston  Moor,   and  who   had 
defeated  Montrose   at  Philiphaugh.      But  it  is  not   quite 
correct  to  say,  as  Sir  Walter  Scott  sa3's,  that  David  Leslie 
was   the   effective  commander-in-chief   in    Scotland,    inas- 
much as  it  can  be  distinctly  shown  on  the  best  authority 
we   have     on    Scottish    affairs    at    that    time,    Principal 
Baillie's  "  Letters  and  Journals/'  that  the  oligarchical  Com- 
mittee of   Estates  hampered  and  controlled  David   Leslie 
at  Dunbar,  as   they  had   before  hampered   and  controlled 
Lieut.-General  Baillie  at  Kilsyth   and  Preston.     Napoleon 
Bonaparte    told    the    Convention    when   they   were  about 
to  give  him  a  colleague  in  his   Italian  campaign  that  he 
would  resign  if  they  did,  and   that   one   bad  general  was 
better  than  two  good  ones.      David  Leslie  might    have 
told  the  Committee  of   Estates  that   a  bad  general  left 
alone  was  better  than  a  good   one  controlled   by  Argyle 
and   Cassilis;    and  he   would  have  better   consulted    his 
own  reputation  and  perhaps  the   success  of  his  side  if  he 
had  resigned  his  command  instead  of  suffering  himself  to 
be  interfered  with. 

Leslie's  dispositions,  as  far  as  they  were  uncontrolled, 
showed  that  he  was  a  prudent  and  skilful  general,  and 
also  that  he  was  one  of  the  few  Scottish  commanders  who 
understood  how  to  put  in  force  the  directions  of  what  has 
been  called  the  "  Good  King  Kobert's  Testament.''  Bruce 
was  too  wise  a  man  not  to  know  that  it  would  be  unsafe 
to  reckon  on  many  Bannockburns.  The  sum  of  his 
testament  therefore  was  to  advise  his  countrymen  to  avoid 
risking  great  battles  and  to  make  such  a  use  of  their 
mountains,  morasses,  and  deep  narrow  glens,  that  the 
enemy  worn  out  with  famine,  fatigue,  and  apprehension 
should  retreat  as  certainly  as  if  routed  in  battle.  Leslie 
had  taken  up  a  strong  position  between  Edinburgh  and 


1650.] 


LESLIE'S   PRUDENT   GENERALSHIP. 


343 


Leith.  The  right  wing  of  his  army  rested  upon  the  high 
grounds  at  the  rise  of  the  mountain  called  Arthur's  Seat> 
and  the  left  wing  was  posted  at  Leith.  His  lines  ex- 
tended from  the  Canongate,^  or  lower  part  of  the  old  town 
of  Edinburgh,  across  the  Calton  Hill,  which  was  strongly 
fortified,  to  Leith  which  was  likewise  fortified.  A  deep 
trench,  fortified  with  cannon,  protected  the  whole  line  on  the 
low  ground  ;  while  the  castle  built  on  a  high  and  isolated 
perpendicular  rock  was  at  that  time  a  place  of  great  strength. 
"  The  guns  also  from  Leith,"  says  Cromwell,  "  scoured  most 
parts  of  the  line,  so  that  they  lay  very  strong."  ^ 

Cromwell  finding  that  the  Scottish  army  was  "  not  to 
be  attempted  "  in  this  strong  position,  and  his  own  army 
having  suffered  considerably  from  such  a  day  and  night  of 
rain  as,  he  says,  he  had  seldom  seen,  the  enemy  being  under 
cover,  retreated  to  Musselburgh  for  provisions  supplied  by 
a  fleet  which  sailing  along  the  coast  accompanied  the  move- 
ments of  his  army.  The  provisions  consisted  principally 
of  hard  biscuit  and  cheese,  and  Captain  Hodgson's  expres- 
sion is  not  a  figurative  or  proverbial  one  when  he  says 
"  About  eleven  o'clock  we  wanted  our  bread  and  cheese, 
and  drew  off  towards  Musselburgh."^  Cromwell's  rear 
was  attacked  as  they  retreated,  but  the  Scots  were 
repulsed,  and  driven  within  their  trenches  with  some  loss 
in  killed  and  prisoners.  The  young  king  saw  all  this  from 
the  castle-hill,*  and  was  very  ill-satisfied,  says  Cromwell  in 
his  dispatch,  to  see  his  men  do  no  better.^  This  incident 
Hume  with   his  usual  zeal  to  corrupt  the  truth  of  history 


*  Some  of  the  Letters  of  the  English 
officers  call  this  ''  Cannygate  street 
in  Edinburgh."  See  the  dispatch  in 
the  same  collection  with  Captain 
Hodgson's  Memoirs,  p.  233. 

'  Cromwell  to  the  Lord  President  of 


the  Council  of  State,  July  30,  1650. 
3  Captain  Hodgson's  Memoirs,  p.  132. 

*  Relation  of  the  Fight  at  Leith,  p. 
214. 

*  Relation  of  the  Campaign  in  Scot- 
land, p.  228. 


344 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


has  transforraed  into  the  king's  "  exerting  himself  in  an 
action."  The  words  indeed  are  skilfully  selected.  A  person 
might  in  some  sense  be  said  to  have  "  exerted  himself  in  an 
action/'  when  he  walked  to  the  top  of  the  castle  hill  to 
look  at  it.^  Or  the  expression  "  having  exerted  himself  in 
an  action  he  gained  the  affections  of  the  soldiery ''  may  be 
meant  to  apply  to  the  following  action. 

Between  three  and  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  after 
Cromwell's  retreat  to  Musselburgh,  a  body  of  cavalry  con- 
sisting of  fifteen  troops,  "1500,  the  choicest  of  their 
horse,"  2  called  the  Eegiment  of  the  Kirk,  broke  into  the 
English  lines,  beat  in  the  guards,  and  put  a  regiment  of 
horse  in  some  disorder.  It  is  said  that  Cromwell  himself 
in  his  drawers  was  forced  to  take  his  horse  and  pass  over 
the  river.^  The  English  cavalry  speedily  forming  charged 
the  enemy,  routed  them,  killed  a  great  many,  and  took 
many  prisoners,  Major-General  Montgomery  being  among 
the  killed.  One  of  those  who  were  killed  was  heard  to 
say  when  dying  «  Damn  me,  I'll  go  to  my  king ;  "  ^  from 


*  There  is  not  a  word  in  Sir  Edward 
Walker,    the    authority   Hume   cites, 
about  the  king's  **  exerting  himself  in 
an    action."      Walker's    words    are  : 
**  By  this  time  the   army  was  much 
increased,     many      Malignants      and 
Engagers  having  gotten  into  command, 
his  majesty  high  in   the  favour  and 
aflfection  of  the  army,  which  was  then 
more  evident  by  the  soldiers  having  in 
the  late  action  made  an  R.  with  chalk 
tinder  the  crown  upon  their  arms,  and 
generally   expressing  the  goodness  of 
their  cause  now  they  had  the  king  with 
them."      He  says  further,  "  Presently 
the     committee "    [of     Estates,     i.  e. 
Argyle,  his  son  Lord  Lome,  Lothian, 
Loudon  the  chancellor,  &c.  see  Walker, 
p.     162.]     "  commanded     away     all 
Malignants  and   Engagers  and  so  les- 


sened the  army  of  3000  or  4000  of  the 
best  men,  and  displaced  all  officers 
suspected,  concluding  then  they  had 
an  army  of  Saints,  and  that  they 
could  not  be  beaten,  for  so  their  lying 
prophets  daily  told  the  people  out  of 
the  pulpit,"  pp.  164,  165.  Some  men 
are  said  to  be  animated  by  a  zeal 
for  truth,  others  may  be  said  to 
be  animated  by  a  zeal  for  false- 
hood. A  lie  has  far  more  attrac- 
tions for  some  persons  than  a  plain 
fact. 

2  Relation  of  the  Fight  at  Leith,  p. 
218.  Cromwell  says  ''15  of  their 
most  select  troops."  Relation  of  the 
Campaign  in  Scotland,  p.  229. 

'  Sir  Edward  Walker,  p.  163. 

^  Relation  of   the   Fight  at  Leith 
p.  219.  ' 


1650.] 


LESLIE'S  IMPREGNABLE   POSITION. 


345 


which  and  other  circumstances  ^  it  appeared  that  the  Kirk 
regiment  of  horse  had  in  its  ranks  a  good  many  English  cava- 
liers.  Charles's  -  exertions  "  in  this  action  appear  to  have 
been  confined  to  giving  to  each  man  two  shillings  to  drink, 
''which  made  them  drunk,"  ^  a  display  of  "spirit  and 
vivacity  "  undoubtedly  better  calculated  to  gain  the  affec 
tions  of  such  troops  than  a  long  sermon  on  the  merits  of 
of  the  Solomn  League  and  Covenant.  To  refute  the  charge 
of  cruelty  made  against  him  by  the  Scots,  Cromwell  next 
day  sent  back  the  principal  prisoners  in  his  own  coach,  and 
the  wounded  in  waggons.^ 

About  the  6  th  of  August  the  English  army  retreated  to 
Dunbar  for  want  of  provisions,  the  stormy  weather  not 
permitting  the  ships  to  land  their  stores  at  Musselburgh. 
After  giving  his  troops  some  rest  Cromwell  resolved  to 
draw  near  to  the  enemy  once  more  to  try  if  he  could 
bring  on  a  battle  on  advantageous  ground."*  Accordingly 
he  marched  to  the  westward  of  Edinburgh,  near  to  the 
eastward  extremity  of  the  Pentland  Hills,  that  by  placing 
his  army  between  Edinburgh  and  Stirling  he  might  inter- 


*  Relation  of  the  Fight  at  Leith,  pp. 
220,  221. 

2  Relation  of  the  Fight  at  Leith,  p. 
220;  unless  a  statement  of  Bates,  no 
great  authority  on  the  subject  of  royal 
prowess,  be  what  Hume  grounds  his 
assertion  on.  Bates  says  (Part  ii.  p. 
102)  that  "the  pursuers  had  almost 
entered  the  Scots  camp,  had  not  the 
king's  majesty,  who  came  that  morning, 
been  happily  there,  and  causing  the 
cannon  to  be  turned  against  the  fugi- 
tives, threatened  to  fire  upon  them,  if 
they  rallied  not,  and  drew  up  again  in 
order,  under  the  protection  of  the  guns 
of  the  camp,  that  so  the  troops,  one  after 
another,  might  be  received  into  the 
camp  ;  and  that  his  majesty  lay  in  his 
clothes  all  that  night  upon  the  ground 


without  a  wink  of  sleep  ;  and  that  the 
soldiers  next  morning  being  sensible 
from  what  danger  he  had  delivered  the 
army,  and  how  much  he  had  deserved 
at  their  hands,  had  C.  R.  marked  with 
a  coal  or  match,  some  upon  their  hats 
and  caps,  and  others  on  their  coats, 
as  a  badge  of  their  gratitude."  But 
Hume  does  not  cite  Bates ;  and  Bates's 
misstatements  as  to  Charles's  conduct 
at  the  battle  of  Worcester  are  so  gross 
that  he  is  not  to  be  relied  on  in  such  a 
matter. 

3  Whitelock,  p.  467.  Captain 
Hodgson's  Memoirs,  pp.  136,  137. 

^  Hodgson,  p.  137.  Relation  of  the 
campaign  in  Scotland,  p.  251,  et  seq. 
in  the  same  collection.  Balfour,  vol. 
iv.  p.  39. 


346 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


cept  supplies,  and   oblige  the  Scots  to  fight  him.     Leslie 
immediately    left    his    position    between    Edinburgh    and 
Leith,  and  took   up  one  which  covered  Edinburgh  to  the 
westward,  and   was  protected  by  the  ravines  and   water- 
courses in   that  quarter.     Here  Leslie's  knowledge  of  the 
country  enabled   him  so  dexterously  to  shift  his  positions, 
as  to  preclude  a  possibility  of  reaching  him,  though  Crom- 
well  made   many  attempts  to   do  so.       In  one  of    these 
Cromwell  in  person  drew  out  a  forlorn,  and  went  before 
them.       When  he  came  near  the  enemy,  one  of  the  latter 
fired  a  carbine  ;  upon  which  Cromwell  called  to  him  and 
said  if  he  had   been   one  of  his  soldiers,  he   would  have 
cashiered  him  for  firing  at  such  a  distance.     The  man  who 
fired,  having  been  with  Leslie  in  England,  said  he  knew  the 
leader  of  the  forlorn  to  be  Cromwell  himself,  and  that  he 
had   seen    him  in  Yorkshire.       On  one  occasion  Cromwell 
appeared  to  be  on  the  point  of  accomplishing  his  object  ; 
but  a^  the  troops  advanced,  a  bog  was  found  to  interpose 
between  them  and  the  enemy.^ 

Cromwell  having  tried  in  vain  to  bring  the  enemy  to 
an  engagement  marched  towards  his  ships  for  a  supply  of 
the  wants  of  his  army,  which  now  began  to  be  dispirited. 
The  weather  had  been  unusually  rainy  and  stormy,  the 
privations  of  the  army  had  been  great,  sickness  had  broken 
out,  and  the  season  was  advancing.  At  Musselburgh 
Cromwell  shipped  about  five  hundred  sick  and  wounded 
soldiers.  It  was  then  resolved  at  a  general  council  to 
march  to  Dunbar,  and  fortify  that  town,  which,  it  was 
thought,  would,  if  anything  could,  provoke  the  enemy  to 
fight.     It  was  also   considered  that   Dunbar  being  gar- 


*  Cromwell  to  a  member  of  the 
Council  of  State,  August  31,  1650. 
Relation  of  the  Campaign  in  Scotland, 


pp.  254,  265,  266.  Captain  Hodgson's 
Memoirs,  pp.  140,  141. 


1650.J 


RETKEAT   OF    THE   ENGLISH   ARMY. 


347 


risoned  would  furnish  them  with  accommodation  for  their 
sick  men,  and  for  receiving  their  recruits  of  horse  and  foot 
fi-om  Berwick ;  and  would  moreover  be  a  place  for  a  good 
magazine,  which  they  exceedingly  wanted,  being  forced  to 
depend  upon  the  uncertainty  of  weather  for  landing  provi- 
sions and  often  unable  to  land  them,  though  the  existence 
of  the  whole  army  depended  upon  it.^ 

Accordingly  on  Saturday  the  31st  of  August,  the  Eng- 
lish army  marched  from  Musselburgh  to  Haddington. 
The  Scottish  army  followed  them  within  a  mile  and  a  half,' 
and  as  they  drew  near  Haddington  had  got  so  close  upon 
them,  that  by  the  time  Cromwell  had  got  the  van-brio-ade 
of  his  horse,  and  his  foot  and  artillery  into  their  quarters, 
the  enemy  fell  upon  his  rear  and  put  it  in  some  disorder, 
and  had  like  to  have  engaged  his  rear  brigade  of  horse 
with  their  whole  army,  had  not  a  cloud  come  over  the 
moon,  and  thereby,  it  being  a  misty  evening,  enabled  him 
to  draw  ofi"  those  horse  to  the  rest  of  the  army,  which  he 
accomplished  with  the  loss  of  only  three  or  four  men. 
Towards  midnight  the  Scots  attacked  the  English  quarters 
at  the  west  end  of  Haddington,  but  were  repulsed.^ 

Although  we  possess  a  tolerably  full  account  of  this 
campaign  in  the  dispatches  of  Cromwell  himself,  and  in 
the  letters  and  narratives  of  several  of  his  officers ;  yet 
that  account  is  to  a  certain  extent  incomplete  and  one- 
sided from  one  possessing  no  similar  dispatches  and  narra- 


*  Cromwell  to  the  Speaker,  Sept. 
4,  1650.  Dunbar  was  hardly  an  ex- 
ception to  Cromwell's  remark  that  the 
whole  coast  from  Leith  to  Berwick  had 
not  one  good  harbour,  since  the 
harbour  of  Dunbar,  though  safe  and 
commodious,  is  difficult  of  access. 

*  "We  marched  towards  Dunbar, 
whither  they  pursued  us  close  within 


a  mile  and  a  half  : "  is  the  expression 
in  one  of  the  letters.  King's  Pamph- 
lets, small  4to,  No.  479,  article  1. 

3  Cromwell  to  the  Speaker,  Sept. 
4,  1650.  See  also  Memoirs  of  Captain 
Hodgson,  p.  143  ;  and  Relation  of  the 
Campaign  in  Scotland,  pp.  275,  276, 
in  the  same  collection. 


348 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


tives  from  David   Leslie  and    his  officers.      The  account 
adopted  by  Hume,  who  resembles  Livy  in  falsehood  though 
not   in   picturesque   and  amusing  narrative,  is  so  falsified 
that   the  truth  from  which  it  has  been  corrupted  can  now 
haxdly  be  discovered  even  with  the  authentic  EngHsh  dis- 
patches but  without  simUar  Scottish  documents.     What 
with  national  prejudices  on  the  one  hand  and  religious  and 
political  spirit  on  the  other,  the  Scottish  general  and  the 
Presbyterian   ministers   had   as   little   chance  of  receiving 
justice  at  the  hands  of   Walker,    Clarendon,   Whitelock, 
Burnet,  Carte,  and   Hume,  as  the  son  of  Hamilcar  had  of 
receiving  it  at  the  hands  of  the  Roman  historians.     We 
are  told   by  Hume,   and  he   cites  as  his  authorities  Sir 
Edward  Walker,  page  168,  and  Whitelock,  no  page,  that 
the  clergy   murmured   extremely   not   only   against    their 
prudent   general,  but   also  against  the  Lord,  on  account  of 
his  delays  in  giving  them   deliverance  ;    and   that    they 
plainly  told  Him  that,  if  He  would  not  save  them  from  the 
English  sectaries,  He  should  no  longer  be  their  God.^     We 
are  also  told  by  the  same  author,  and  for  this  he  cites  no 
authority,  that   an  advantage  having  ofiered   itself  on   a 
Sunday,  they  hindered  the  general  from  making  use  of  it, 


>  Whitelock  indeed  has  the  following 
passage   (p.   465).     *«  That  the  Scots 
ministers  in  their  prayers  say  that,  if 
God  will  not  deliver  them  from  the 
sectaries,  He  shall  not  be  their  God." 
But  Whitelock  only  mentions  this  as 
a  report   or  rumour.      He   does  not, 
as  he  could  not,  say  that  he  himself 
heard  the  Scots   minister  say  so,   or 
even     that     he     had     received    the 
story  from  any  one  who  had   heard 
them.       There    is     nothing    on    the 
subject  at  page  168   of    Sir  Edward 
Walker,  but  at  page  180  Walker  says 
"  On  Sunday  they  [the  Scots]  had  fair 


opportunities  to  have  fought  him 
[Cromwell]  but  the  ministers  would  not 
give  way  to  it,  because  forsooth  it  was 
the  Lord's  day."  And  at  page  182  he 
says  that  after  the  battle  of  Dunbar 
"there  was  great  lamentation  by  the 
ministers,  who  now  told  God  Almighty, 
it  was  little  to  them  to  lose  their  lives 
and  estates  but  to  him  it  was  great 
loss  to  suffer  his  Elect  and  Chosen  to 
be  destroyed  : "  which  if  true  is  a 
pretty  strong  effort  of  fanaticism. 
But  on  such  matters  Walker  is  by  no 
means  an  unexceptionable  authority. 


1650.] 


RETREAT   OF   THE   ENGLISH  ARMY. 


349 


lest  he  should  involve  the  nation  in  the  guilt  of  sabbath- 
breaking.  Now  the  incident  here  transformed  is  thus 
related  in  Cromwell's  dispatch.  "  The  next  morning  [Sun- 
day] we  drew  into  an  open  field,  on  the  south  side  of 
Haddington ;  we  not  judging  it  safe  for  us  to  draw  to  the 
enemy  upon  his  own  ground,  he  being  prepossessed  thereof, 
but  rather  drew  back  to  give  him  way  to  come  to  us,  if 
he  had  so  thought  fit ;  and  having  waited  about  the  space 
of  four  or  five  hours,  to  see  if  he  would  come  to  us,  and 
not  finding  any  inclination  in  the  enemy  so  to  do,  we 
resolved  to  go,  according  to  our  first  intendment,  to 
Dunbar."  ^ 

Leslie  had  taken  up  his  position  on  the  higher  ground 
to  the  south  of  the  town  of  Haddington  ;  and  true  to  the 
principle  on  which  he  acted  he  was  not  to  be  induced  to 
leave  it  because  Cromwell  wished  him  to  do  so ;  precisely 
as  more  than  300  years  before  Douglas  and  Randolph  had 
laughed  at  the  message  of  Edward  the  Third  and  said  that 
when  they  fought  it  should  be  at  their  own  pleasure,  and 
not  because  the  King  of  England  chose  to  ask  for  a  battle. 
If  on  that  occasion  the  English  army  was  greatly  superior 
in  numbers  to  the  Scotch,  and  on  the  present  occasion  it 
was  greatly  inferior  in  numbers,  its  superiority  in  arms,  in 
discipline,  in  veteran  soldiers  accustomed  to  victory,  over 
the  hastily  raised  Scottish  levies  convinced  the  prudent 
commander  of  the  Scots  that  his  only  safe  line  of  opera- 
tions was  the  same  as  that  recommended  by  Robert  Bruce 
and  so  successfully  pursued  by  Douglas  and  Randolph. 
And  David  Leslie,  though  his  evil  fortune  which  made  him 
the  victim  of  other  men's  folly  has  cast  a  cloud  over  his 
name,  is  the  man  who  of  all  his  countrymen  came  nearest 
in   military  skill    and   prudence  to    Bruce,   Douglas,  and 

>  Cromwell  to  the  Speaker,  Sept.  4,  1650. 


350 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


Kandolph,  out  of  the  long  and  dark  catalogue  of  cruel  yet 
foolish  tyrants,  whether  kings  or  nobles,  who  pretended  to 
be  leaders  in  war,  and  for  so  many  generations  had 
oppressed  and  dishonoured  Scotland. 

Leslie's  plan  of  carrying  on  the  war  was  evidently  fast 
accomplishing  its  work.      The  English  army  marched  from 
Haddington  towards  Dunbar  in  such  a  condition  that  very 
few  more  such  marches  would  have  made  it  an  easy  prey 
to   Leslie.       "We  staid,''   says  Captain  Hodgson,  "until 
about   ten  o'clock,  had  been  at  prayer  in  several  regiments, 
sent  away  our  waggons  and  carriages  towards  Dunbar,  and 
not  long  afterwards  marched,   a   poor,  shattered,  hungry, 
discouraged  army ;  and  the  Scots  pursued  very  close  that 
our  rear-guard  had  much  ado  to  secure  our  poor  weak  foot, 
that  was  not  able  to  march  up.      We  drew  near  Dunbar 
towards  night,  and  the  Scot  ready  to  fall  upon  our  rear."  ^ 
As  the  English  approached  Dunbar,  Leslie,  who  had  hitherto 
hung  on  their  rear,^  marched  to  the  south  of  a  marsh,  now 
almost    entirely   drained    and   highly   cultivated,    and  en- 
camped on  Down  Hill,  a  spur  of  the  Lammermoor  chain  of 


*  Captain  Hodgson's  Memoirs,   pp. 
143,  Hi. 

2  Sir  Walter   Scott  says  (Hist,    of 
Scotland  contained   in    *'  Tales   of   a 
Grandfather,"   vol.   i.  p.   489.    Edin- 
burgh, 1846)  that  Leslie  "moving  by  a 
shorter  line  than  Cromwell,  who  was 
obliged  to  keep  the  coast,  took  posses- 
sion with   his   army  of  the  skirts  of 
Lammermoor,"  &c.     But  Leslie  moved 
by  the  same  line  as  Cromwell.      Leslie 
could   not   have   marched   among  the 
Lammermoor  hills,  as  this  statement 
would  imply  ;    the  ravines  and  other 
difficulties  of  the  ground  would  have 
precluded  it  under  the  circumstances 
of    any  army  but  one   entirely  com- 
posed of    infantry    and   those    High- 
landers like  Montrose's.       It  is  the 


more     remarkable    that    Sir     Walter 
Scott   should   have   made   this   state- 
ment, as  we  are  indebted  to  him   for 
the    excellent    edition,     published   at 
Edinburgh   in   1806,    of    the  original 
memoirs,   dispatches  and  letters,  spe- 
cially relating  to  Cromwell's  campaign 
in    Scotland  : — nor   is  this  the   only 
debt  which  English   History  owes  to 
that    illustrious  man,    his   edition   of 
Lord  Somers's  Tracts  (13  vols.   4to.) 
being  the  only  available  one,  the  old 
edition,  from  the  want  of  indexes  and 
chronological  arrangement,  being  nearly 
useless.     It  is  probable  that  Sir  Walter 
may  have  made  the  statement  as  to 
Leslie's    march     in     consequence    of 
writing  from  memory. 


1650.] 


CROMWELL   AS   A   GENERAL. 


351 


hills,  situated  about  two  miles  south-west  of  Dunbar.  Con- 
sequently Leslie's  position  was  between  Cromweirs  army 
and  Berwick,  Down  Hill  being  about  a  mile  on  the  right 
of  the  road  by  which  Cromwell  would  have  to  march  to 
Berwick.  Leslie  also  sent  forward  a  considerable  party  to 
seize  the  pass  at  Cockburn's  Path.  ^ 

If  Cromwell  really  intended  to  garrison  Dunbar  and 
fortify  himself  there,  as  he  pretended  in  his  dispatch 
written  after  his  victory,  there  was  not  much  need  to 
trouble  himself  about  the  pass  at  Cockburn's  Path  being 
seized  by  Leslie,  as  he  would  depend  upon  receiving  his 
supplies  from  England  by  sea.  But  there  are  some  reasons  ^ 
for  concluding  that  the  idea  of  garrisoning  Dunbar  was 
an  after- thought  put  forward  in  his  dispatch  to  cover  the 
fact  of  his  having  been  completely  outgeneralled  by  David 
Leslie,  though  he  had  afterwards  beaten  Leslie's  army 
when  moved  from  the  hill  by  the  order  of  the  Estates' 
Committee.  All  this  seems  to  let  in  some  light  upon 
what  has  been  considered  a  dark  subject,  Cromwell's 
character,  moral  and  intellectual. 


*  Cromwell  to  the  Speaker,  Sept. 
4,  1650.  Captain  Hodgson's  Me- 
moirs, p.  144.  Relation  of  the  Cam- 
paign in  Scotland,  p.  276,  in  the  same 
collection. 

2  See  Captain  Hodgson's  Memoirs, 
pp.  144,  145  ;  and  see  the  inconsis- 
tencies in  Cromwell's  Dispatch  of 
Sept.  4,  1650,  where,  after  writing  as 
if  he  had  retreated  to  Dunbar  merely 
for  his  own  convenience  in  having  a 
garrison  there,  he  speaks  "of  their 
advantages,  of  our  weakness,  of  our 
strait."  And  in  his  letter  to  Sir 
Arthur  Haselrig,  governor  of  New- 
castle, written  on  the  second  of  Sept. 
the  day  before  the  battle,  though  not 
sent  till  after  the  battle  with  another 
letter  dated   September  4th,   he  says 


'  *  We  are  upon  an  engagement  very 
difficult.  The  enemy  hath  blocked  up 
our  way  at  the  pass  at  Copper's  Path 
through  which  we  cannot  get  without 
almost  a  miracle.  He  lieth  so  upon 
the  hills  that  we  know  not  how  to 
come  that  way  without  great  difficulty  ; 
and  our  lying  here  daily  consumeth 
our  men,  who  fall  sick  beyond  imagi- 
nation." The  same  letter  contains 
further  proof,  in  addition  to  the  many 
proofs  in  his  other  letters,  of  his  great 
confidence  in  the  sagacity  of  Sir  Henry 
Vane,  before  he  found  it  convenient 
to  pray  to  be  delivered  from  Sir  Henry 
Vane.  He  says  *'  Let  H.  Vane  know 
what  I  write.  I  would  not  make  it 
public,  lest  danger  should  accrue 
thereby." 


352 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VT. 


Croraweirs  merit  as  a  general  was  confined  to  raising 
a  body  of  troops,  who  were  well-fed,  well-disciplined,  and 
furnished  with  arms  as  superior  to  those  generally  used  at 
the    time   as   the  long  shield   and  stabbing  sword  of  the 
Boman  soldier  excelled  all  other  weapons  of  his  time  in  the 
work  of  human  slaughter,  and  to  leading  on  his  men,  thus 
prepared  and  armed,  with  prompitude   and  daring  to  their 
work.      But  he  never  on   any  occasion — not  even  at  this 
field  of   Dimbar — exhibited  that    higher    military  genius 
which  dazzles  and  excites,  if  it  does  not  elevate,  the  mind 
of  the  reader  in  studying  the   campaigns  of  Hannibal  and 
Frederic  ;  and  relieves  the  attention  sick  and  weary  with 
looking  at  a  country  turned  into  a  huge  slaughter-house, 
by  presenting  to  it   not  the   mere  action  of  matter  upon 
matter,  but  the  action  of  mind  producing  combinations  so 
new,  so  astonishing,  and  so  powerful,  that  the  effect  is  like 
that  of  some  of  the  great  powers  of  Nature,  and  an  army 
is  destroyed  as  if  by  a  stroke  of  lightning.      If  Cromwell 
had  secured  in  time  and  without  awakening  the  suspicions 
of  the  enemy  the  pass  of  Cockbum's  Path,  which  has  been 
minutely  described;    if   he    had   taken   his    measures  so 
craftily  and  so  skilfully  as  to  draw  on  the  Scots  to  follow 
him  to   it,   and    had    then   destroyed  them   as   Hannibal 
destroyed  the  Komans  at  Thrasymenus ;  or,  such  a  strata- 
gem being  perhaps   unlikely  to  succeed  with  so  wary  an 
adversary  as   Leslie,   had  he   escaped  from   the  pitfall  in 
which  he  seemed  to  be  caught  by  the  Scottish  Fabius,  by 
some  such  device  of  a  fertile  mind  as  that  by  which  Han- 
nibal escaped  the  toils   of   the   Eoman  Fabius,  he  would 
have  owed  to  his  own  genius  what,  as  it  was,  he  owed  to 
a  blunder  committed  by  those  opposed  to  him.      But  this 
merit   can  hardly  be  even  here   accorded  to  Cromwell,  for 
although   he  beat  the  Scots  at  Dunbar  by  the  same  move- 


1650.] 


DOWN    HILL. 


353 


ment  by  which  Frederic  beat  the  French  at  Rosbach  and 
the   Austrians   at   Leuthen,   CromweU  had   the  advantage 
made  for  him,  while  Frederic  made  it  for  himself.     Craft 
when   employed  against  an   enemy   in   war   a^   Hannibal 
employed  it,   is  an  exercise  of  mind  which  may  be  fairly 
used   by  an   honourable  man,  and  also  requires  far  greater 
fertihty  of  genius  than  the  craft  which  overreaches  friends 
which    wa«  what  Cromwell  excelled  in,  and  which  may  be 
more  properly  caUed   fraud.     There  are   so  many  villains 
who   owe   their  success  both  in  public  and  private  life  to 
the  same  arts  by  which  Oliver  Cromwell  overreached  his 
friends  and   his  party  and  made  himself  absolute  ruler  of 
England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  that  it  is  a  duty  which  a 
historian  owes  to  truth,  honesty,  and  morality  to  note  care- 
fully  this  part  of  the  character  of  Cromwell  as  a  general, 
and  the  light  it  throws  on  his  character  as  a  man. 

Down  Hill,  on  which  Leslie  had  encamped,  is  distant,  as 
I  have  said,  about  two  miles  from  Dunbar.      But  though 
this  spur  or  offshoot  of  the  Lammermoor  Hills  approaches 
at  this  point  so  near  to  Dunbar,  and  consequently  so  near 
to  the  sea,  the  Lammermoor  chain  of  hills  does  not  approach 
the  sea  till  it  has  stretched  about  ten  miles  to   the  south, 
east  of  Dunbar.     Between  the  hills  and  the  sea  extends  a 
fertile  tract  or  strip  of  land,  which  is  celebrated  now  for 
the  best   farming  in  the  world,  and  which  even  then  seems 
to   have  struck   the  English  by   its    superior  cultivation. 
The  letters  from  the  army  state  that  in  those  parts  where 
the   army  marched   was  the  greatest   plenty  of  corn  that 
they  ever  saw  and  not  one  fallow  field  ;  and  "  now,"  they 
add,    marking    one    of    the    curses    of   war,    "extremely 
trodden   down   and   wasted,  and   the  soldiers  enforced  to 
give  the  wheat  to  their  horses."  ^ 

*  Whitelock,  p.  470. 

A  A 


354 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


Down  Hill  is  so  steep  on  the  north  and  west  as 
to  be  almost  inaccessible.  On  the  east  it  is  less  steep. 
On  the  south  and  south-east  it  slopes  with  such  a 
gentle  declivity  that  cavalry  might  charge  up  ifc.  By 
the  north-east  side  of  the  hill  runs  a  small  stream  in 
a  deep  grassy  glen,  called  Broxburn.  Brocksburn,  the 
old  spelling,  marks  the  origin  of  the  name.  Broxburn 
after  pursuing  its  course  for  about  a  mile  in  this  small 
glen  passes  through  the  grounds  of  Broxmouth-house  and 
then  joins  the  sea.  It  is  impossible  to  understand  the 
battle  of  Dunbar  without  understanding  the  nature  of  the 
ground  where  that  battle  was  fought,  and  particularly  the 
relative  situation  of  Broxburn  and  Down  Hill. 

The  words  used  in  the  contemporary  narratives  of  the 
English  officers,  "  a  great  clough,"  ^  "  a  great  dyke,"  ^  do 
not  by  any  means  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  the  nature 
of  the  ground.  For  the  space  of  about  a  mile,  the  dis- 
tance between  Down  Hill  and  the  point  where  it  passes 
the  London  road  and  enters  the  park  of  Broxmouth-house, 
Broxburn  runs  in  one  of  those  grassy  glens,  or  troughs,  in 
which  streams  of  greater  or  less  magnitude  are  frequently 
seen  in  Scotland,  winding  about  in  them  from  one  bank  to 
the  other,  and  leaving  a  large  space  of  level  ground,  green 
sward  or  sand  and  gravel — here  it  is  green  sward — now 
on  one  side  the  small  valley,  now  on  the  other.  This 
small  valley  or  glen  is  now  pretty  thickly  planted  with 
trees  ;  but  in  1650  it  appears  to  have  been  only  grassy,* 
not  wooded.  It  is  not  only  of  considerable  depth,  some 
forty  or  fifty  feet,  and   considerably  more   in  width,*  but 


1  Capt.  Hodgson's  Memoirs,  p.  144. 

2  Relation  of  Cadwell,  a  messenger 
of  Cromwell's  army — in  Carte's  Or- 
monde Letters,  vol.  i.  pp.  381,  382. 

^  Carte's  Letters,  vol.  i.  pp.   381, 


382. 

*  Cadwell  says  (Ibid.)  "about  40  or 
50  feet  wide,  and  as  deep  as  broad  " — 


but    the    width    or 
siderably  greater. 


breadth    is  con- 


1650.] 


DOWN   HILL  AND   BROXBURN. 


355 


the  banks  are  steep,  except  in  one  spot,  about  half  a  mile 
above  the  point  where   the  burn  enters   the  grounds    of 
Broxmouth-house.     At  this  spot  the  banks  shelve  or  slope 
in   such  a  manner  as  to  form  a  sort  of  passage  for  carts. 
In  this   pass  there  stood  a  shepherd^s  hut  which  was  occu- 
pied  by  twenty.four  foot  and  six  horse  of  Cromwell's  array  ; 
but  it  was   taken  by  Leslie  the  evening  before  the  battle.' 
It   may  give   an  idea  of  the  size  of  the  stream  that  runs 
somewhat  rapidly  down  this  glen,  for  there  is  a  consider- 
able fall  between   the  foot   of  the  hill    and  the  sea,  to 
mention  that  it  is  of  the  smallest  size  of  those  Scottish 
streams  which  contain  fine  trout   of  moderate  size.      At 
the   point  where  the   brook   passes  the  road   to   Berwick 
and  enters  the  grounds   of  Broxmouth-house,   the  valley 
or  glen  disappears,  the  high  banks,  that  formed  it,  sloping 
or  shelving   down,    so    that    the  road   crosses  the    brook 
without  any  descent  on  one  side  or  ascent  on  the  other. 
It    was    at    this    point   and    somewhat    to   tlie   south  of 
it  that  the  principal  struggle  of  the  battle  of  Dunbar  took 
place.       There  is  one  thing  more  that  requires  to  be  men- 
tioned.     Down   Hill  and  the   range  of  hills  of  which  it 
forms  a  part  do  not  incline  towards  the  sea  here,  and  con- 
sequently  do  not  follow  closely,  or  only  for  a  short  distance, 
the  course  of  Broxburn   and  its    little  valley,    but   slope' 
somewhat  away  from  it,  making  with  it  an  acute  angle. 
Nevertheless  it  would  appear  from  the  reasons  given  by 
Lambert  in  the  council  of  war,  which  will  be  stated  pre- 
sently, for   the   attack  of  Leslie's  right  wing,  that  Leslie's 
army  was  so  posted  as  to  be  confined  between  the  hill  and 
the  glen,  and  had  not  room  to  move  freely.     And  even  if  it 
had   room   to  move  freely,  if  the  movement  was  not  made 
before  the  attack  commenced,  it  was  then  too  late  to  pre- 

A  A    2 


356 


HisTOEY  OF  England; 


[Chap.  VI. 


vent  Cromwell's  attack  of  one  flank  from  paralysing  and 
destroying  the  whole  body. 

The  English  army  had  reached  Dunbar  on  the  night  of 
Sunday  the  1st  of  September.  The  next  morning  was 
\ery  rainy  and  tempestuous.  "  Our  poor  army,"  says 
Captain  Hodgson,  "  drew  up  about  swamps  and  bogs,  not 
far  from  Dunbar,  and  could  not  pitch  a  tent  all  that  day.''  ^ 
If  other  evidence  were  wanted,  Cromwell's  letter  to  Sir 
Arthur  Haselrig,  written  on  that  Monday  the  2nd  of  Sep- 
tember, the  dreary  day  briefly  described  in  the  foregoing 
words  of  Captain  Hodgson,  shows  that  he  considered  him- 
self reduced  to  extremities.^  At  this  moment  the  madness, 
not  of  the  Scottish  ecclesiastics  of  the  Kirk  Commission, 
as  has  been  so  often  asserted,  but  of  the  oligarchical  Com- 
mittee of  Estates,  saved  him  and  destroyed  his  opponents. 
Baillie's  words  are  these  : — "  After  all  tryalls,  finding  no 
maladministration  on  him  [David  Leslie]  to  count  of,  but 
the  removal  of  the  army  from  the  hill  the  night  before  the 
rout,  which  yet  was  a  consequence  of  the  Committee's  order, 
contrare  to  his  mind,  to  stop  the  enemies'  retreat,  and  for 
that  end  to  storm  Brocksmouth  House  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible." ^ 

It  is  always  extremely  difficult  to  obtain  a  perfectly 
accurate  statement  of  the  numbers  on  each  side.      Crom- 


*  Captain  Hodgson's  Memoirs,  p. 
144. 

*  Cromwell  to  Sir  Arthur  Haselrig. 
Septr.  2,  1650. 

3  Baillie's  Letters  and  Journals,  vol. 
iii.  p.  111.  Edinburgh,  1842.  Baillie 
adds :  "On  these  considerations,  the 
State  unanimously  did  with  all  earnest- 
ness intreat  him  to  keep  still  his 
charge.  Against  this  order  Warristone 
and,   as  I  suppose,  Sir  John  Cheisly 


did  enter  their  dissent ;  I  am  sure  Mr. 
James  Guthrie  did  his,  at  which,  as  a 
great  impertinence,  many  [were]  of- 
fended." This  Mr.  James  Guthrie 
was  one  of  the  Presbyterian  preachers 
who  showed  his  total  want  of  good 
sense,  good  feeling,  good  manners,  and 
common  decency  by  "  public  invectives 
against  David  Leslie  from  the  pulpit," 
for  the  loss  of  the  battle  of  Dunbar. 
Baillie. — Ibid. 


1650.] 


BATTLE  OF  DUNBAR. 


357 


well's   statements  in  his  dispatch  of  September  4th  may 
be   considered  as  not  very  wide  of  the  truth.      He   says 
that  the  enemy's  numbers  were  "  about  six  thousand  horse, 
and  sixteen  thousand  foot  at  least  j  ^  ours  drawn  down,  as 
to  sound  men,  to  about  seven  thousand  five  hundred  foot, 
and  three  thousand  five  hundred  horse."     But  the  Scots 
Committee  of  Estates  had  taken  measures  to  destroy  eflfec- 
tively  any  advantage  they  might  have  derived  from  their 
superiority  of  numbers.       For   they  had   now  placed  their 
army  with  its  left  wing  resting  on  Down  Hill  and  its  rio-ht 
advanced  to  the  place  where  the  banks  of  the  Broxburn 
valley  flatten  or  slope  down   to  level   ground,  where  the 
road  to  Berwick  then  as  now  crossed  the  burn,  where  con- 
sequently their  right  wing  lay  in  such  a  position  that  it 
might  be   attacked  by   Cromwell   with  an  overwhelmino- 
superiority  of  force.    That  the  importance  of  this  movement 
in  favour  of  the  English  was  seen  immediately  by  Lambert 
we  have  the  authority  of  Captain  Hodgson  and  of  Crom- 
well himself ;  that  it  was  seen  by  Cromwell  we  have  only 
Cromwell's  own  word,  which,  as  is  too  well  known,  is  not 
always  to  be  implicitly  relied  on.    But,  though  there  are  two 
witnesses,  Cromwell  himself  and  Captain  Hodgson,  that  this 
plan  of  attack  was  Lambert's,  while  that  it  was  also  Crom- 
well's there  is  no  witness  at  all  except  Cromwell's  own  asser- 
tion, Cromwell  at  all  events  had  the  merit  of  seeing  the 
value  of  it  when  it  was  suggested  to  him,  and  of  putting 
it  in  execution  with  his  usual  promptitude  and  resolution. 
Nor  is  it  to  be  inferred,  assuming  the  plan  to  have  occurred 
to  the  mind  of  Lambert  and  not  to  that  of  Cromwell,  that 
Lambert  was  therefore   the  greater  man  of  the  two,  even 
though   it  may  prove   him  to  have   been  a  better  general 
than  Cromwell.     For  subsequent  events  abundantly  proved 

*  Sir  Edward  Walker  says  they  were  "  about  10,000  foot  and  7000  hoi^."  P.  181. 


356 


HISTORY  OF  England: 


[Chap.  VI. 


1650.] 


BATTLE  OF  DUNBAR. 


357 


vent  Cromwell's  attack  of  one  flank  from  paralysing  and 
destroying  the  whole  body. 

The  English  army  had  reached  Dunbar  on  the  night  of 
Sunday  the  1st  of  September.  The  next  morning  was 
very  rainy  and  tempestuous.  "  Our  poor  army/'  says 
Captain  Hodgson,  "  drew  up  about  swamps  and  bogs,  not 
far  fiom  Dunbar,  and  could  not  pitch  a  tent  all  that  day.''  ^ 
If  other  evidence  were  wanted,  Cromwell's  letter  to  Sir 
Arthur  Haselrig,  written  on  that  Monday  the  2nd  of  Sep- 
tember, the  dreary  day  briefly  described  in  the  foregoing 
words  of  Captain  Hodgson,  shows  that  he  considered  him- 
self reduced  to  extremities.^  At  this  moment  the  madness, 
not  of  the  Scottish  ecclesiastics  of  the  Kirk  Commission, 
as  has  been  so  often  asserted,  but  of  the  oligarchical  Com- 
mittee of  Estates,  saved  him  and  destroyed  his  opponents. 
Baillie's  words  are  these  : — "  After  all  tryalls,  finding  no 
maladministration  on  him  [David  Leslie]  to  count  of,  but 
the  removal  of  the  army  from  the  hill  the  night  before  the 
rout,  which  yet  was  a  consequence  of  the  Committee's  order, 
contrare  to  his  mind,  to  stop  the  enemies'  retreat,  and  for 
that  end  to  storm  Brocksmouth  House  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible." 3 

It  is  always  extremely  difficult  to  obtain  a  perfectly 
accurate  statement  of  the  numbers  on  each  side.      Crom- 


*  Captain  Hodgson's  Memoirs,  p. 
144. 

■  Cromwell  to  Sir  Arthur  Haselrig, 
Septr.  2,  1650. 

3  Baillie's  Letters  and  Journals,  vol. 
iii.  p.  111.  Edinburgh,  1842.  Baillie 
adds :  "On  these  considerations,  the 
State  unanimously  did  with  all  earnest- 
ness intreat  him  to  keep  still  his 
charge.  Against  this  order  Warristone 
and,   as  I  suppose,  Sir  John  Cheisly 


did  enter  their  dissent ;  I  am  sure  Mr. 
James  Guthrie  did  his,  at  which,  as  a 
great  impertinence,  many  [were]  of- 
fended." This  Mr.  James  Guthrie 
was  one  of  the  Presbyterian  preachers 
who  showed  his  total  want  of  good 
sense,  good  feeling,  good  manners,  and 
common  decency  by  "  public  invectives 
against  David  Leslie  from  the  pulpit," 
for  the  loss  of  the  battle  of  Dunbar. 
Baillie. — Ibid. 


well's   statements  in  his   dispatch  of  September  4th  may 
be   considered  as  not  very  wide  of  the   truth.      He  says 
that  the  enemy's  numbers  were  ''  about  six  thousand  horse, 
and  sixteen  thousand  foot  at  least ;  ^  ours  drawn  down,  as 
to  sound  men,  to  about  seven  thousand  five  hundred  foot, 
and  three  thousand  five  hundred  horse."     But  the  Scots 
Committee  of  Estates  had  taken  measures  to  destroy  effec- 
tively any  advantage  they  might  have  derived  from  their 
superiority  of  numbers.       For   they  had   now  placed  their 
army  with  its  left  wing  resting  on  Down  Hill  and  its  right 
advanced  to  the  place  where  the  banks  of  the  Broxburn 
valley  flatten  or  slope  down   to  level   ground,  where  the 
road  to  Berwick  then  as  now  crossed  the  burn,  where  con- 
sequently their  right  wing  lay  in  such  a  position  that  it 
might  be   attacked  by   Cromwell  with  an  overwhelmino* 
superiority  of  force.    That  the  importance  of  this  movement 
in  favour  of  the  English  was  seen  immediately  by  Lambert 
we  have  the  authority  of  Captain  Hodgson  and  of  Crom- 
well himself ;  that  it  was  seen  by  Cromwell  we  have  only 
Cromwell's  own  word,  which,  as  is  too  well  known,  is  not 
always  to  be  implicitly  relied  on.    But,  though  there  are  two 
witnesses,  Cromwell  himself  and  Captain  Hodgson,  that  this 
plan  of  attack  was  Lambert's,  while  that  it  was  also  Crom- 
well's there  is  no  witness  at  all  except  Cromwell's  own  asser- 
tion, Cromwell  at  all  events  had  the  merit  of  seeing  the 
value  of  it  when  it  was  suggested  to  him,  and  of  putting 
it  in  execution  with  his  usual  promptitude  and  resolution. 
Nor  is  it  to  be  inferred,  assuming  the  plan  to  have  occurred 
to  the  mind  of  Lambert  and  not  to  that  of  Cromwell,  that 
Lambert   was  therefore   the  greater  man  of  the  two,  even 
though   it  may  prove   him  to  have  been  a  better  general 
than  Cromwell.      For  subsequent  events  abundantly  proved 

^  Sir  Edwaid  Walker  says  they  were  "  about  1G,000  foot  and  7000  hoi-se."  P.  181. 


i 


358 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


that  if  Lambert  possessed  military,  he  possessed  no  political 
talent :  and  to  be  a  great  man,  a  man  must  possess  both, 
must  be  able  both  to  lead  in  political  affairs,  and  to  com- 
mand   armies.^     While   Lambert   appeared   to  be   totally 
without  the  political  element,   Cromwell  had   enough    of 
both  elements  to  be  pronounced  a  great  man,  though  his 
greatness,  like  that  of  many  others,  was  stained  by  crime. 
On  Monday  the  2nd  of  September  Cromwell  wrote  a  note 
to   Sir  Arthur  Haselrig,  which  shows  that  he  considered 
himself  reduced   to    extremities.      The  enemy  had  blocked 
up  the  pass  at  Cockburn's  Path,  and  lay  upon  the  hills  in 
such  a  position  that  he  could  not  lead  his  army  through 
"  without   almost  a  miracle."'     Besides  this,  his  men  lying 
where  they  were  ''  fell  sick  beyond  imagination ; ''  and  the 
numbers  of  the  effective  troops   were   daily  diminished,  a 
destructive   flux  or   dysentery,  a  species  of  cholera,  having 
attacked  his  army,  apparently  of  somewhat  tlie  same  kind 
as  that  which  afterwards   wrought  such  fearful  destruction 
among   the  poor  Scots  prisoners.     Under  all  these  depress- 
ing circumstances  however  the  English  general  showed  not 
the  slightest  dejection  of  mind,  and  was  prepared  to  meet 
any  fate,  whatever  it  might  be,  with  an  undaunted  heart, 
and   a  tranquil  and  cheerful  countenance,  which  kept  alive 
in  others  the  hope   he   may  himself  have  ceased  to  feel. 
"  Whatever  becomes  of  us,"  he  said  in  that  note   to  Sir 
Arthur  Haselrig  the  governor  of  Newcastle,  "it  will   be 
well  for  you  to  get  what  forces  you  can  together  ;  and  the 
south  to  help  what  they  can/' 

Thus  that  dreary  day,  Monday  the  2nd  of  September, 
wore  on.  The  2nd  of  September  old  style  is  the  13  th  of 
September  new  style,  and   the  sun  would  set  at  about  a 


^  O'lrr  ts    afiiporipa    av    ^vva/vrai,  xa.)        ad  Philipp. 
9»Xmvi9?at  Koi  ffrfary^yuv.       Isocrates 


1650.] 


BATTLE  OF   DUNBAR. 


S59 


quarter  past  six.  Towards  evening  the  Scots  were  observed 
to  draw  down  to  their  right  wing  about  two-thirds  of  their 
left  wing  of  horse,  "  shogging  also  their  foot  and  train  much 
to  the  right,''  that  is,  farther  down  the  hill,  and  along  the 
edge  of  the  glen  of  Broxburn,  "  causing  their  right  wing 
of  horse  to  edge  down  towards  the  sea.''^  One  man  at 
least  in  the  English  army  had  seen  this  movement  of  the 
Scots  with  an  observant  eye.  The  sun  went  down  behind 
the  Lammermoor  Hills  amid  dark  and  drifting  clouds,  and 
the  night  set  in,  like  the  day,  raining  and  tempestuous. 
The  rain  was  not  however  incessant ;  for  some  of  the 
letters  mention  its  being  moonlight,  at  least  towards 
morning. 

Cromwell  in  his  dispatch  to  the  Speaker  written  on  the 
4  th  September  says  that  Lambert  and  himself  going  to  the 
Earl  of  Roxburgh's  house  [Broxmouth-house  before  men- 
tioned], and  observing  the  position  which  the  Scots  had 
now  taken,  he  told  Lambert  that  he  thought  it  gave  them 
an  opportunity  and  advantage  to  attempt  upon  the  enemy. 
To  which  Lambert  immediately  replied,  that  he  had  thought 
to  have  said  the  same  thing.  "So  that  it  pleased  the 
Lord,"  adds  Cromwell,  "  to  set  this  apprehension  upon 
both  our  hearts  at  the  same  time.  We  called  for  Colonel 
Monk,  and  showed  him  the  thing  ;  and  coming  to  our 
quarters  at  night,  and  demonstrating  our  apprehensions  to 
some  of  the  colonels,  they  also  cheerfully  concurred."  Sir 
Walter  Scott's  statement,  that  Cromwell  slept  at  the  Duke 
of  Roxburgh's  house  called  Broxmouth  and  that  his  army 
was  stationed  in  the  park  there,  is  incorrect.  Broxmouth 
House  and  park  are  on  the  east  side  of  the  road  to  Ber- 
wick.     Cromwell's  army  was   stationed  on   the   west  side 

*  Cromwell  to  the  Speaker,  Sept.  4,  1650. 


360 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


of  that  road  and  ou  the  north  side  of  Broxburn.^  His 
train  of  artillery  was  first  placed  in  the  churchyard  at 
Dunbar,  then  brought  down  to  a  little  farm-house — a  little 
poor  Scotch  farm-house,  say  the  old  pamphlets^ — in  the 
middle  of  the  field  where  his  army  was  quartered.  This 
farm-house  was  probably  CromwelFs  quarters  where  the 
Council  of  War  was  held.  In  addition  to  the  above  state- 
ment of  Cromwell  himself  we  have  also  other  evidence 
respecting  the  first  suggestion  of  the  plan  of  attack,  which 
renders  the  exact  accuracy  of  Cromwell's  statement  at 
least  a  little  doubtful. 

About  nine  o'clock  that  night  a  council  of  war  was  held, 
and  many  of  the  colonels  were  for  shipping  the  foot  and 
forcing  a  passage  with  the  horse.  But  Lambert  was 
against  them  all  on  that  point,  and  gave  his  reasons,^  the 
principal  of  which  were  these :  "  First,  we  had  great  expe- 
rience of  the  goodness  of  God  to  us,  while  we  kept  close 
together ;  and  if  we  parted  we  lost  all :  Secondly,  there 
was  no  time  to  ship  the  foot,  for  the  day  would  be  upon 
us,  and  we  should  lose  all  our  carriages ;  Thirdly,  we  had 
great  advantage  of  them  in  their  drawing  up  ;  if  we  heat 
their  right  wing,  we  hazarded  their  whole  army,  for  they 
would  he  all  in  confudon,  in  regard  they  had  not  great 
ground  to  traverse  their  regiments  hetwixt  the  mountain 


1650.] 


BATTLE  OF  DUNBAR. 


361 


^  Captain  Hodgson's  Memoirs,  p. 
144. 

2  King's  Pamphlets,  small  4to,  No. 
478,  article  10. 

^  Captain  Hodgson's  words  imply 
that  he  was  present  at  this  Council  of 
war— *' but  honest  Lambert  was 
against  them  all  in  that  matter,  he 
being  active  the  day  before  in  observing 
the  disadvantage  the  Scots  might  meet 
with  in  the  position  they  were  drawn 


up  in,  and  gave  us  reasons,  and  great 
encouragement  to  fight." — Memoirs^ 
pp.  144,  145.  The  whole  of  Hodgson's 
statement  goes  to  show  that  the  whole 
idea  of  the  plan  of  attack  belonged 
solely  to  Lambert  ;  and  his  words 
"  Lambert  was  against  them  all  in 
that  matter"  also  seem  to  imply  that 
Cromwell  himself  was  in  favour  of  the 
proposition  for  shipping  the  foot  and 
forcing  a  passage  with  the  horse. 


and  the  clough :  Fourthly,  they  had  left  intervals  in  their 
bodies,  upon  the  brink  of  the  hill,  that  our  horse  might 
march  a  troop  at  once,  and  so  the  foot ;  and  the  enemy 
could  not  wheel  about,  nor  oppose  them,  but  must  put 
themselves  into  disorder  :  Lastly,  our  guns  might  have  fair 
play  at  their  left  wing,  while  we  were  fighting  their 
right.''  ^  These  reasons  altered  the  opinion  of  the  Council ; 
and  one  stepped  up  and  desired  that  Colonel  Lambert 
might  have  the  conduct  of  the  army  that  morning,  which 
was  granted  by  the  general  freely ;  ^  and  it  was  I'esolved 
that  the  attack  should  be  begun  at  daybreak  by  six  regi- 
ments of  horse  and  three  regiments  and  a  half  of  foot.^ 
At  that  time  in  the  army  of  the  Parliament  of  England  a 
regiment  of  horse  usually  consisted  of  ten  troops  of  eighty 
each,  that  is,  of  800,  and  a  regiment  of  foot  of  ten  com- 
panies of  100  men  each,  that  is,  of  1 000  men,  but  not  unfre- 
quently  of  twelve  companies  of  100  men  each,  that  is,  of 
1200   men.*      That  night  the  English  army  advanced  as 


*  Captain  Hodgson's  Memoirs,  p. 
145. 

2   Ihid. 

^  Cromwell  to  the  Speaker,  Septr.  4, 
1650. 

*  This  statement  is  made  on  the  au- 
thority of  numerous — I  might  say  innu- 
merable— minutes  of  the  MS.  Order 
Book  of  the  Council  of  State  in  the 
State  Paper  Office.  A  regiment  of 
horse  did,  however,  sometimes  consist 
of  six  troops  of  horse,  and  a  certain 
proportion  of  dragoons.  I  have  stated 
in  a  former  chapter  the  difference  be- 
tween horse  and  dragoons.  Thus  under 
date  17  November,  1649,  we  find  this 
minute  :  "That  Major  Henry  Cromwell 
shall  have  a  commission  for  a  regiment 
of  horse  to  go  over  into  Ireland  which 
is  to  consist  of  six  troops."  Order  Book 
of  the  Council  of  State,  MS.  State 
Paper  Office.     And  under  date  26  Nov. 


1649,  two  troops  of  dragoons  are  ap- 
pointed to  go  into  Ireland  to  complete 

Col.  Cromwell's  regiment.  Ihid.  26 
Nov.  1649.  But  the  strength  of  the  regi- 
ments was  liable  to  variations  according 
to  circumstances.  Thus :  *'  That  a 
letter  be  written  to  the  Lord  General  to 
let  him  know  that  the  Council  of  State 
hath  thought  fit  that  a  reducement  be 
made  of  the  horse  of  the  army,  and 
that  every  troop  be  reduced  from  the 
number  of  80  to  60,  except  only  the 
troops  of  such  regiments  out  of  which 
the  troops  are  to  be  sent  into  Ireland." 
Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  Slate, 
14  Nov.  1649.  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 
While  the  Resolution  of  the  House  of 
Commons  of  11  January,  1644,  sets 
forth  that  the  army  shall  consist  of 
6000  horse  to  be  divided  into  10  re- 
giments ;  and  of  a  thousand  dragoons 
to  be  divided  into  10  conipanits  ;  the 


862 


HISTOEY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


close   as  they  could  to  the  Broxburn   ravine,  and  placed 
their  field  pieces  in  position  in  every  regiment.-^ 

About  half  a  mile  above  the  point  where  the  Berwick 
road  passes  Broxburn,  there  was,  as  I  have  said,  upon  the 
brink  of  the  ravine  a  small  house  or  shepherd's  hut,  and 
by  it  a  shelving  path  where  the  ravine  might  be  passed 
with  greater  facility  than  anywhere  else,  except  where,  as 
before  mentioned,  the  Berwick  road  passes  it.  On  the 
morning  of  that  day  Fleetwood  and  Pride  had  stationed 
twenty-four  foot  and  six  horse  in  the  hut  to  secure  this 
pass.  In  the  evening  Leslie's  horse  drove  them  out,  killing 
some  and  taking  three  prisoners,  but  they  did  not  keep 
the  pass.  Leslie  asked  one  of  the  prisoners  if  the  enemy 
did  intend  to  fight.  He  replied,  *'  What  do  you  think  we 
come  here  for  ?  We  come  for  nothing  else.''  "  Soldier," 
said  Leslie,  "  how  will  you  fight  when  you  have  shipped 
half  your  men,  and  all  your  great  guns  ? "  The  soldier 
replied,  "  Sir,  if  you  please  to  draw  down  your  men,  you 
will  find  both  men  and  great  guns  too."  ^  All  this  mio-ht 
have  led  Leslie  and  his  masters  the  Committee  of  Estates 
to  be   cautious  in  relying  too  much  on   the  notion  that 


Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State 
sometimes  mentions  dragoons  as  divided 
into  troops.  It  also  would  seem  that 
the  same  officer  who  is  described  in  one 
place  as  colonel  of  a  regiment  of  horse 
had  a  charge  of  raising  and  command- 
ing dragoons.  Thus  on  the  20th  of 
Oct.  1649,  Col.  Okey  is  ordered  to 
forbear  to  raise  any  more  dragoons  of 
the  last  500,  more  than  are  already 
raised.  On  the  17th  of  Nov.  1649,  it 
is  ordered  that  the  regiment  of  horse 
to  be  raised  for  Major  Henry  Cromwell 
shall  consist  of  6  troops,  whereof  three 
out  of  Col.  Hacker's  regiment,  two 
out  of  Col.  Okey's,  and  one  out  of  Col. 
Harrison's.      And  on  the  26th  of  Nov. 


the  two  troops  of  dragoons  above  men- 
tioned as  appointed  to  go  into  Ireland 
to  complete  Col.  Henry  Cromwell's 
regiment  are  described  as  "of  CoL 
Okey's  regiment.  "—Ort/er  Booh  of  the 
Council  of  State.  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

1  King's  Pamphlets,  small  4to.  No. 
478,  article  10. 

2  Carte's  Letters,  vol.  i.  p.  382. 
King's  Pamphlets,  small  4to,  No.  478, 
ai-t.  10.  Mr.  Brodie  (Hist.  vol.  iv.  p. 
290  n.)  cites  as  in  corroboration  of 
this  a  manuscript  in  the  Advocate's 
Library.  Balfour's  Shorte  Memories, 
MS.  Adv.  Lib. 


1650.] 


BATTLE  OF   DUNBAR. 


363 


Cromwell's  situation  was  so  desperate  that  he  had  already 
embarked  his  ordnance  and  part  of  his  foot,  and  that  he 
and  the  residue  of  his  army  would  then  be  an  easy  prey. 
A  letter  from  John  Rushworth  to  the  Speaker  of  the  Eng- 
lish Parliament,  dated  Dunbar,  Sept.  3,  1650,  explains  in 
what  way  the  mistake  of  the  Scottish  commander  had 
arisen.  "  They  were  informed,  as  some  of  their  prisoners 
confess,  we  had  shipped  our  train  of  artillery,  which  was 
a  mistake  of  them,  for  it  was  the  600  soldiers  sick  of  the 
flux  that  I  had  shipped  that  morning."  ^ 

In  fact  the  Scottish  commanders  seem  to  have  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  their  work  was  done,  that,  instead  of 
the  Lord's  having  delivered  them  into  the  hands  of  Crom- 
well, as  Cromwell  according  to  the  story,  as  true  as  the 
story  about  the  Duke  of  Wellington  at  Waterloo,^  is  said 
to  have  exclaimed,  the  Lord  had  delivered  Cromwell  and 
his  army  into  their  hands  ;  and  that  they  had  nothing 
more  to  do  but  sleep  and  take  their  rest  that  niglit  and 
rise  up  in  the  morning  to  divide  the  spoil.  Accordingly, 
somewhat  past  midnight  the  Committee  of  Estates  proposed 
that  they  might  take  some  rest ;  and  Major-General  Hol- 
borne,  it  is  said,  gave  order  to  put  out  all  matches  but  two 
in  a  company.  And  thus,  according  to  the  same  authority, 
in  great  security,  the  rain  continuing,  they  made  themselves 
shelter  of  the  corn  new  reaped,  and  went  to  sleep.  The 
horse  went  to  forage,  and  many  unsaddled  their  horses.^ 
Some   regiments  however  both  of  horse  and  foot,  on  the 


1  Old  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  xix.  p.  341. 

2  The  story  about  Cromwell's  excla- 
mation '  *  the  Lord  hath  delivered  them 
into  our  hands  "  appears  to  be  a  coun- 
terpart to  the  melodramatic  absurdity, 
so  improbable  and  so  uncharacteristic 
of  the  man,  about  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington's saying  at  Waterloo  "  Up 
guards  and  at  'em."     I  have  heard  it 


stated  on  the  authority  of  an  officer 
who  was  near  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
at  the  moment,  that  he  closed  with  a 
quick  motion  of  his  hand  the  telescope 
through  which  he  had  been  watching 

the    enemy's    movements  and   said 

'*Let  the  line  move  on." 
3  Sir  Edward  Walker,  p.  180. 


364 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


extremity  of  the  right  wing  of  the  Scots,  were  not  unpre- 
pared when   the  attack  began  about  five  in  the  mornino- 
In  the  English  army  that  night  men  were  far  less  inclined 
to  sleep  than  to  watch  and  pray. 

At  four  o'clock  on  Tuesday  morning  the  regiments  of 
liorse  and  foot  that  were  to  begin  the  attack  were  drawn 
down  towards  the  point  where  the  Berwick  road  crosses  the 
burn  near  Broxmouth-house.^  As  Lambert's  regiment  of  foot, 
to  which  Captain  Hodgson  belonged,  was  marching  at  the 
head  of  the  horse,  "  a  cornet  was  at  prayer  in  the  night,''  ^ 
and  Hodgson,  appointing  one  of  his  officers  to  take  his 
place,  rode  to  hear  him.  *'  And  "  says  the  Ironside  cap- 
tain, "  he  was  exceedingly  carried  on  in  the  duty.  I  met 
with  so  much  of  God  in  it,  as  I  was  satisfied  deliverance 
was  at  hand :  and  coming  to  my  command  did  encourage 
the  poor  weak  soldiers,  which  did  much  affect  them,  which 
when  it  came  to  it,  indeed  a  little  one  was  as  David,  and 
the  house  of  David  as  the  angel  of  the  Lord."^ 

It  was  five  o'clock.  The  rain  had  ceased.  The  moon 
was  shining,  and  the  dawn  was  beginning  to  appear  over 
the  sea.  Cromwell  was  growing  impatient,  for  Lambert 
had  not  come,  being  still  busy  ordering  the  guns  along  the 
edge  of  the  ravine,  and  the  Scots  by  their  sounding  a 
trumpet  seemed  preparing  to  begin  the  attack.  At  last 
Lambert  came  not  many  minutes  after  five,  and  immediately 
ordered  Monk  with  his  brigade  of  three  and  a  half  regi- 
ments of  foot,  whereof  Cromwell's  regiment  of  foot  was 
one,  and  his  own  regiment  of  foot,  in  which  was  Hodgson, 
was  another,  to  march  about,  that  is,  to  make  a  detour 
about  Broxmouth-house  towards  the  sea,  and  so  to  fall 


^  King's  Pamphlets,  small  4to,  No.  2  c^pt.  Hodgson's  Memoirs,  p.  146. 

478,   art.    10.     Capt. 'Hodgson's    Me-       ZecLariab,  chap.  xii.  v.  8. 
moirs,  p.  146. 


1650.] 


BATTLE  OF   DUNBAR. 


365 


upon  the  enemy's  flank.  In  the  meantime,  while  the 
brigade  of  foot  was  marching  round  between  the  house 
and  the  sea  to  attack  the  same  right  wing  of  the  enemy 
further  to  the  left,  Lambert,  Fleetwood,  Whalley,  and 
Twisleton  with  the  six  regiments  of  horse  began  the 
attack  by  charging  the  enemy  at  the  pass  where  the  Ber- 
wick road  runs  between  Broxmouth-house  and  the  hill.^ 
The  word  of  the  Scots  was  "  The  Covenant ;  "  that  of  the 
English,  "The  Lord  of  Hosts."  ^ 

We  have  no  information  in  any  of  the  narratives  where 
David  Leslie  was  during  the  battle.  But  as  even  Clarendon, 
while  he  says  that  David  Leslie  was  in  no  degree  capable 
of  commanding  in  chief,  admits  that  he  was  an  excellent 
officer  of  horse,  we  may  suppose  that  he  was  active  in 
directing  and  probably  in  leading  that  desperate  charge  of 
the  Scottish  cavalry,  "  with  lanciers  in  the  front  rank," 
which  was  made  with  such  fury,  that  it  drove  the  Ironsides 
back  above  a  pistol-shot,  across  the  hollow  where  the  stream 
ran.  Lanciers  here  must  not  be  confounded  with  our 
modern  lancers.  They  were  the  most  completely  armed  of 
the  cavalry  of  that  time,  wearing  an  iron  head-piece  or 
pot,  back  and  breast-plates  pistol  and  culiver  proof,  a  buff 
coat  between  their  clothes  and  their  armour,  and  having 
a  strong  cut-and- thrust  sword,  a  lance  eighteen  feet  long, 

1  Cromwell  says    (Dispatch  to  the  Bathurst,  dated  Waterloo,  19th  June, 

Speaker,    Sept.    4,)    that    the  attack  1815,  says,  *'the  enemy  at  about  10 

though  intended  to  be  by  break  of  day  o'clock   commenced   a   furious  attack 

did  not  begin  till  six  o'clock.     But  the  upon  our  post  at  Hougoumont."     Gur- 

other  accounts  (Carte's  Letters,  vol.  i.  wood's  Selections   from   the   Duke   of 

p.  383,  and  King's  Pamphlets,  small  Wellington's   Dispatches,  p.  858,  No. 

4to,  No.  478,  articles  7,   9,  10)  and       951— and  in  a  letter  to ,  Esq., 

the  fact  that  the  sun  (which  would  rise  dated  Paris,   17  August,   1815,   says, 

that  morning  about  half -past  5)  rose  "the  battle  began,  I  believe,  at  11." 

during  the  battle,  show  that  it  must  Ibid.  p.  892,  No.  990. 

have  begun  about  5  or  a  little  after.  ^  Cromwell  to  the  Speaker,  Sept.  4, 

It    is    remarkable    that  the   Duke  of  1650. 

Wellington    in  his  dispatch    to    Earl 


366 


HISTORY   OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


and  one  or  two  pistols.     Sir  Walter  Scott  once  said  to 
Mr.  Lockhart  when  near  the  field  of  Philiphaugh  that  he 
thought  it  probable  David  Leslie  had  with  him  some  of  the 
old  soldiers  of  Gustavus   Adolphus.      And   it  seems  not 
improbable,  though,  as  has  been  shown,  there  were  in  the 
Scots    army    no    complete    regiments    which    had    served 
abroad,   that  there  were  among    these   Scots    "  lanciers  " 
some  of  Gustavus's   veterans.     But  it   was  one  feature  of 
Cromwell's  troops  that  they  could  always   be   rallied   by 
officers  who   thoroughly  understood   their  duty,  and  were 
animated   at  once  by  superior  intelligence  and  invincible 
resolution      At  that  moment  too  Monk  with  his  brigade  of 
foot  having  accomplished  his  detour  made  a  furious  attack 
upon  the  extreme  right^  of  the  Scottish  right  wing  ;  and  the 
English  cavalry,  taking  advantage  of  the  confusion  which 
this   created,   rallied  and    drove   the   Scots   lanciers   back 
again  across  the  burn.      So  obstinate   was  the  resistance 
made  by  this  right   wing  of  the  Scots  though  exposed  to 
the   attack  of  superior  numbers   composed  of   Cromwell's 
best  regiments,  that   Monk's  brigade  of  foot  was  at  first 
overpowered  and  driven  back.  Then  came  that  terrible  charge 
of  Cromwell's  pikemen,  which  made  the   Scots   foot  give 
ground  for  three-  quarters  of  a  mile  together  ;  the  English 
horse  at   the  same  time  renewing  their  charge  and  driving 
back  the  enemy.      One  of  the  Scots  regiments  of  foot  would 
not  yield,  though  at  push  of  pike  and  butt-end  of  the  musket, 
until  a  troop  of  the  English  horse  charged  from  one  end  to 
another  of   them.     This   body  of  Scots  foot  was  Lawers' 
regiment  of  Highlanders,  and  their  commanding   officer,  a 
lieutenant-colonel,  having  been  slain  by  a  serjeant  of  Crom- 


^  It  will  be  observed  that  in  the 
next  page  where  Cromwell  commands 
his  men  to  incline  to  the  left,  the  left 


of  the  English  would  be  the  right  of 
the  Scots, 


^650.] 


BATTLE  OF   DUNBAR. 


367 


weirs  own  regiment  of  foot  ("  the  colonel  was  absent  of 
the  name  of  the  Campbells "  ^),  they  stood  to  the  push  of 
the  pike,  and  were  all  cut  to  pieces. 

Cromwell  himself  came  to  the  rear  of  the  regiment  to 
which  Captain  Hodgson  belonged,  and  commanded  them  to 
incline  to  the  left  ;  "  that  was,  to  take  more  ground,  to  be 
clear  of  all  bodies.  And  we  did  so,''  adds  Hod^rson,  "and 
horse  and  foot  were  engaged  all  over  the  field  ;  and  the 
Scots  all  in  confusion  :  and  the  sun  appearing  upon  the 
sea,  I  heard  Nol  say,  '  Now^  let  God  arise,  and  his  enemies 


*  Dr.  Gumble's  **  Life  of  General 
Monk,"  p.  38.  It  may,  however,  be 
inferred  from  a  statement  in  Crom- 
weUiana,  p.  91,  (Sev.  Pas.  in  Pari., 
Sept.  5  to  12,  ''The  Lord  Chan- 
cellor's purse  and  seals  taken  with  a 
book  in  them  of  their  new  acts  signed 
by  their  declared  king,")  that  the 
Colonel  of  Lawers'  Highlanders  was  on 
some  part  of  the  field  ;  though  his 
*'  legal  apprehension  "  kept  him  out  of 
harm's  way.  At  Dunbar  the  grandees 
fled.  At  Flodden,  when  they  really 
were  a  military  aristocracy,  they 
fought  and  fell,  for  there  the  Scots 
left  dead  on  the  field  their  king 
and  most  of  their  nobility  ;  namely, 
two  bishops,  two  mitred  abbots, 
twelve  earls,  thirteen  lords,  five  eldest 
sons  of  peers,  and  gentlemen  beyond 
calculation  —  200  of  the  name  of 
Douglas  alone.  And  these  were  all 
slain,  be  it  observed,  not  in  flight  (see 
the  remarks  on  this  subject  at  the  end 
of  this  chapter),  but  in  fight,  many  of 
them  in  the  devoted  but  unbroken 
circle  that  fought  around  their  king. 
This  division  of  the  Scots  at  Flodden 
consisted  chiefly  of  the  nobles  and 
gentry,  whose  armour  was  so  good,  that 
the  arrows  made  but  little  impression 
upon  them.  They  were  all  on  foot, 
and  forming  themselves  into  a  circle 


with  their  spears  extended  on  every 
side,  they  could  neither  be  broken  nor 
forced  to  retire,    though   the  carnage 
among  them  was  very  great.     A  list 
of    men    of    note   killed     at  Dunbar 
is   given   in    Balfour    (vol.    iv.,    pp. 
27,  28).     It  contains  the  names  of  a 
lord  of  the  Session,  who  was  also  one 
of  the  Committee   of   Estates,    of  six 
colonels,    four    lieutenant-colonels,     a 
major    and    two     ritt-masters.      Not 
far  from  the  door  of  Broxmouth  House 
is  a  rough  tombstone  with  the  name  of 
Sir  William  Douglas  of  Kirkness,  one  of 
the  colonels  who  fell,  rudely  inscribed 
upon  it.     He  was  the  only  individual 
out  of  all  who  fell  in  that  battle  who 
has  been  honoured  with  such  a  me- 
morial :    a  circumstance  which  may, 
perhaps,  have  given  rise  to  the  opinion 
announced  to  me  by  an  old  woman  of 
the  neighbourhood  that  this  battle  of 
Down  Hill  (as  it  is  there  called,  pro- 
bably to  distinguish  it  from  another 
battle  of   Dunbar  fought  in  the  year 
1296)   was   fought    between   this   Sir 
William  Douglas  and  Oliver  Crommie  ; 
which  is  taking  as  great  a  liberty  with 
the  great  leader  of  the  Ironsides'  name 
as  a  modern  French  romance  writer  in 
one  of  his  romances,  has  taken  with 
his  person  and  character. 


868 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


shall  be  scattered  ; '  ^  and  he  following  as  we  slowly 
marched,  I  heard  him  say  '  I  protest  they  run  ! '  and  then 
was  the  Scots  army  all  in  disorder  and  running,  both 
right  wing,  and  left,  and  main  battle/'  ^  The  fight,  says 
Cromwell  in  one  letter,  lasted  above  an  hour.^  In  another 
letter  he  says,  "  after  a  hot  dispute  for  about  an  hour  we 
routed  their  whole  army/'  *  In  answer  to  the  ungenerous 
aspersions  of  Clarendon  and  others,  it  is  sufficient  to  say 
that  all  the  English  engaged  in  the  battle  who  have  given 
any  account  of  it  state  distinctly  that  that  part  of  the 
Scots  army  who  fought  at  all  fought  well.  Tlie  words  are 
"  a  hot  and  stiff  dispute  ;  the  enemy  made  a  gallant  resist- 
ance and  there  was  a  very  hot  dispute  at  sword's  point 
between  our  horse  and  theirs  ;  "  and,  as  regarded  the 
foot,  "at  push    of  pike  and    butt-end    of  musket/'^     In 


*  Psalm  Ixviii.  v.  1. 

2  Capt.  Hodgson's  Memoh-s,  pp. 
147,  148. 

3  Cromwell  to  Richard  Mayor,  Esq. 
Sept.  4,  1650. 

*  Cromwell  to  Ireton.  Sept.  4,  1650. 
The  other  accounts  say  an  hour  or 
above  an  hour.  "  After  above  an 
hour's  dispute."  King's  Pamphlets, 
small  4to,  No.  478,  art.  9  ;— "the  dis- 
pute lasted  above  an  hour.  Ibid.  art.  7. 
*'  After  one  hour's  contest."  King's 
Pamphlets,  small  4to,  No.  479,  article 
1  ; —  "  The  dispute  lasted  an  hour  and 
was  very  hot."  Cad  well,  the  army 
messenger  in  Carte's  Letters,  vol.  i.  p. 
383. 

*  See  Cromwell's  Dispatchess  and 
Letters,  Hodgson's  Memoirs,  and  all 
the  other  accounts  written  to  tell  what 
really  happened,  and  not  what  writers 
like  Clarendon  and  Algernon  Sidney 
might  think  fit  to  assert.  John  Rush- 
worth,  who  was  there  as  Cromwell's 
secretary,  says,  though  he  is  no  very 
great  authority  in  such  a  matter,  ' '  I 


never  beheld  a  more  terrible  charge  of 
foot  than  was  given  by  our  army." 
Letter  to  the  Speaker,  in  Old  Pari. 
Hist.  vol.  xix.  p.  341.  *'  The  battle 
was  very  fierce  for  the  time,  one  part 
of  their  battalia  stood  very  stiffly  to 
it,  but  the  rest  was  presently  routed." 
Ibid.  To  those  who  do  not  know  what 
an  advocate  who  passes  the  legitimate 
bounds  of  his  duty  is  capable  of,  it 
may  s6em  incredible  that  a  man  in 
Lord  Clarendon's  position,  for  some 
regard  for  truth  might  be  looked  for 
from  a  man  filling  the  office  of  Lord 
High  Chancellor  of  England,  the 
highest  judicial  post  in  the  kingdom, 
should  have  made  the  following  state- 
ment in  a  historical  writing  : — *'  Crom- 
well knew  them  too  well  to  fear  them 
on  any  ground,  where  there  were  no 
trenches  or  fortifications  to  keep  him 
from  them.  Their  horse  did  not  sus- 
tain one  charge  ;  but  fled  and  were  pur- 
sued with  great  execution." — Clar. 
Hist.  vol.  vi.  p.  456,  Oxford,  1826. 


1650.] 


BATTLE  OF  DUNBAR. 


369 


consequence  of  none  of  the  commanders  on  either  side  hav- 
ing had  the  sagacity  to  adopt  Gustavus  Adolphus's  inven- 
tion  of  the  cartridge,  more  work  was  done  by  the  butt- 
end  than  by  the  muzzle  of  the  musket  through  these  civil 
wars.      And  it  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  at  that  time  the 
foot  regiments  being  composed  partly  of  musketeers  partly 
of  pikemen,  the  work  had  for  the  reason  mentioned  to  be 
done  chiefly  by  the  pike  and  the  butt-end  of  the  musket. 
And  the  pikemen  forming  rather  more  than  a  third  part  of 
each  regiment  of  foot-they  were,  in  some  cases  at  least,  in 
the  proportion  of  400  pikemen  to  600  musketeers  i— Ind 
being  generally  the  strongest  and  tallest  men,  were  more 
effective  than  the  musketeers. 

Captain  Hodgson  expresses  with  accurate  brevity  the 
effect  of  Lambert^s  flank  movement,  which  is  indeed  the 
effect  of  every  flank  movement  successfully  executed. 
"They  had  routed  one  another,  after  we  had  done 
their  work  on  their  right  wing.-  The  English  then  mov- 
mg  up  to  the  top  of  the  hill  kept  the  straggling  parties 
of  the  enemy,  that  had  been  engaged,  from  rally'Ing.  So 
the  foot  threw  down  their  arms  and  fled,  most  of  them 
towards  Dunbar,  where  they  were  surrounded  and  taken. 


1  Order    Book    of    the    Council   of 
State— 13    March,    164|.    MS.     State 
Paper  Oflice.     According  to  the  state- 
ment of  Montecuculi,  the  proportion  on 
the  Continent,  about  1665,  of  pikemen 
to  musketeers    was  one-third— "Au- 
jourd'hui    les     regimens    d'infanterie 
sont  composes,  les  deux  tiers  de  Mous- 
quetaires   et   un    tiers   de   Piquiers." 
Memoires   de   Montecuculi,   I.    2.    16. 
And  the  statement  in  the  Gentleman's 
Dictionary,  part  ii.,  quoted  in  Grose's 
Military  Antiquities,  vol.  i.  p.  133,  is 
that    **the   pikemen   used  to  be   the 
third    part    of    the    company."     The 
tallest  and  strongest  men  were  generally 


selected  for  the  pike  ;  and  in  France 
their  pay  was  somewhat  greater  than 
that  of  the  musketeers.     Grose,  vol.  i. 
pp.   132,    133.     The  use  of  the  pike 
was  abolished   in   France   by  a  royal 
ordinance  in   1703.     A   book  on  the 
exercise  of  the  Foot  published  by  royal 
command  in  1690,  contains  the  exercise 
of  the  pike,  and  the  Gentleman's  Dic- 
tionary published  in  1705  describes  the 
pike  as  a  weapon  formerly  in  use  but 
then  changed  for  the  musket ;  so  that  the 
disuse   of   the  pike  must  have  taken 
place  in  England  some  time  between 
1690  and  1705.     Grose,  vol.  i.  p.  133. 

R  B 


370 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


Others  were  pursued  with  great  slaughter  as  far  and  even 
farther  than  Haddington.  About  nine  thousand,  including 
many  officers,  were  taken  prisoners  ;  upwards  of  three 
thousand  were  slain.^  Consequently  either  Cromweirs 
estimate  of  the  numbers  of  the  Scots  army  (6000  horse 
and  16,000  foot  at  least)  must  be  greatly  exaggerated,  or 
nearly  ten  thousand  of  the  Scots  must  have  escaped  from 
the  field  of  battle.  As  Cromwell  reckons  the  arms  left 
behind  at  fifteen  thousand,  it  is  not  improbable  that  the 
Scots  army  was  not  so  numerous  as  Cromwell  represented 
it  to  be,  nor  his  own  so  small.  He  marched  into  Scotland 
with  16,354,  he  probably  received  some  reinforcements 
while  there,  and  he  states  himself  his  sick  and  wounded 
shipped  at  500  ;  while  Eush worth,  his  secretary,  writes  on 
the  3rd  Sept.,  1650,  "Fourteen  hundred  sick  men  have  I 
in  all  sent  to  Berwick  and  Newcastle,  and  many  hundreds 
are  wonderful  sick  in  the  army/'  ^  If  we  add  the  500 
before  mentioned  to  these  1400,  instead  of  assuming  them 
to  be  included  in  the  1400,  we  shall  have  the  16,350 
diminished  by  1900,  and  if  we  add  500  or  600  more  for 
the  sick  still  remaining  in  the  army,  we  shall  still  have 
very  nearly  14,000  men.  However  the  "many  hundreds 
wonderful  sick  in  the  army "  mentioned  by  Eushworth 
mififht  have  amounted  to  far  more  than  500  or  600,  and 
Cromwell  in  his  letter  to  Ireton  repeats  his  statement  of 
11,000,  namely  3500   horse  and   7500  foot,  and  says   a 


*  Cromwell  in  his  dispatch  to  the 
Speaker  written  on  the  day  after  the 
battle,  namely,  Sept.  4,  1650,  says, 
' '  We  believe  that  upon  the  place  and 
near  about  it  were  about  3000  slain  ; 
prisoners  taken  of  their  officers  you 
have  the  inclosed  list  ;  of  private  sol- 
diers near  10,000."  But  Sir  Arthur 
Haselrig,  then  governor  of  Newcastle, 


in  his  letter  to  the  Committee  of  the 
Council  of  State,  dated  Oct.  31,  1650, 
says,  *  'After  the  battle  at  Dunbar  the 
Lord-General  writ  to  me  that  there 
was  about  9000  prisoners." 

^  John  Rush  worth  to  the  Speaker, 
Dunbar,  Sept.  3,  1650,  in  Old  Pari. 
Hist.  vol.  xix.  p.  341. 


1650.] 


BATTLE   OF  DUNBAR. 


371 


heavy  flux  had  brought  the  army  very  low— from  fourteen 
to  eleven  thousand.' 

Hodgson  relates  what  was  a  characteristic  conclusion  of 
the  morning's  work,  that  Cromwell  made  a  halt  and  sang 
the  hundred  and  seventeenth  psalm.'      He  was  after  that 
busily  employed  in  securing  prisoners  and  baggage.     The 
whole  of  the  baggage  and  train  of  the  Scots  army^contain- 
ing  a  good  store  of  match,  powder,  and  ball ;  and  all  their 
artillery,  great  and  small,  being  about  thirty  guns,  some  of 
them   of    leather,    were    taken,    together    with   near   two 
hundred  colours,  which  Cromwell  sent  to  the  Parliament  to 
l)e  hung  up  in    Westminster  Hall,   where  they  loner  re- 
mained.' ° 

It  is  certainly  not  easy  to  understand  why  Leslie  could 
not  bring  up  his  left  wing,  and  part  of  his  centre  to  the 
support  of  his  overmatched  right  wing,  instead  of  leaving 
his  centre  and  left  wing  to  rout  one  another.     No  doubt 
the  play  of  Cromwell's  guns  on  the  left  wing  was  intended 
to  divert  their  attention,  but  an  old  soldier  like  David 
Leslie  must  have  known  well  the  small  amount  of  damage 
at  that  time  done  by  artillery,  which  probably  would  not 
kill  altogether   twenty  of  his  men,  and  must  have  been 
quite  powerless  to  prevent  his  moving  his  left  wing.     Nor 
does  the  remark  ascribed  by  Hodgson  to  Lambert  that  the 
Scots   had  not  great  ground   to   traverse  their  regiments 
between  the  mountain  and  the  clough  or  ravine  explain  the 
difficulty  so  well  as  it  appears  to  do  before  examining  the 
ground.     For,  as  I  have  said,  Down  Hill  slopes  somewhat 
away  from   the   ravine  ;  and  the  greater  part  of  Leslie's 

sLtlZ"^^  *"  '''*""'  ^'"''''''  *"■       ''"  "*  "-^ ^""^  '^''*^'  <'"  «■«  ^-ne col. 
Tp    ,        r,  ;,        ,  '^"''""'  P-   275  et  seq.),  says-"  We 

l/s   h's  ^  '""""•  ""•       *°"'  "''  *•■*''  '■"'"■  '«"'«  32  pieces  ol 

i'^      *      „  ordnance,    small,    great,    and   leatli^,. 

16  0  t:  ' V'  '""'"'  '^p*- ''  ^'^-^  ^"^  ^"  *^^-  '-t  oioX  s 

1650.     Another  letter  not  from  Crom-       horse." 

B  B    2 


372 


HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  YI. 


army  was  posted  not  between  a  ravine  and  a  mountain  but 
on  ground  which,  though  bounded  on  the  west  by  Down 
Hill,  on  the  north  by  the  ravine,  and  on  the  east  by  the 
high  road  and  beyond  that  by  the  park  wall  of  Br  ox- 
mouth  House,  was  on  the  south-east,  the  south,  and  south- 
west perfectly  open  and  level  except  a  gentle  slope  on  the 
south-west — a  slope  so  gentle,  as  before  remarked,  that  a 
horse  might  gallop  up  it.  Consequently  there  seemed  to 
be  nothing  at  least  in  the  nature  of  the  ground  and  the 
position  to  hinder  David  Leslie  from  bringing  the  whole  of 
his  left  wing  to  the  support  of  his  right  wing,  instead  of 
leaving  it  and  his  centre  as  he  did  to  be  routed  by  having 
the  right  wing  driven  in  upon  them.  The  inference  there- 
fore must  be,  that  at  Dunbar  David  Leslie  lost  his  head  or 
self-possession  ;  an  inference  with  which  Clarendon's  account 
of  David  Leslie  quite  agrees.  Clarendon  says,  *'  The  king 
did  not  believe  him  false ;  and  did  always  think  him  an 
excellent  officer  of  horse,  to  distribute  and  execute  orders, 
but  in  no  degree  capable  of  commanding  in  chief  And 
without  doubt  he  was  so  amazed  in  that  fatal  day  [Wor- 
cester], that  he  performed  not  the  office  of  a  general,  or  of 
any  competent  officer.''  ^ 

This  battle  of  Dunbar  was  the  only  battle  in  these 
wars  (except  those  battles  fought  by  Montrose),  in  which 
any  considerable  degTee  of  generalship  was  shown.  Most 
of  the  battles  of  this  great  civil  war  were  steady  pounding 
matches  where  the  hostile  armies  drew  up  in  parallel  lines 
and  fought  till  one  was  beaten.  In  order  to  understand 
the  precise  nature  of  the  operation  which  distinguished  the 
battle  of  Dunbar  from  the  other  battles  of  these  wars  it  is 
only  necessary  to  keep  in  mind  the  principle  of  what  is 
called  a  flank  movement — that  the  general  who  brings  a 

I  Clar.  Hist.  vol.  vi.  pp.  515,  516.     Oxford,  1826. 


1650.] 


BATTLE  OF  DUNBAR. 


373 


superior  force  to  bear  upon  a  particular  part  of  the  army 
opposed  to  him,  and  defeats  that  part,  will  probably  throw 
into  confusion  and  defeat  the  whole.      At  Dunbar  Lambert 
attacked  the  head  of  the  Scottish  column  and  drove  it   in 
on   its  rear,  pretty  much  as  Frederic  did  with  the  French 
column   at  Kosbach,  and  with  the  flank   of  the   Austrian 
line  at  Leuthen.      It  will  also  serve  to  elucidate  the  matter 
to  state   that  the  manoeuvre  which   Frederic  executed  at 
Rosbach  and  still   more  signally  at    Leuthen  consisted,  al- 
though his  own  army  did  not  amount  to  half  that  of  the 
enemy  in  numbers,  and  herein  appeared  the  great  force  of 
his  genius,  in  bringing  a   superiority  of  numbers  to  bear 
upon   a   particular  part,    and  by  defeating  that  part  and 
driving  it  in  upon  the  rest,  throwing   into  confusion  and 
defeating   the   whole.     This   was   the   principle   on   which 
Frederic  always   acted.     Thus  Mitchell  the    English    am- 
bassador, who   speaks  from  his  own  personal  observation 
and  the  king's  own  words,  says  of  the  battle  of  Kolin, 
which   Frederic   lost  by  the   failure   of  his   intended  plan, 
''  his    intention  was    to    have    flanked  their  right,"  ^   and 
of  the  battle   of  Zorndorfl;   "  the  king's  intention   was  to 
attack  with  his  left  the  right  of  the  enemy  in  flank,  and 
to  refuse  his  right."  ^     It  will  be  seen  that  the  consequence 


*  Memoirs  and  Papers  of  Sir  Andrew 
Mitchell,  K.B.  Envoy  Extraordinary 
and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  from  the 
Court  of  Great  Britain  to  the  Court  of 
Berlin  from  1756  to  1771.  London, 
1850,  vol.  i.  pp.  355,  356.  "The 
king  was  then  pleased  to  describe  to 
me  very  particularly  the  last  unhappy 
battle  (Kolin).  .  .  .  His  intention, 
he  says,  was  to  have  flanked  their 
right,  which  would  have  obliged  them 
to  make  an  alteration  in  their  posi- 
tion, of  which  he  might  have  pro- 
fited.  .  .   .  He  said  his  intention  was 


to  have  engaged  only  his  left  pour 
tourner  I'ennemi,  but  the  ardour  of  his 
troops  in  attacking  the  village  had  been 
the  cause  of  his  misfortune." 

2  Ibid.  vol.  i.  pp.  428,  429.  "As 
the  King  of  Prussia  thought  he  had 
gained  their  flank,  he  ordered  the 
attack  to  be  made  by  his  left  wing, 
whilst  he  refused  his  right  ;  "  and  ibid. 
vol.  ii.  p.  43,  "The  attack  began  at 
9  o'clock  before  the  village  of  Zorndorff, 
which  the  Russians  had  set  on  fire  ;  to 
the  right  of  which  there  was  a  wood, 
which  I  believe  had  not  been  thoroughly 


374 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


of  this  movement  is  to  bring  a  superiority  of  force  to  bear 
upon  the  enemy  at  a  particular  point — a  principle,  which 
though  anyone  can  see  in  the  abstract,  the  application  of 
which  in  an  actual  campaign  or  battle  demands  a  large 


examined.     The  king's  intention  was 
to  attack  with  the  left  the  right  of  the 
enemy  in  flank,  and  to  refuse  the  right  ; 
but  I  have  since  heard  that  we  missed 
of  the  flank,  as  the  attack  began  the 
moment   the  troops  were  ranged :  no 
care  had  been  taken  to  reconnoitre  the 
position  of  the  enemy."     But  the  best 
explanation  of  the  matter  is  in  Frede- 
ric's own  account  of  the  battle  of  Leu- 
then,  where  he  explains  the  principle 
of   refusing  one  wing  and    attacking 
with   the   other  in   flank,    which    he 
adopted  in  all  his  battles,  and  of  the 
pains  he  took  at  Leuthen  to  prevent 
the  failure  of  this  principle  which  had 
happened  at  the  battles  of  Prague  and 
Kolin.     "  Le  pro  jet  que  le  Roi  se  pre- 
parait  d'executer,  etait  de  porter  toute 
son  arm^e  sur  le  flanc  gauche  des  impe- 
riaux,  de  faire  les  plus  grands  efforts 
avec  sa  droite,  et  de  refuser  sa  gauche 
avec   tant   de   prevoyance   qu'il  n'eut 
point  k  craindre  des  fautes  semblables 
^  celles  qu'on  avait  faites  £t  la  bataille 
de  Prague  et  qui  avaient  cause  la  perte 
de  celle  de  Kolin.   ...  La  premiere 
ligne  re^ut  ordre  d'avancer  en  echelons, 
les  bataillons  a  50  pas  de  distance  en 
arriere  les  uns  des  autres,  de  sorte  que 
la  ligne  etait  en  mouvement  I'extre- 
mite  de  la  droite  se  trouvait  de  mille 
pas  plus  avancee  que  Textremite  de  la 
gauche,  et  cette  disposition  la  mit  dans 
I'impossibilite  des'engager  sans  ordre." 
Hist,  de  la  Guei^'e  de  Sept  Ans,  tom.i. 
p.  232  et  seq.     It  has  been  sometimes 
supposed  that  this  principle  was  first 
acted  upon    by  Frederic  and  Napoleon. 
The   first  however  known    to  history 
who  applied  it  was  Epaminondas,  who 
defeated  by  it  the  Spartan  armies  at 


Leuctra    and   Mantinea,   and  thereby 
raised  Thebes  while  he  lived   to  the 
supremacy   of    Greece.     Epaminondas 
is  said  to  have  explained  the  principle 
to  the  Thebans  by  showing  them  that 
when    the    head    of    an    adder    was 
destroyed,   the  rest  of  the  body  was 
useless.      "  Opan,  ^fn,    en  t»  XosTof 
ffufia  a^^ria-Tovy  rvi;  x.i<paXhi  ol^ofiivris.'''' 
Polyasn,  ii.  3.     "  Frontinus,"  says  Mr. 
Grote,    *' mentions   (Strategem.    ii.    3. 
2)  a  battle  gained  by  Philip  against  the 
Illyrians  ;  wherein  observing  that  their 
chosen  troops  were  in  the  centre,   he 
placed  his  own  greatest  strength  in  his 
right  wing,   attacked  and  beat    their 
left    wing ;    then    came    upon    their 
centre  in  flank  and  defeated  their  whole 
army.     The  tactics  employed  are  the 
same    as    those    of    Epaminondas    at 
Leuctra  and  Mantinea  ;  strengthening 
one  wing  peculiarly  for  the  offensive  ; 
and  keeping  back  the  rest  of  the  army 
upon  the  defensive."     Hist,  of  Greece, 
vol.  xi.  p.   304,  note.     Philip  resided 
at  Thebes  from  the  age  of  15  to  that 
of  18,  where  "the  lesson,"  says  Mr. 
Grote,    "  most  indelible  of  all  which 
he   imbibed,    was    derived   from    the 
society  and  from  the  living  example  of 
men  like  Epaminondas  and  Pelopidas." 
Ibid.  p.   295.     It  ought  to  be  added 
that,   in  the  story  told  by  Polysenus 
above  referred  to,  Epaminondas  added 
**if   we  break  to  pieces  the  Spartan 
part "  (represented  by  the  head  of  the 
adder)   "the  rest  of  the  body  consist- 
ing of   their   allies  will  be  useless." 
The  Spartan  commanders  always  drew 
up  their  line  of   battle    so   that   the 
Spartans  formed   one  wing  of   them- 
selves.    See  Thucyd.  v.  71. 


1650.] 


BATTLE  OF  DUNBAR. 


375 


amount    not    merely  of  military  science   but    of  military 
genius. 

The    balance    of  evidence   goes  to   show   that   Leslie's 
opinion  was  against  moving   his   army  from  Down    Hill, 
and  that  he  moved  it  in  consequence  of  the   Committee's 
order.     But  it  is  necessary,  in  justice  to  all  parties,  to  bear 
in   mind  that   the  order  was   to  storm  Broxmouth  House 
(where    Cromwell's   left  was,    his  right  extending  up  the 
north  bank  of  Broxburn  till  it  was  opposite  Leslie's  left) 
as  soon   as  possible.     Now  Leslie  was  probably  right  in 
his  plan  of  keeping  to  his  fastnesses  and  not  trusting  his 
raw    levies — his   greenhorns  the  king  is  said   by    one  of 
CromwelFs  officers  to  have  called  them,^ — though  superior 
in   numbers,    in    an    engagement    on    equal  ground    with 
Cromweirs    veteran    troops.       But  as  Leslie  obeyed   the 
committee's  order  to  leave   his   chosen  position,  he  should 
also  have   obeyed  the   order  to  storm   Broxmouth  House, 
that  is  to  attack  Cromwell's  left   flank  as  soon  as  possible, 
which   would   have    been   immediately   on  leaving  Down 
Hill.      It  is  possible   enough  that  with  the  decided  supe- 
riority in  quality  of  Cromwell's  troops,  Leslie  might  have 
ftiiled  even   though   he  had   made    the  attack   instead   of 
allowing  Cromwell  to  make  it,  but  he  would  have  had  a 
chance  of  success  which  he  had  not,  as  it  was,  for  the  fol- 
lowing reasons,  for  which  I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of 
a  military  friend,  and  which  I  therefore  print  as  a  quota- 
tion. 

''  The  only  explanation  apparently  that  can  be  given  for 
David  Leslie's  allowing  himself  to  be  outflanked  is  one 
common  to  every  battle  lost  and  won  by  the  same  process  ; 
namely,  that,  to  use  Jomini's  expression,  Cromwell  had  the 
advantage  of   the     *  initiative :  '    which  means   that   if  a 

»  Relation  of  the  Fight  at  Leith,  p.  214. 


376 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


bold  Stroke  is  made  at  any  part  of  the  enemy's  line,  the 
chances  are  that  the  aggressive  movement  is  well  on  the 
road  towards  completion  before  the  enemy  can  sufficiently 
detect  the  object  to  put  into  effect  his  counteracting  defen- 
sive movement.  If  it  were  not  for  this,  the  movement  of 
outflanking  could  never  be  effected  at  all,  for  if  the  at- 
tacked party  is  supposed  to  know  of  the  intended  move- 
ment from  the  very  beginning,^  and  to  execute  a  flank 
movement  at  the  right  time  and  in  the  right  direction, 
the  result  will  be  that  it  will  find  itself  outflanking  the 
assailants.  In  this  way  the  battle  of  Dunbar  wants  no 
supposition  of  Leslie  s  army  being  cramped  for  room  to 
make  it  intelligible ;  any  more  than  the  battle  of  Leuthen 
wants  such  a  supposition. 

*'  With  regard  to  the  effect  of  the  fire  of  the  English 
artillery  in  preventing  Leslie  from  moving,  I  do  not  think 
that  any  fire  of  artillery  will  stop  a  movement,  unless  in 
the  case  of  a  powerful  artillery  firing  grape  at  close  quar- 
ters. The  Russian  artillery  fire  at  Inkerman,  though  a 
perfect  hell  upon  earth  when  you  had  to  stand  it  for  hour 
after  hour,  would  not  for  a  moment  have  checked  a  move- 
ment with  fresh  troops.  And  as  to  the  idea  of  Cromwell's 
pop-guns,  which  I  will   engage  did  not   kill  twenty  men 


*  The  battle  of  Pharsalia  affords  an 
example  of  a  flank  movement  on  the 
part  of  Pompey  so  executed  as  to  prove 
advantageous  to  his  opponent  and  not 
to  himself.  Pompey  had  placed  nearly 
all  his  cavalry  in  his  left  wing  with 
the  design  of  outflanking  and  over- 
powering Caesar's  right  wing,  where 
was  the  tenth  legion  in  which  Caesar 
was  accustomed  to  take  his  station  in 
action.  Caesar,  perceiving  this,  drew 
six  cohorts  from  the  reserve  and  placed 
them  in  the  rear  of  the  tenth  legion 
with  orders  not  to  let  the  enemy  see 


them;  but,  as  soon  as  the  cavalry 
advanced,  to  run  through  the  intervals 
of  the  tenth  legion  and  not  to  throw 
their  javelins  but  to  push  upwards  and 
wound  the  eyes  and  faces  of  the  horse- 
men, who  prided  themselves  on  their 
good  looks  and  fine  clothes.  The  Ro- 
man fine  gentlemen  of  that  time  went 
down  before  Caesar's  plebeian  veterans 
as  those  of  a  date  some  1700  years 
later  did  before  Cromwell's.  —  See 
Caesar,  Bell.  Civ.  iii.  89,  93,  and  Plu- 
tarch, Life  of  Pompeius,  c.  69. 


1650.] 


BATTLE  OF  DUNBAE. 


377 


during  the  action,  hindering  any  one  from   moving,   I  do 
not  think  it  is  tenable  at  all. 

"  It  often  strikes  one,  reading  the  history  of  battles  won 
by  the  flank   movement,  that   the  losing   party  has  made 
surprisingly  little  attempt  to  retrieve  the  day  by  bringing 
up  liis  centre  and  unengaged  flank   to  the  point  attacked! 
This  apparent   sluggishness   is,  I   think,  susceptible  of  two 
explanations.      One  lies  in  the  length  of  time  required  for 
the    transmission  of  orders  and    the   movement  of  troops. 
The  other  lies  in  the  constitution  of  the  human  mind  ;  iii 
the  mental  paralysis  which  seizes  a  man  of  ordinary  stimp 
in  any  great  crisis,  and  which  is  apt   to   render  a   com- 
mander incapable  of  using  the  resources  still  at  his  disposal, 
just  in  proportion  a^  the  need  to  use  them   becomes  urgent.' 
This  mental  infirmity,  I  am  inclined  to  think,  has  more  to 
do  with  the  conduct,  or  rather  non-conduct,  of  battles  than 
is  often  supposed.     A  man  who  has  not  seen  war  with  his 
own  eyes  is  apt  to  criticise  a  battle  as  he  would  a  game  at 
chess.      One   party,   he   argues,   has  made   a   move;    why 
does  not   the   other  party  make  the  counteracting  move  ? 
It  is  because  human  weakness  stands  in  the  way  ;   because 
the  urgent  necessity  for  action   has   frightened   him  out  of 
the  power  of  making  any  move  at  all.      It  is  not  necessary 
to  attribute  anything  like   disreputable  cowardice  to   the 
commander  exhibiting  this  sort  of  indecision.      He  may  be, 
on    the    contrary,,  a  man   of    what   may  fairly  be  called 
decided    courage;    one    who,    though   he   cannot    make  a 
movement  to  save  his  life,  will  stand  to  be  cut  down  with 
the  utmost   resolution.     It   is  not  impossible   that   Leslie 
may  have  had  a  touch  of  the  weakness  I  have  referred  to. 
And  I  suspect  that  it  was  chiefly  in  the  opposite   turn  of 
mind  that  CromwelFs  strength  lay  ;  he  could  do'^omethimj, 
and  do  it  boldly." 


378 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


Cromwell  himself  had  with  his  characteristic  good  sense 
told  the  House  of  Commons  at  the  end  of  tlie  second  year 
of  the  war,  that  he  would  recommend  to  their  prudence 
not  to  insist  upon  any  complaint  or  oversight  of  any 
commander-in-chief  upon  any  occasion  whatsoever  ;  adding 
this  reason  for  his  recommendation,  "  for  as  T  must  acknow- 
ledge myself  guilty  of  oversights,  so  I  know  they  can 
rarely  be  avoided  in  military  affairs/'  ^  It  is  instructive 
to  compare  with  this  the  terms  in  which  Lord  Clarendon 
and  Mrs.  Hutchinson  speak  of  military  affairs,  of  which 
their  knowledge  was  about  equal.  The  lawyer  and  the 
lady  are  equally  profuse  of  their  scorn  and  reprobation  for 
brave  men  when  the  chances  of  war  have  gone  against 
them.  But  the  considerations  suggested  by  the  remark  of 
Cromwell  above  quoted  in  exculpation  of  the  Scottish 
commander  do  not  in  any  degree  exculpate  those  who 
then  administered  the  government  of  Scotland,  and  over- 
ruled the  commander  of  the  Scottish  army. 

In  the  long  black  catalogue  of  disasters  brought  upon 
Scotland  during  a  period  of  five  hundred  years  by  rulers 
whom  God  in  His  wrath  had  sent  to  be  her  curse,  her 
scourge,  and  her  shame,  there  is  none  greater  or  more 
shameful  than  this  rout  of  Dunbar,  rendered  yet  more 
galling  and  made  to  bear  a  pre-eminence  of  hardship  and 
infamy  by  the  treatment  which  the  prisoners  met  with 
from  the  victors.  In  a  letter  to  the  Council  of  State, 
ordered  to  be  printed  and  published  by  the  English  Par- 
liament, 8th  Nov.  1650,  Sir  Arthur  Haselrig,  governor  of 
Newcastle,  states  that  after  the  battle  at  Dunbar  the 
lord-general  wrote  to  him  that  there  were  about  nine 
thousand  prisoners,  and  that  he  had  set  at  liberty  all  those 
that  were  wounded,  and,  as  he  thought,  disabled  for  future 


»  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  pp.  326,  327. 


1650.] 


TREATMENT  OF  THE  PRISONERS. 


379 


service,  in   number   ^ve  thousand  one  hundred.      The  rest 
the  general  sent  towards  Newcastle,  conducted  to  Berwick 
by  Major  Hobson,  and  from  Berwick  to  Newcastle  by  some 
foot  of  the  garrison  of  Berwick  and  a  troop  of  horse.      It 
is  stated  on   other  authority  that  the   Scots  were   driven 
like    turkeys    by    the  English  soldiers,    and   went   along 
cursing^  their    king    and    clergy    for    insnaring    them    in 
misery.!     I  have  shown  that  they  liad  been   dragged  from 
their  homes  and    driven  by  force  into  the   ranks  by  their 
native   oppressors,    their   lairds  and  lords.      It   is   further 
stated  in  Haselrig's  letter  to  the  Council  of  State  that  the 
officers   that  marched  with  them  to   Berwick  were  neces- 
sitated to  kill   about  thirty,  fearing  the   loss  of  them  all, 
for  they  fell  down  in  great  numbers,  and  said  they  were 
not  able  to  march  from  fatigue,  wounds,  and  want  of  food. 
It  is  further   stated  that  the   officers   in  command  of  the 
guard  brought  their    prisoners  far   in  the   night,  so  that 
doubtless  many  ran  away.      When  they  came  to  Morpeth, 
the  prisoners,  being  put  into  a  large  walled  garden,  ate  up 
raw  cabbages,  leaves,  and  roots,  ''so  many  that  the  very 
seed,  and  labour  at  fourpence  a  day,  was   valued  at  nine 
pounds ;  which  cabbage  as  I  conceive,"  proceeds  Haselrig, 
"  they  having  fasted,    as   they  themselves  said,  near  eight 
days,    poisoned    their   bodies ;    for,    as   they  were   coming 
from  thence  to  Newcastle,  some  died  by  the  wayside  ;   and 
when  they  came  to  Newcastle,  I  put  them  into  the  greatest 
church  in  the  town ;  and  the   next  morning  when  I  sent 
them  to   Durham,    about  seven   score  were  sick,  and   not 
able   to  march,  and  three  died   that   night,  and  some   fell 
down  in  their  march  from  Newcastle  to  Durham  and  died." 
The   royalist    writers    accuse    Haselrig    of    starving     the 

»  Whitelock,  p.  470. 


380 


HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


prisoners.^  On  the  other  hand  there  is  a  statement  in 
Whitelock  to  the  effect  that  the  Scottish  soldiers  had 
been  starved  by  their  own  officers  before  the  battle,  and 
that  they  had  been  at  least  comparatively  well  fed  by  the 
governor  of  Berwick.  This  statement  is  that  the  governor 
of  Berwick  gave  to  each  Scotch  prisoner  for  one  day  three 
biscuits  and  a  pottle  of  pease,  which  they  said  was  more 
than  their  own  officers  gave  them  in  three  days  together.^ 

When  the  prisoners  came  to  Durham,  they  were  told  off 
into  the  great  cathedral  church,  and  their  number  was 
found  to  be  only  three  thousand.  The  disease,  dysentery, 
still  increasing  among  them,  the  sick  were  removed  out  of 
the  cathedral  church  to  the  bishop's  castle.  Abundance 
of  wholesome  food  was  now  supplied  to  them  ;  and  medi- 
cine, nurses,  and  medical  attendance  were  provided  for  the 
sick  and  wounded.  Notwithstanding  all  this,  they  still 
continued  to  die  with  frightful  rapidity,  many  who  were 
apparently  healthy  and  had  not  at  all  been  sick,  suddenly 
dying,  without  any  other  apparent  cause  but  that  they 
were  all  infected  and  that  the  strength  of  some  held  out 
longer,  so  that  when  the  governor  wrote  his  letter,  that  is, 
made  his  report  to  the  Couucil  of  State,  about  sixteen 
hundred  were  dead  and  buried.  The  report  among  other 
things  states,  "  They  were  so  unruly,  sluttish,  and  nasty, 
that  it  is  not  to  be  believed  ;  they  acted  rather  like  beasts 
than  men  ;  so  that  the  marshal  was  allowed  forty  men  to 


»  Bates  (Part  ii.  p.  106)  teUs  the 
story  in  his  way,  which,  as  may  be  sup- 
posed, differs  a  good  deal  from  Hasel- 
rig's.  "  The  prisoners,"  says  Bates, 
* '  after  the  wounded,  sick,  and  weak, 
and  those  that  were  of  no  value  were 
set  at  liberty,  are  sent  to  Newcastle 
in  England ;   where  by   the  governor 


Haselrig  many  of  them  were  starved, 
having  nothing  to  eat  but  green  cab- 
bage-leaves and  oats  in  a  small  pro- 
portion. The  more  robust  that  out- 
lived this  diet  are  condemned  to  the 
sugar-mills,  and  by  the  English  are 
transported  to  the  West  Indies." 
2  Whitelock,  p.  470. 


1650.] 


TREATMENT  OF  THE  PRISONERS. 


381 


cleanse  and  sweep  them  every  day."     Other  accounts  state 
that  the  countrymen  were   nmch   enslaved  to  their  lords, 
and  the  people  very  poor,  and  barbarous  and  dirty,  washing 
their  linen  not  above  once   a   month   and  their  hands  and 
faces  not  above  once  a  year.^     It  would  seem  that  at  that 
time  the  Highlanders,    at  least  those   serving  in   Leslie's 
army,  were  not  distinguished  from  the  Lowlanders  by  any 
peculiar   dress,  for   the  report   says  : — "  there    are    about 
500  sick  in  the  castle,  and  about  GOO  yet  in  health  in  the 
cathedral,  most  of  which  are  in   probability   Highlanders, 
they  being  hardier  than   the  rest,  and  other  means  to  dis- 
tinguish them  we  have  not."     Whether  the  Highlanders  or 
Lowlanders    were    the    chief  aggressors   in   the  following 
revolting  cruelties  I  will  not  presume  to  say.    "  Some  were 
killed  by  themselves   [by  the    prisoners]  ;  for   they  were 
exceeding  cruel  one  towards  another.      If  a  man   was  per- 
ceived to  have  any  money,  it  was  two  to  one  but  he  was 
killed  before  morning,  and  robbed  ;  and  if  any  had  good 
clothes,   he    that  wanted,    if  he  was  able,  would  strangle 
him,  and  put  on  his  clothes."  ^ 

Now  as  this  passage  has  been  edited  without  comment 
by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  who  possessed  the  command  of  the 
Advocates'  Library  and  all  the  best  sources  of  information 
for  disproving  it  if  he  considered  it  false  or  improbable,  I 
greatly  fear  that  it  must  be  considered  as  too  true  a  tale. 
When  we  reflect  that  the  Scottish  Government  professed  to 
have  undertaken  this  war  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
purity  of  the  Christian  religion,  of  which  they  declared 
themselves  to  be  not  only  the  best  but  the  sole  judges  and 
champions,  can  any  satire  of  the  most  severe  satirist  who 


»  Whitelock,  p.  468. 
2  Sir  Arthur  Haselrig  to  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Council  of  State— in  the 


same  collection  with  Captain  Hodgson's 
Memoirs— p.  343— edited  with  notes 
by  Walter  Scott,  Edinburgh,  1806. 


382 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


ever  lashed   the   follies   and   vices  of  mankind  exceed  the 
intensity  of  reprobation   conveyed  by  the  simple  fact  here 
stated  ?    Here  were  kings,  nobles,  and  priests,  or  presbyters, 
if  they  prefer   the   term,  who  had   been,  as  they  declared, 
set  over  a  nation  by  Almighty  God  to  lead  them  and  feed 
them,  to  govern  them  and  teach  them  and  preach  to  them ; 
— and  what  had  they  done  ?     Preaching  indeed  they  had 
given  in  plenty  ;  but  how  had  they  taught  them  ?     After 
a  thousand  years  under  the  religion  of  the  Church  of  Kome, 
and  a  hundred  years  under  that  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland, 
here  was  the  vast  bulk  of  a  nation   still  in  that   state  of 
primaeval  barbarism   where  "there  is   continual  fear  and 
danger  of  violent  death,  and  the  life  of  man,  solitary,  poor, 
nasty,   brutish   and  short."     They   had  shorn   their  flock 
indeed,  but  they  had  neither  fed  them,  nor  led  them,  for  it 
will    not    be   denied    that    true    Presbyterians     of    some 
shade    or    other    composed     the    bulk    of   the    army    of 
the  Covenanted  Kirk  and  Covenanted  Oligarchy  of  Scot- 
land.     But  all  this   cruelty,   barbarity,  and  wretchedness 
of  the  people  were  the  natural  consequence  of  a  reforma- 
tion   consecrated    by  grillades   of  the   trustees  of  church 
lands  by  the  nobles,  and  of  a  clergy    dependent   on  such 
nobles  for  every  morsel  of  bread  they  ate.      There  can  •  be 
little  doubt  that  the  people   at  large   were  worse  ofl"  since 
those  lands  out  of  which  they  received  at  least  some  pit- 
tance of  food  had   been   violently  and  lawlessly  seized  to 
swell  the  pride,  luxury,  insolence,  and   other   vices   of  the 
feudal  oligarchy.     If  Scotland  had   continued  a  separate 
and  independent  kingdom,  and  her  aristocracy  or  oligarchy 
had  been  suffered  to   run   out  its  full  career,  there  can  be 
little  doubt  but  the  nobility  of  Scotland  would  have  had  a 
similar  fate  to  that   of  the  nobility  of  France.      It  would 
have  terminated  its  career  at  the  lanterne  or  the  guillotine. 


1650.] 


TREATMENT  OF  THE  PRISONERS. 


383 


But  the  union  with  England  saved  it  from  such  a  fate  ; 
and  as  a  reward  for  ages  of  tyranny,  cruelty,  and  crime, 
has  made  it  the  wealthiest  oligarchy  that  the  world  ever 
saw,  operating  in  the  same  way  as  if  the  union  of  England 
with  a  larger  kingdom  had  given  to  the  English  king  the 
absolute  ownership  of  every  acre  of  land  over  which 
before  he  had  only  the  rights  of  suzerain.^ 

The  miserable  remnant  of  the  unfortunate  Scottish  pri- 
soners, those  who  had  escaped  the  sword,  pestilence,  and 
famine,  the  cruelty  of  the  EngUsh  Government  destined  to 
a  fate  hitherto  unknown  in  Christian  warfare.  The  Long 
Parliament  of  England  transported  to  the  English  settle- 
ments in  America  men  who  had  borne  arms  by  order  of 
their  own  lords  which  they  could  not  disobey,  and  there 
sold  them  for  slaves. 

When  we  regard  the  barbarities  perpetrated  by  the  Irish 
in  Ireland  against  the  English  settlers,  and  by  Montrose 
and  his  Irish  and  Highlanders  in  Scotland  ;  when  we  re- 
gard the  treatment  of  the  people  of  Scotland  by  their  native 


^  Certain  Roman  families  were  ob- 
served to  keep  up  a  uniform  character 
of  pride  and  cruelty  through  successive 
generations.      Some   families    in    the 
Scottish  aristocracy,  as  probably  in  all 
aristocracies,  might  lay  claim   to  the 
same  pre-eminence  as  the  Claudii.     It 
is  within  the  memory  of  the  present 
generation  that  certain  members  of  the 
Scottish  nobility,  whose  ancestors  had 
pre-eminently  distinguished  themselves, 
not  by  great  deeds  done  against  their 
country's  enemies,  which  might  help  to 
reconcile  that  country  to  the  pride  of 
those  "of  whom  herself  was  proud," 
but  by  the  rapacious  cruelty  of  robbers, 
were  remarked  for  a  combination  of 
pride,    cruelty,    and    insolence    which 
seemed  rather  to  belong  to  robbers  of 
the  darkest  and  most  barbarous  ages 


than  to  British  noblemen  of  the  19th 
century.     But    they    did    after  their 
kind,  and  it  is  astonishing  how  long  the 
characteristics  of  a  race  will  remain  in 
the  blood.     One  can  partly  understand 
(what    to    those    accustomed    to    the 
decency  and  humanity  which  have  now 
long  prevailed  in  England  is  absolutely 
unintelligible),    from    what    one    has 
heard   of  the  effect  produced  on  the 
minds  of  a  generally  canny  and  sober- 
minded  people  by  those  men's  deeds 
and  demeanour,  how  a  people  may  get 
exasperated  by  a  long  series  of  provo- 
cations to  a  state  of  phrenzy  like  that 
in  which  the  Parisian  populace  hanged 
De  Foulon  at  the  lanterne  and  tore  out 
the   heart   of    Berthier  before  it  had 
ceased  to  beat. 


384 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


oppressors,  and  the  treatment  of  the  Scottish  prisoners  by 
the  English  parliament ;  and  call  to  remembrance  the  chi- 
valrous humanity  of  Kobert  Bruce  on  certain  memorable 
occasions  towards  the  weak  and  helpless,  we  seem  almost 
forced  to  the  conclusion  that  civilisation  had  retrograded 
instead  of  advancing  in  the  course  of  those  three  hundred 
and  thirty  years  from  the  beginning  of  the  14th  till  the 
middle  of  the  1 7th  century. 

With  regard  to  the  5000  prisoners  who  were  dismissed 
by  Cromwell  as  being  disabled,  it  is  stated  in  Whitelock 
"  that  the  general  sent  home  upon  their  paroles  5000  of  the 
prisoners  being  wounded,  old  men  and  boys,  the  men  house- 
keepers forced  out  of  their  houses  to  take  arms,  and  2100 
of  them  died  by  the  way/'  ^  This  sufficiently  shows  of  what 
materials  a  great  part  of  the  Scottish  army  was  composed  ; 
and  it  also  shows  what  sort  of  treatment  the  unfortunate 
people  of  Scotland  then  met  with  from  their  rulers,  who 
dragged  from  their  homes  to  be  starved,  ill-used,  and  finally 
butchered,  boys  and  old  men,  under  and  above  the  age  fit 
for  military  service.  Under  such  circumstances  it  required 
no  very  great  effort  of  administrative  genius  to  improve 
the  condition  of  the  great  body  of  the  people  of  Scotland, 
as  it  was  improved  under  the  government  of  the  English 
Parliament,  and  afterwards  under  that  of  Cromwell,  and  his 
lieutenant  Monk. 

At  the  battle  of  Dunbar  the  Scottish  generals  seem  to 
have  distinguished  themselves,  if  by  nothing  else,  by  their 
speed  in  running  away.  Leven  hasted  to  Edinburgh,  and 
after  him  David  Leslie,  who  mustered  about  1300  horse. ^ 
Thence  with  their  king  and  Committee  of  Estates,  as  their 
oligarchical  parliament  was  called,  they  retreated  to  Stirling, 
where  they  perhaps  hoped  to  be  able  to  make  a  stand  by 

»  Whitelock,  p.  471.  2  Whitelock,  p.  471. 


1650.] 


TREATMENT  OF  THE  PRISONERS. 


385 


defendmg  the  passes  of  the  Forth,  and  for  that  purpose 
torcmg  more  unhappy  old  men  and  boys  from  their  homes 
to  be  slaughtered  in  defence  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
tyranny.  But  with  such  a  king  and  such  a  nobility  it  is 
evident  what  the  end  would  be. 

An  act  was  passed  by  the  English  parliament  for  a  day 
of  public  thanksgiving  for  the  victory  over  the  Scots.  It 
was  also  ordered  that  the  colours  taken  at  Preston  and 
Dunbar  should  be  hung  up  in  Westminster  Hall,  and  that 
medals  of  gold  and  silver  should  be  given  to  the  soldiery 
m  remembrance  of  God^s  mercy  and  of  their  valour  and 
victory/ 

After  the  battle  of  Dunbar,  the  major  general  (Lambert) 

marched  to  Haddington,  while  Cromwell  stayed  behind  with 

two  regiments  to  order  affairs  at  Dunbar,  where  he  had 

ah-eady  distributed  pease  and  wheat  among  the  poor  people 

to  the  value  of  i^240  out  of  the  supply  sent  from  London 

to  the  army.     But,  as  has  been  shown,  either  from  inability 

or  oversight,  in  ordering  the  destination  of  the  prisoners 

whom  he  sent  to  England,  he  seems  to  have  left  the  feeding 

of  them  unprovided  for.      He  then  marched  to  Edinburgh 

and  Leith,  whence  the  enemy  had  drawn  all  their  forces 

towards  Stirling  and  Perth.^ 

Edinburgh  Castle  and  almost  all  the  other  strong  places 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Forth  were  soon  surrendered  to 
the  English.  It  was  believed  that  there  was  more  money, 
plate,  and  rich  household  stuff  in  Edinburgh  Castle  than 
in  any  other  part  of  Scotland,  the  inhabitants  of  Edinburgh 
having  carried  their  property  thither  for  safe  custody.  One 
of  the  articles  of  surrender  provided,  with  respect  to  all 
the  goods  in  the  castle  belonging  to  any  person  whatsoever, 


*  Whitelock,  ibld.—  ?ar\.  Hist.  vol. 
iii.  pp.  135.5,  135C. 


2  Whitelock,  pp.  468,  471. 


C  C 


.386 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


that  an  edict  be  proclaimed  to  the  people  about  Edinburgh 
to  come,  own,  and  receive  their  own  ;  and  if  any  be  at  a 
far  distance  or  dead,  that  a  place  be  provided  in  the  town 
of  Edinburgh   for   keeping  the  same  till  they  be  owned  ; 
and,  after   owning,  the   owners   may  have  liberty  to  carry 
them  where  they  please.       And  such  was  the  discipline  of 
Cromwell's  soldiers,  that  they  did  not  in  the  least  interrupt 
the  inhabitants  in  removing"  their  goods,  or  take  a  single 
article.       *' So    that,"    says    the   report,    "considering   the 
impregnable  strength  of  the  place,  the  great  loss  of  men  we 
must  have  had,  in  case  we  had  stormed  it  (if  we  had  carried 
it  that  way  which  was  almost  impossible,)  and  the  love  of 
the  people,  which  we  now  have  gained  by  this  civil  usage, 
it  was  the  best  course  that  could  have  been  taken  ;  and  if 
it  were  put  in  the  balance  would  not  appear  to  be  of  much 
less  consequence  than  the  defeat  at  Down  Hill  near  Dun- 
bar." ^      The    articles   however    were    not    concluded  and 
settled  till  the   19  th  of    December,   and   on  the  24th  of 
December  the  Scottish  garrison  marched  out,  in  conformity 
with  the  fifth  article,  "  with  their  arms  and  baggage,  with 
drums  beating  and  colours  flying,  matches  lighted  at  both 
ends,  and  ball  in  their  mouths,  as  they  usually  are  wont  to 
march,  and  all  their  goods,  with  a  free  conduct  to  Brunt 
Island  in  Fife."  ^       But  by  reason  of  the  great  winds  the 
soldiers  that  came  out  of  the  Castle  could  not  get  over  to 
Fife   immediately,  but  were  forced   to  stay  in   Leith  that 
night  with  a  guard.  ^ 

The  English  army,  having  stayed  in  Edinburgh  and  Leith 
six  or  seven  days  for  rest  and  refreshment,  marched  towards 
Stirling.       On    the   18th  of   September    when    they   had 

*  Tbe  Articles  of  the  Rendition  of  seq.  originally  published  by  authority 

Edinburgh  Castle  to  the  Lord-General  of  the  English  Parliament. 
Cromwell,  in  the  same  collection  with  ^  Ibid.  p.  353. 

Captain  Hodgson's  Memoirs,  p.  347  et  ^  Ibid.  p.   351. 


1650.] 


STATE  OF  PARTIES   IN  SCOTLAND. 


387 


advanced  to  within  a  mile  of  Stirling,  a  letter  was  drawn 
up   to  be  sent  to  Stirling,  requiring  the  surrender  of  that 
place.^     A  trumpeter  was  sent  with  this  letter.     A  gentle- 
man on   foot,  with  a  pike  in  his  hand,  met  the  trumpeter 
and  told  him  he  must  return  baxjk,  for  they  would  not  let 
him  come  in  or  receive  his  letter.      In  the  afternoon  of  the 
same   day,  a  trumpeter  came  from  Stirling  to  the  English 
army   about  the  release  of  prisoners,   desiring    that   they 
might  be  released  upon  ransom.     To  this  Cromwell  wrote 
in  answer  that  they  came  not  thither  to  make  merchandize 
of  men,  or  to  get  a  gain  to  themselves,  but  for  the  service 
and  security  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England.      Prepara- 
tions  were   then   made   to  storm  the  place,  ladders  and  all 
things   necessary  being  provided  for  that  purpose ;  but  by 
reason  of  several  disadvantages,  particularly  the  strength  of 
the  castle,  it   was   thought  fit   to   retreat.^     And,  as  the 
dispatches  express   it,  the   work  of  the  English  now  Wiis 
"  to   stand   still  and  see  salvation  wrought  for  them  ;  this 
nation    [the  Scottish]  being  destined  for  ruin,  which  makes 
them  thus  to  divide  amongst  themselves  when  an  enemy 
is  in  their  bowels."  ^     Of  this  there  could  not  be  a  stroncrer 
proof  than  the  report  that   upon  news  of  the   victory  at 
Dunbar  being  brought  to  the  king,  he  thanked  God  that 
he  was  so  rid  of  the  Scots,  and  said  the  kirk  rniglit  now 
see   their  error   in   prohibiting  him  to  be  in  person  with 
their  armjr,  and  keeping  out  the  English  and  the  rest  of 
his  followers.^ 

In  fact  the  Scots  were  now  divided  into  four  parties. 
Some  of  those  who  have  been  before  described  as  the  strict 
or  rigid  Presbyterians  were  in  their  present  extremity  dis- 
posed to  relax  the  extreme  rigour  of  their  exclusive  doc- 

*  Relation  of  the  Campaign  in  Scot-  2  7^/^  p    33^ 

land,  in  the  same  collection  with  Cap-  •*'  Whitelock,  p.   472. 

tain  Hodgson's  Memoirs,  pp.  315  318. 

c  c  2 


388 


HISTORY   OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


trines,  and  to  admit  into  the  army  by  way  of  reinforcing  it 
such  of  the  moderate  Presbyterians  or  Engagers,  and  even 
of  the  Royalists  or  Malignants,  as  were  inclined  to  make  a 
formal  confession  of  their  former  errors.  Now  this  caused 
a  division  of  the  strict  Presbyterians  into  two  parts,  which 
may  be  called  the  strict  and  the  more  strict  or  stricter.  The 
stricter  Presbyterians,  in  particular  the  Presbyterians  of  the 
western  counties,  may  be  also  styled  the  democratic  as 
distinguished  fi-om  the  aristocratic  Presbyterians,  the  root  of 
whose  Presbyterianism  was  the  plunder  of  the  church  lands. 
Of  these  democratic  Presbyterians  or  Remonstrators,  as  they 
were  called,  there  assembled  an  army  of  about  four  thou- 
sand men  under  Colonels  Kerr  and  Strachan.  They  were 
resolved  to  oppose  both  the  king's  forces,  and  the  forces  of 
the  parliament  of  England.  After  some  fights  between 
Major  General  Lambert  and  them,  the  leaders,  says  Captain 
Hodgson,  ''came  in  to  us,  and  desired  protection,  and 
proved  very  faithful.''^  That  their  political  opinions  did 
not  differ  much  from  those  of  the  Enghsh  Parliament  ap- 
pears from  a  declaration  of  their  Commissioners  sent  to  the 
English  head-quarters.  The  purport  of  this  declaration  is 
that  they  will  not  own  the  interest  of  king  and  lords  ; 
that,  as  to  the  executive  part  of  the  kingly  power,  they  do 
not  think  it  fit  the  king  should  be  admitted  to  it,  until  he 
had  given  better  satisfaction  to  their  kirk ;  that  his  father 
was  justly  put  to  death  for  his  acts  of  tyranny,  though 
there  might  be  some  miscarriages  in  the  way ;  that  the 
Commissioners  and  kirk  had  done  very  ill  in  provoking  the 
English,  but  the  English  Parliament  were  much  to  blame 
for  sending  an  army  to  make  an  invasion,  to  proceed  to 
blood  before  they  gave  them  warning.^ 

The    dispatches   of  the    English   officers   make   frequent 

*  Captain  Hodgson's  Memoirs,  pp.  ^  Relation  of  the  Campaign  in  Scot- 

149,  150.  land,  p.  334. 


1650.] 


BATTLE  OF   DUNBAR. 


S89 


mention   of   what   they   term   the  robberies  and  murders 
committed  by  "those  villanous  moss-troopers.''     This  term 
though   formerly   appropriated    to   the   freebooters   of   the' 
Borders,  the  English  applied  to  all  the  small  bands  of  men 
who  lurked  among  the  mountains  and  morasses,  and  took 
every  advantage  which  the  nature  of  the  country  abound- 
ing in  difficult  passes  affiDrded  them  to  annoy  the  English 
troops,   and  cut  off  small  parties,   or  stracrHiuo-   soldiers 
But  the  rigid  discipline  of  Cromwell's  troops,  and  the  stern 
promptitude  with    which   redress   was   exacted,    furnished 
those  moss-troopers  and  their  abettors  with  some  experience 
which  was  new  to  them.      Thus  we  read  of  a  letter  to  the 
sheriff  of  Cumberland,  "  to  be  speeded  away  to  Mr.  John 
Scott,  bailiff  and  brother  to  the  lord  of  Buccleugh,  for  de- 
manding restitution  upon   his  tenants,  the  moss-troopers, 
for  the  horses  by  them  stolen  the  night  we  quartered  in 
their  country;  since  which  promises  have  been  made  of 
restitution ;  and  we  doubt  not  to  receive  it  very  suddenly, 
or  else  to  take  satisfaction  another  way  ourselves."  ^     And 
again,   "Major  Browne  hath  with  a  party  of  horse  pos- 
sessed a  strong  house,  not  far  from  Dalkeith,  called  Dal- 
houz  [Dalhousie],  it  was  suspected  to  have  been  an  har- 
bour for  those  villanous  moss-troopers  who  murdered  some 
of  our  men,  that  were  either  straggling  or  going  for  pro- 
visions."^ 

There  is  one  feature  of  the  battle  of  Dunbar,  which  as 
having  probably  led  to  the  unjust  imputations  of  Clarendon 
and  others,  on  the  courage  of  the  Scots,  may  require  some 
explanation.  Though  by  Cromwell's  own  account  in  his 
letter  to  the  Speaker,  "  the  enemy  made  a  gallant  resist- 
ance, and  there  was  a  very  hot  dispute  at  sword's  point 


*  Relation  of  the  Campaign  in  Scot- 
land, p.  327. 


2  Ihid.  pp.  333,  334. 


390 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


between  our  horse  and  theirs ;"  and  as  regarded  the  foot 
"  at  push  of  pike  and  butt-end  of  musket ;"  yet  he  says  of 
Dunbar,  "  I  do  not  believe  we  have  lost  20  men/'  This 
however  is  probably  an  understatement.  For  another  letter 
from  head-quarters  says — "  we  lost  not  40  men — no  officer 
but  Major  Rooksby,  who  died  of  his  wounds  next  day  ; — 
Captain  Lloyd  sorely  wounded."  Also  at  the  battle  of 
Worcester  Cromwell  says  "  it  was  as  stiff  a  contest  for  4  or 
5  hours,  as  ever  1  have  seen,  yet  I  do  not  think  we  have  lost 
200  men."  It  is  possible  that  neither  Lord  Clarendon  nor 
Mrs.  Hutchinson  ever  heard  of  the  battle  of  Bannockburn. 
If  they  had,  the  fact  that  at  Bannockburn  thirty  thousand 
English,  including  200  knights  and  700  esquires  were  left 
dead  upon  the  field,^  while  the  loss  of  the  Scots  in  the 
battle  was  as  small  in  proportion  as  that  of  the  English  at 
Dunbar,  might  have  led  them  to  pause  before  making  their 
imputations  upon  the  courage  of  the  Scots.  The  explana- 
tion of  this  great  disproportion  between  the  loss  of  the 
conquered  and  of  the  conquerors  at  Bannockburn  and  Dun- 
bar is  that  at  both  those  times,  as  in  ancient  warfare,  battles 
not  being  determined  by  artillery  and  musketry,  and  the 
defensive  armour  being  then  of  at  least  some  avail,  it  was 
not  till  one  side  had  turned  their  backs,  that  the  carnage 
commenced.  It  is  stated  that  at  the  battle  of  Pharsalia 
Csesar  lost  200  men,  at  that  of  Thapsus  50,  at  that  of 
Munda  (as  stiff  a  business,  Csesar  said,  like  Cromwell  at 
Worcester,  as  ever  he  had  seen)  a  thousand  ;  while  the  loss 
of  his  enemies  at  Pharsalia  was  estimated  at  1  5,000,^  at 
Thapsus   at   10,000/   at  Munda  at  30,000,  "et  si  quid 


^  Tytler's  History  of  Scotland,  vol.  i. 
pp.  314,  319. 

2  Caesar,  De  Bello  Civili,  iii.  99. 

^  This  is  the  statement  in  the  book 
De  Bello  Africano    (c.   86)   of  which 


Hirtius,  who  served  under  Csesar  in  the 
Gallic  war,  is  generally  supposed  to  be 
the  author.  Plutarch's  statement  is 
50,000.— Life  of  0.  Ccesar,  c.  53. 


1650.] 


BATTLE  OF  DUNBAR. 


391 


amplius."  1     And  in  all  these  cases  it  was  Romans  opposed 
to   Romans.     The  disproportion   between   the  loss  of  the 
conquerors  and  that  of  the  conquered  at  Cann^  is  still  more 
striking.2     These  facts  will  be  sufficient  to  show,  the  mode  of 
warfare  being  the  same  or  nearly  so,  that  nothing  could  be 
more  illogical,  to  say  no  more,  than  the  inferences  of  some 
Enghsh  writers  against  the  Scottish  troops,  the  unfortunate 
men  slaughtered  at  Dunbar  and  Worcester,  or  reserved  for 
a  worse  fate,  to  perish  of  sheer  starvation,  or  be  sold   for 
slaves,  a  somewhat  different  treatment  from  that  which  the 
conquered  after  the  battle  of  Pharsalia  received  from  the 
conqueror   who   freely   forgave   all   who   had    borne   arms 
against    him.     The    return    made    for    that   magnanimous 
clemency  did  not  perhaps  encourage  the   English  Parlia- 
ment  to  follow  that  example.      Notwithstanding  Caesar's 
humanity,  he  could  not  always  succeed  in  giving  quarter. 
Thus   at  Thapsus,    in  spite  of  his  earnest  entreaties  to  his 
soldiers  to  spare  them,  many  Romans  were  slaughtered  after 
they  had  thrown  down  their  arms  and  begged  for  quarter.^ 
The  facts  above  stated,  however,  when  the  armies  opposed  to 
each  other  were  both  composed  of  the  best  soldiers  of  the 
ancient  world,  will  show  that  the  disproportion  between  the 
numbers  of  the  slain  on  the  two  sides  arose  simply  from  the 
mode  of  warfare  and  not  from  the  side  that  had  the  vastly 
disproportioned  number  of  slain  having,  as  Clarendon  says 
of  the  Scots  at  Dunbar,  fled  without  fighting.     It  is  indeed 
true  that  the  larger  proportion  of  the    Scots   had  no  op- 

1  See  the  book  De  Bello  Hispanico,  I'Empereur,  par  M.  Alarchand  "— 
(c.  31)— attributed  by  some  to  C.  which  bears  considerable  marks  of 
Oppius,  another  friend  of  C^sar.  authenticity. 

2  There  are  some  interesting  remarks  »  j)^  ^gHo  ^^^^^  ^  g^  .,  jj  ^^^^^ 
on  the  causes  of  this  disproportion  in  Scipionis  milites,  quum  jfidem  Cfesaris 
a  book  published  at  Paris  in  1836  implorarent,  inspectante  ipso  Caesare, 
under  the  title  "  Precis  des  Guerres  de  et  a  militibus  deprecante,  eis  uti  par- 
Julea  Cesar,  par  Napoleon,  ^crit  a  cerent,  ad  unum  sunt  interfecti." 
I'lle  de  St.  H61dne  sous  la  dictee  de 


392 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VI. 


portunity  of  fighting,  having  been  thrown  into  irretrievable 
confusion,  as  I  have  shown,  by  the  combined  operation  of 
the  nature  of  tlie  ground  and  of  their  right  wing  being 
driven  in  upon  them,  so  that  they  necessarily  "  routed  one 
another." 

I   have    in  a  note  in  a  former   page    referred    to  the 
battle  of  Flodden,  as  a  battle  fought  at  a  time  when  the 
Scottish  nobility  were  a  military  aristocracy.     That  battle 
is   remarkable  as   a  battle  in  which,  thouo-h  fought  as  in 
ancient  warfare,  the  disproportion  between  the  numbers  of 
the  slain  on  the   two  sides  was   less  than  in  any  of  the 
battles  above  mentioned  ;  for  the  loss  of  the  English  was 
about  five  thousand   men,  that  of  the  Scots  about  twice 
that  number.     The  cause  was,  that  the  main  division  of  the 
Scots    commanded   by  the   king   in  person   could  not    be 
broken.      Night  fell  without   the  battle's  being  absolutely 
decided.      But    during    the    night    the    remnant    of    the 
Scottish    army    drew   off    "  in   silent   despair ''    from   the 
bloody  field  on  which  they  lefb  their  king  and  nearly  all 
their  nobility.      And   yet,   according   to   Lord   Clarendon 
and  other  writers  of  his  time,  the  Scots  were  a  nation  of 
cowards.     There  is   another  point  in  which  the  battle  of 
Dunbar  forms  a  strong  contrast  with  the  battle  of  Flodden. 
At  Dunbar  it  was  a  regiment  of  Highlanders  that  fought 
the  most   obstinately.      At  Flodden  the   Highlanders  who 
formed  one   division   of  the  Scottish  army,  being  annoyed 
by  the  volleys  of  the  English  arrows,  broke  their  ranks, 
and  were  routed  with  great  slaughter  ;   which  circumstance 
was  the  principal  cause  of  the  disproportion  between  the 
loss  of  the  Scots  and  that  of  the  English  in  that  battle. 


Albbhajilb  Strsbt,  Lokoov. 
March,  1883. 


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LIFE  AND  WORKS  OF  SWIFT.    Edited  by  John  Fobsteb. 

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FLOWER  GARDEN  (The).      An  Essay.     By  Rev.  Thos.  James. 

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a  Vols.    PostSTo.    80«. 

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first.    A  Chapter  of  Engllnh  History  rewritten.    PoatSro.    Vis. 

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an  Inlroduotnry  EiMir  on  Enfltth  fr««dom   under  the  Plantagenet  and 
Tudor  8<>T«r«lKM.    Btcmd  JUitioit,    Poat  8vo.    13«. 

— ^— -  Oliver  Cromwell,  Dft&lel  De  Foe,  Sir  Richard  Steele, 
GImHm  Chorchtll,  flamutt  Footo.  Biographical  Essayi.  Third 
BMtim,   pMtHvo.    Vis, 

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Ml  IIm  OAm  and  DvtlM  of  an  AdvoMitfl.    Poit  8to.    tU. 

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PUBLISHED  BY  MR.  MURRAY. 


IS 


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cats.    12mo.   'gf'"''''!'^-     By  Mre.  MiBKHiK.    IStl,  nousa«d.    Wood- 

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cuts.    Post  8vo.    7.  ei  ^  Countries.     Third  Edition.    Wood- 

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grapWcal  Society  of  London     8vo     ^"^^^^^^^  ^  ^^e   Royal  Geo- 

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^''^'•'.fnSrNe^  O^LTpPoXr'^"^  «"''^''  ^™y  <"  Wjhing. 

^d t^YentttrSf  Ifslnf  r     '""^^'''^  ^^  P"''«« 

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13 


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FAMILY  RECEIPT-BOOK.    A  Collection  of  a  Thousand  Valuable 

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of  North  America,  from  the  River  Potomac  to  Texas  and  the  Frontiers 
•fMazloo.    riatea.    2  Vols.    8to.    '2Ga. 

FELLOWS'  (Sir  Charles)  Travels  and  Researches  in  Asia  Minor, 
more  particularly  in  the  Province  of  Lycia.  A'ew  ikiition.  Plates.  Post 
8to.    9a. 

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RMtored:  an  Essay  on  Ancient  Assyrian  and  Persian  Architecture. 
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Handbook  of  Architecture.    Being  a  Concise  and 

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Countries  in  the  World.  With  a  Description  of  the  most  remark- 
«M«  Buildings.    With  860  Illustrations.    8vo.    265. 

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pleting the  above  work.    With  312  Illustrations.    8vo.    31*.  Gd. 

FERRIER'S  (T.  P.)  Caravan  Journeys  in  Persia,  Afghanistan, 
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and  Candahar,  &c.    Second  Edition.    Map.    8vo.    2U. 

History  of  the  Afghans.    Map.    8vo.    21«. 

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First  Principles  of  Algebra,   for  the  Use  of  Schools. 

Fifth  Edition.    18mo.    1*.  6d. 

FLOWER  GARDEN  (The).     An  Essay.     By  Rev.  Thos.  James. 

Reprinted  from  the  "  Quarterly  Review."    Fcap.  Svo.    Is. 
FORBES'  (C.  S.)  Iceland;   its  Yolcanoes,  Geysers,  and  Glaciers. 

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^ 


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FORTUNE'S   (Robert)    Narrative    of   Two   Visits   to    the    Tea 

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OMITTED   CHAPTERS 


OF 


THE   HISTOEY   OF   ENGLAND. 


VOL.  U. 


X-' 


HISTOKY 


OF    THE 


COMMONWEALTH    OF    ENGLAND 


FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  CHARLES  I.  TO  THE  EXPULSION 
OF  THE  LONG  PARLLAMENT  BY  CROMWELL: 


BEING 


LONDON 

PRINTBD     BY     SPOTTISWOODB     A.ND     CO. 

KEW-STBBET   SQUABB 


OMirTED    CHAPTERS    OF    THE   HISTORY    OF  ENGLAXh. 


BY    ANDEEW    BISSET. 


In  Two  Volumes — Vol.  H, 


LONDON : 
JOHN     MURKAY,    ALBEMARLE     STREET. 

1867. 


C  I'ht  ripht  of  trandation  in  reserr.ed.l 

LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


i 


PREFACE. 


h 


This  volume  completes  the  narrative  of  a  period  of  English 
History  which  I  think  I  may  truly  say  has  never  before 
been   written — the   period   extending  from  the  death   of 
Charles  I.  to   the  expulsion  of  the  Long  Parliament  by 
Cromwell,  lind  usually  called  the  period  ofihe  Common- 
wealth.     As  I  have  shown  in  the  preceding  volume,  the 
Enoflish  Government  at  this  time  was  not  that  which  the 
Greeks  called  a  democracy  and  the  Eomans  a  republic.  It 
may  perhaps  be  best  described,  in  the  language  of  those 
who  carried  it  on,  as  a  government  differing  essentially 
from  that  sort  of  government  which  the  experience  of  that 
age  had  proved  to  be  a  bad  government — "  the  government 
of  a  single  person."^  So  strong  was  the  conviction  of  those 
men  on  this  point,  that  Cromwell  himself,  even  after  he 
had  concentrated  all  the  powers  of  government  in  his  own 
person,  is  reported  to  have  said,  "  I  approve  the  govern- 
ment of  a  single  person  as  little  as  any  man."  ^     Although 

*  James  Harrington,  the  author  of  "  I  could  never  be  persuaded  but  it  was 
"  The  Commonwealth  of  Oceana,"  more  happy  for  a  people  to  be  disposed 
though  of  no  authority  as  a  practical  of  by  a  number  of  persons  jointly  inter- 
politician,  records  accurately  enough  ested  and  concerned  with  them,  than  to 
the  opinions  of  the  most  sagacious  prac-  be  numbered  as  the  herd  and  inherit- 
tical  politicians  of  that  age,  when  he  ance  of  one,  to  whose  lust  and  madness 
I     says,   in  his  tract  on  "  The  Grounds  they  were  absolutely  subject." 

and  Keasons  of  Monarchy,"  published  ^  This  remark  of  Cromwell  is  re- 
in his  works  (folio,   London,    1700):  ported  to  have  been  made  with  reference 


I 


t 

^ 


VI 


PEEIJACE. 


PREFACE. 


Vll 


the  term  "  Commonwealth  "  may  be  objected  to  as  some- 
what ambiguous,  for  the  reasons  abeady  stated,  ^  neverthe- 
less it  will  be  convenient  to  entitle  this  work,  "  A  History 
of  England  under  the  Government  called  the  Common- 
)  wealth," — a  Government  which  began  on  the  death  of 
King  Charles  I.,  and  ended  on  the  expulsion  of  the  Parlia- 
ment by  Cromwell. 

The  new  materials  which  I  have  used  in  the  composition 
of  this  and  the  preceding  volume  are  the  Minutes  of  the 
Council  of  State,  contained  in  forty  MS.  volumes  of  the 
original  draft  Order  Books  of  that  Council.  It  may,  I  trust, 
not  be  deemed  impertinent  to  state  here  that  my  attention 
was  first  directed  ^ome  years  ago  to  these  MS.  minutes  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  Council  of  State  by  the  kindness 
of  the  English  historian  of  Greece,  Mr.  Grote,  who  then 
said  that  when,  some  years  before,  he  went  through 
the  State  Paper  Office,  the  gentlemen  who  showed  him 
these  volumes  of  original  MS.  minutes  told  him  that  they 

to   Harrington's   "  Commonwealth   of  one  foreign  writer  on  English  History 

Oceana,"     which     work     Harrington  asserts   that   no   party   could   govern 

dedicated    "To    His    Highness     the  like  Cromwell.     This  remark  is  only 

Lord  Protector  of  the  Commonwealth  true  as  applied  to  the  state  of  things 

of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland."    A  after  Cromwell's  death,  when  it  was 


•S 


commonwealth  in  the  sense  of  a  re- 
public with  such  "  a  Protector "  is  a 
contradiction  in  terms.  The  Csesars 
might  as  well  be  called  "  Protectors  of 
the  Roman  Republic,"  or  the  boa-con 


found,  by  those  who  attempted  to 
cause  the  public  affairs  to  revert  to 
their  former  channel,  that,  as  the 
writer  of  the  preface  to  Ludlow's 
Memoirs    observes,    "  Oliver  had    so 


stricter  the  protector  of  the  rabbit  he  choked  the  springs  that  the  torrent 
has  swallowed.  The  truth  of  the  took  another  course;"  and  after  a 
assertion  by  which  Cromwell  qualifies  short  period  of  struggle  among  parties, 
his  disapproval  of  "  the  government^  Monk  performed  his  part,  and  sold  the 
of  a  single  person,"  that  he  "  wasl  nation  to  Charles  II.  But  the  remark 
forced  to  take  upon  him  the  office!  above  cited  is  totally  inapplicable  with 
of  a  high  constable,  to  preserve  thel  regard  to  the  Parliament  and  Council 
peace  among  the  several  parties  of  the  |  of  State  which  Cromwell  expelled  on 
nation,"  is  involved  in  the  other  asser-  I  April  20,  1653,  and  which  governed 
tion  that  Cromwell  governed  better  !  infinitely  better  than  Cromweltr 
than   the  Long  Parliament.     Indeed,  1      '  See  Vol.  I.  p.  33. 


I 


had  never  yet  been  examined  (as  far  as  he  knew)  by  any 
English  historian. 

There  are  one  or  two  features  of  the  present  volume  to 
which  I  wish  to  advert.  In  the  first  place,  it  appears  a 
duty  to  truth  to  make  the  limits  of  the  duration  of  the 
Government  called  the  Commonwealth  thoroughly  under- 
stood, inasmuch  as,  that  Government  having  been  con- 
founded with  the  usurped  military  despotism  of  Cromwell, 
nearly  all  the  English  historians  have  thus  given  to  Crom- 
well all  the  credit  due  to  the  good  government  of  the 
statesmen  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  to  the  statesmen  of 
the  Commonwealth  all  the  discredit  due  to  the  bad 
government  of  Cromwell.  These  two  volumes  being  de- 
voted to  the  history  of  the  Government  called  the  Common- 
wealth, strictly  define  the  limits  of  its  duration — namely, 
from  February  1,  164|^,  to  April  20,  1653,  a  j^eriod  of  four 
years  and  somewhat  less  than  three  months.  During  that 
period,  if  they  had  done  nothing  else,  they  created  a  navy 
which  defeated  the  most  powerful  navy,  commanded  by 
the  greatest  admirals,  the  world  at  that  time  had  ever 
seen.  And  during  the  last  ten  months  of  their  existence 
•their  great  Admiral,  Blake,  besides  minor  achievements, 
such  as  the  destruction  of  th^T^nch  ffeet*^  under  the 
Duke  de  Vendome,  fought'  four  great  pitched  battles, 
three^  of  which  he  won;  and^tTie  defeat  in  the  fourth, 
when  he  maintained  for  many  hours,  with  thirty-seven 
ships,  a  fight  against  ninety-five,  commanded  by  Tromp, 
tended  rather  to  raise  than  to  lower  his  own  and  his 
country's  naval  renown.  So  that,  even  by  writers  not 
favourable  to  the  Commonwealth,  this  has  been  called 
"the  annus  mirabilis  of  the  English  navy."  To  the 
creSit  of  all  this,  as  well  as  to  the  credit  of  the  battles 
won  against  the  Dutch  in  June  and  July  1 653,  after  his 


r. 


Vlll 


PREFACE. 


i 


expulsion  of  the  Parliament,  Cromwell  has  not  the  shadow 

01  a  claim.  '^  '     ■"" 

*ln  fhesecond  place,  a  comparison  of  the  preparations 
made  by  the  Government  of  Queen  Elizabeth  against  the 
Spanish  Armada,  with  the  preparations  made  by  the 
Council  of  State  of  the  Commonwealth  against  the  aggres- 
sion of  the  Dutch  naval  power  (really  far  greater  than  the 
Spanish),  and  also  against  a  projected  invasion  of  England, 
about  the  time  of  the  invasion  of  the  Scots  which  led  to 
the  Battle  of  Worcester,  by  the  forces  of  some  of  the  Conti- 
nental despots,  under  the  command  of  the  Duke  of  Lorraine 
(evidence  of  which  I  have  found  in  the  MS.  minutes  of  the 
Council  of  State),  leads  to  a  clear  demonstration  of  the 
vast  superiority  of  the  statesmanship  of  the  Council  of 
State  of  the  Commonwealth  over  that  of  Queen  Elizabeth, 
and  her  much-lauded  Lord  Treasurer  and  other  councillors. 


CONTENTS. 


x" 


Y 


/ 


CHAPTER  VII. 

PAGE 

Projected  invasion  of  England  and  Ireland  by  an  army  under  the 

command  of  the  Duke  of  Lorraine     ......  2-4 

Causes  of  the  change  in  the  conduct  of  the  Netherlanders  between 

1585  and  1651 5, 6 

The  divine  right  of  kings 7-14 

Divine-right  tyranny 15,  16 

Divine-right  nobility 17, 18 

Foreign  enemies  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England  .         .         .         .  19,  20 

Progress  of  despotism  in  Europe 21,  22 

Vigilance  of  the  English  Commonwealth 23,  24 

-'"ilngland  alone  against  the  world 25,  26 

Work  ^fhieh  the  English  Commonwealth  had  before  it      .         .         .  27,  28 

Committee  of  the  Navy,  of  which  Sir  Henry  Vane  was  the  most 

active  and  able  member 29 

Admiral  Blake,  and  incident  in  his  last  action,  showing  the  height  to 

which  he  raised  the  naval  power  of  England     .        .        .        .  30,  31 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Admiral  Blake's  birth  and  early  life 32-36 

Cromwell's  taste  for  practical  jokes 37,38 

Admiral  Blake's  character 39 

Blake's  defence  of  Lyme  and  Taunton 40,41 

Cromwell  and  Blake 43, 44 

Cromwell  and  the  Stuarts 45,  46 

Importance  of  the  navy  at  that  time 46,  47 

lake  opposed  to  the  King's  execution 49,  50 

Revolt  of  a  part  of  the  fleet  from  the  Parliament      .         .         .         .  51,  52 


CONTENTS. 


CONTENTS. 


XI 


^ 


x' 


The   Commonwealth   men   and  the    "  grandees   of  the  House   and 

Army "     .         .         .         •      »  • 
The  Council  of  State  of  the   Commonwealth  and  Queen  Eh'zabeth's 

Council 

Reconstruction  of  the  navy      .  ...... 

The  Commonwealth  flag 

Prince  Rupert 

Story  told  by  Admiral  Sir  William  Perm  of  Prince  Rupert's  cruelty 
Rupert  escapes  from  Kinsale  Harbour      ..... 

Letter  from  Blake  to  Cromwell 

Blake  sent  in  pursuit  of  Rupert       ...... 

Increase  of  the  navy 

Instructions  to  Blake 

Instructions  to  Ascham    .         . 

Orders  for  regulating  the  proceedings  of  the  Council  of  State    . 
Committee  of  the  Navy,  consisting  of  Sir  Henry  Vane,  &c. 

Additional  instructions  to  Blake 

Instructions  to  Popham 

Rupert  enters  the  Tagus,  and  is  protected  by  the  King  of  Portugal 

Rupert's  device  for  destroying  Blake 

Blake  attacks  the  Brazil  fleet,  and  Rupert  escapes  with  his  ships 
A   treaty   of  peace  concluded   with   the  King  of  Portugal,  on  the 

conditions  insisted  on  by  the  Commonwealth  of  England 
Blake  destroys  Rupert's  fleet  .... 
Rupert's  luck  in  escaping        .... 
Difference  between  courage  and  strength  of  muscle 
Penn's  unsuccessful  pursuit  of  Rupert 
Blake  captures  four  French  ships     .         .         . 
Royalist  pirates  in  the  Scilly  Isles 
The  Scilly  Isles  surrendered  to  Blake 
An  example  of  the  tact  of  the  Council  of  State 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Strickland  recalled  from  Holland     .... 
/     St.  John  and  Strickland  sent  ambassadors  to  Holland 
/         Character  of  Oliver  St.  John    ..... 
_^^The  English  ambassadors  insulted  in  Holland 
Character  of  the  Dutch  Government  at  that  time 
The  Council  of  State's  instructions  to  their  ambassadors  in  Holland     117,  118 


PAGE 

53, 

54 

65, 

56 

57, 

58 

59 

Go- 

-62 

es, 

64 

65 

67, 

68 

69, 

70 

71 

73, 

74 

75 

77, 

78 

79 

81, 

82 

83 

84, 

85 

86 

88 

88, 

89 

90 

-92 

92 

,93 

93 

,94 

95 

,96 

97 

98- 

102 

103, 

104 

105, 

106 

107 

108 

.  108- 

-111 

112, 

113 

114- 

-116 

y 


/ 


PACK 

The   Council's  vigilance   against  the  invasion  of  England  by  the 
King  of  Scots  from  Scotland,  and    by  the  Duke  of  Lorraine 

from  Dunkirk  and  Ostend 119-122 

The  English  ambassadors  recalled  and  thanked  by  Parliament  .     123-125 

St.  John's  speech  to  the  Dutch  commissioners  at  taking  leave  .         .  124 


CHAPTER  X. 

Some   of  the   English   nobility,  who  possessed   the   most   accurate 
knowledge  of  the  qualities  of  kingship,  were  members  of  the 

Grovernment  called  the  Commonwealth 126,  129 

harge  of  bribery  against  Lord  Howard  of  Escrick  ....  127 

Viscount  Lisle  and  Algernon  Sydney 129 

Character  of  Algernon  Sydney 130-138 

Cromwell's  illness  in  Scotland 139,  140 

A  natural  and  an  artificial  aristocracy      .         .         .         .         .         .  141,  142 

Strong  position  of  the  Scottish  army         ......  143,144 

The  Scottish  army  moves  southward  by  rapid  marches      .         .         .  145 

Misstatements  of  Mrs.  Hutchinson 145,146,148 

Election  of  the  new  Council  of  State 146,147 

Energy,  courage,  and  prudence  of  the  Council  of  State      .         .         .  149-151 

Zeal  of  the  people  against  the  enemy        ......  151 

Invasion  of  England  by  the  Scots 155 

"  The  Broad  Place  at  Whitehall,"  August  10,  1651  ....  157,  158 

Great  exertions  of  the  Council  of  State    ......  153-167 

Imputed  timidity  of  Sir  Henry  Vane 168-170 

Charles  Stuart  proclaimed  traitor     .......  171,177 

Zeal  of  the  Parliamentary  army,  and  of  the  country  generally,  against 

the  King 172 

Great  contrast  between  1651  and  1660 173 

Cry  for "  a  free  Parliament "    .         .         .         .         .         .          ...  174,175 

Skirmish  at  Warrington  .........  178 

Army  of  Lambert  and  Harrison       .......  179 

.The  Scots  with  their  King  reach  Worcester 180 

Defeat  of  the  Earl  of  Derby  by  Colonel  Robert  Lilburne  .         .         .  181 

The  Council  of  State  relax  not  their  exertions 182,183 

"The  business  of  the  Duke  of  Lorraine" 183,184 

....  185,  186 


The  English  Governments  of  1588  and  1651 


Xll 


CONTENTS. 


CONTENTS. 


XUl 


,  and 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Important  battles  fought  on  the  Severn  and  Avon 
Cromwell's  arrival  before  Worcester 
Operations  of  Lambert's  troops 

Battle  of  Worcester 

Total  defeat  of  the  King's  army 

The  King's  conduct  in  the  battle 

False  panegyric  on  the  King 

Scotch  students  among  the  prisoners 

Escape  of  the  King  to  France  . 

Disposal  of  the  prisoners 

Execution  of  the  Earl  of  Derby,  Sir  Timothy  Featherstonhaugh 

Captain  Benbow 
Stirling  Castle  surrendered  to  Monk 

Monk  takes  Dundee  by  storm 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Council  of  State  disband  the  militia  ...... 

Ludlow's  erroneous  statement  that  Cromwell  dismissed  the  militia   . 

Inconsistencies  of  Cromwell's  character,  and  consequent  difficulty  of 
analysing  it      .........         . 

Cromwell's  alleged  designs 

Lands  of  the  yearly  value  of  £4,000  (in  addition  to  £2,500  per 
annum  formerly  granted  to  him)  settled  on  Cromwell  and  his 
heirs         ........... 

Reception  of  Cromwell  by  the  Parliament 

The  Navigation  Act  passed  by  the  Parliament 

The  union  of  England  and  Scotland,  and  the  abolition  of  monarchy 
in  Scotland,  enacted  by  the  Parliament  of  England   . 

The  Judges  sent  from  England  to  administer  justice  in  Scotland  found 
"so  much  malice  and  so  little  proof"  against  sixty  persons  ac- 
cused of  witchcraft  at  the  last  circuit  that  none  were  condemned 

A  committee  to  consider  of  fit  persons  to  write  "  the  history  of  these 
times"     .... 

Naval  abuses  .... 

Pleas  for  the  Long  Parliament 

Question  of  a  new  Parliament 

The  new  Council  of  State 

Death  of  Ireton 


PAGE 

187-189 

190 

191,  192 

193,  194 

195 

196 

197-200 

201 

202,203 

204-214 

213 
214 

214,  215 


217 
218 

219,220 
221 


222 
223 
224 

225 

226 

226,  227 
228,  229 
230,  231 
232,  233 
234,  235 
236 


up  by 


of  the 


The  old  English  nobility 

The  new  English  nobility 

Of  the  men  most  distinguished  in  the  great  English  civil  war 
17th  century,  Oxford  produced  as  many  as  Cambridge 

The  Inns  of  Court  lifeguard  and  Ironside  officers     . 

Ireton's  military  career    .         .         . 
j^  The   army's  representation   to  Parliament   in  1647,  drawn 
Ireton  with  the  assistance  of  Cromwell  and  Lambert 

The  military  genius  of  Cromwell  and  Marlborough  . 
/y^\vj  Ireton  was  a  check  on  Cromwell's  ambition     . 
Lambert  appointed  Ireton's  successor  in  Ireland 

Cromwell's  children 

Lambert's  quarrel  with  the  Parliament    . 

Character  of  Lambert 

Meeting  at  the  Speaker's  house         .... 

A  settled  question  reopened 

Committee  of  the  Admiralty  and  Navy  for  1652 
An  assistant  to  Milton  appointed     .... 

John  Lilburne  ....... 

Clarendon's  character  of  Sir  George  Ayscue 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Dutch  ambassadors  extraordinary  received  by  the  English  Par- 
liament with  punctilious  courtesy      ...... 

Audience  given  by  the  Parliament  to  the  Dutch  ambassadors   .     278, 

Contrast  between  1585  and  1652 

Orders  of  the  Council  of  State  for  the  management  of  treaties  . 

ii^he  business  of  Amboyna  " 

y'''^  Work  of  the  Council  of  State  at  this  time 

Rapid  rise  of  the  Dutch  naval  power 

Advantages  of  the  Dutch 

Advantages  arising  from  the  composition  of  the  English  Council  of 
State        

Orders  made  by  the  Council  of  State  for  regulating  their  proceedings, 
which  have  not  been  given  before 

Contrast  between  165f  and  1853 

Blake's  commission  to  hold  and  execute  the  place  of  Admiral  and 
General  of  the  fleet  or  fleets  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England 
for  1652 


PAGE 

237,  238 
239,  240 

241,  242 
243,  244 
245,  246 

247-250 

251 
252-255 

255 
257-259 
259-261 
261,  262 

263 
263-267 

268 

269,  270 

270,  271 
272 


274-277 
279,  283 
280-282 
283,  284 
285,  286 
287,  288 
289,  290 
291,  292 

293 

294 
295,  296 


296,  297 


XIV 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

297,  298 


Great  energy  and  vigilance  of  the  Council  of  State  at  this  time 
Appointment  of  John  Thurloe  as  secretary  to  the  Council  of  State 

on  the  death  of  Walter  Frost  the  elder 299 

"The  prologue  to  the  tragedy" 300-302 


CONTENTS. 

The  Council  of  State's  care  to  seek  for  fit  men,  and  never  to  prefer 

any  for  favour  nor  by  importunity 

Arrival  of  ambassadors  from  the  King  of  Denmark 


XV 

PA.GE 

358 
3.59 


mean 


CHAPTEK  XIV. 

Contrast  between   the  government  of  the  Commonwealth  and  the 

government  of  Charles  II 

1652,  the  great  naval  epoch  of  England    .... 

Breaking  the  enemy's  line 

Keal  cause  of  the  war  on  the  part  of  the  Dutch 
England's  claim  to  the  honour  of  the  flag 
The  Dutch,  while  they  profess  to  desire  peace,  prepare  for  and 
war  ....••••• 

Martin  Harpertz  Tromp 

Resemblance  of  the  character  of  Blake  to  that  of  Nelson  . 

First  meeting  of  Blake  and  Tromp  in  Dover  Road    . 

First  fight  between  the  Dutch  and  English,  and  the  beginning  of 

the  Dutch  war *         • 

Blake  thanked  by  the  Parliament  and  the  Council  of  State 
Great  exertions  of  the  Council  of  State  to  strengthen  Blake's  fleet    . 
Commissions    to    the    vice-admirals   of    Essex,   Norfolk,    Suffolk, 
Kent,  Sussex,  and  Hants  to  press  seamen  .... 

Great  loss  of  ships  and  goods  by  the  Dutch 

The  Parliament  charge  the  Dutch  with  attempting  to  destroy  their 
fleet  hy  surprise  during  a  treaty,  and  continue  to  make  vigorous 
preparations  for  war         .....••• 
Departure  of  the  Dutch  ambassadors,  wlio  act  the  part  of  spies 

Blake's  northern  expedition 

Blake  and  Tromp,  when  preparing  for  action  among  the  Shetland 

Isles,  separated  by  a  sudden  tempest 

Blake  returns  from  the  North 

Do  Witt  substituted  for  Tromp  in  the  command  of  the  Dutch  fleet  . 
;Blake  defeats  a  French  fleet  under  the  Duke  of  Yendome 
Policy  of  the  Parliament  much  sounder  than  that  of  Cromwell 
Blake  defeats  the  Dutch  admirals,  De  Witt  and  De  Ruyter,  off  the 
North  Foreland         ....••••• 

Thirty  frigates  ordered  to  be  built 

Petition  of  Sir  Oliver  Fleming 


303,  304 

305,  306 

307,  308 

308 

309 

310 

311,  312 

313 

315 

317-320 
321, 322 
322-324 

325 

327,328 


329-334 
335,  336 
337-339 

340-343 

344 

345,  346 

347,  348 

348,  349 

349-356 
356 
357 


360-362 
363,  304 
365,  360 


/ 


368 
369,  370 
371,  372 

373 


/ 


y 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A  fleet  of  English  merchantmen,  laden  with  naval  stores,  seized  by 

the  King  of  Denmark  in  the  harbour  of  Copenhagen 
Good  treatment  of  the  Dutch  prisoners  in  England  .... 
Disposal  of  Dutch  prize-goods  by  the  Council  of  State     . 

Case  of  Captain  Warren— prompt  and  energetic  proceedings  of  the 

Council  of  State 3gg  3^7 

The  Council  of  State  commit  a  blunder  in  sending  twenty  ships  at 

/         this  time  to  the  Mediterranean,  and  thereby  crippling  Blake's 

Channel  fleet  ..... 

New  Council  of  State  for  165§ 
Effect  of  crippling  the  Channel  fleet 
Meeting  of  the  Engl'sh  and  Dutch  fleets  . 

.Battle  of  Dungeness 374-370 

Deane  and  Monk  appointed  joint  generals  of  the  fleet  with  Blake      .  381 

Great  exertions  of  the  Council  of  State  to  reinforce  Blake's  fleet 

and  to  strengthen  the  coast  garrisons 377-382 

The  captains  of  ships  hired  for  the  public  service  to  be  chosen  by  the 

^^^^ 383andwo^j 

Rigour  of  the  press  warrants 

The  Council's  mode  of  dealing  with  foreign  powers  . 

English  captives  at  Algiers 

Labours  of  the  Council  of  State      .... 

Their  relations  with  foreign  powers 

Why  Queen  Christina  of  Sweden  said  to  Whitelock,  "these 
landers  are  lying  fellows  " 

Orders  relating  to  the  fleet 
Soldiers  sent  to  serve  on  board  the  fleet  . 
Proof  that  Cromwell,  till  within  a  few  weeks  of  his  turnin_ 
/        npon  them,  was  keeping  up  the  appearance  of  being  the  sincere 
friend  of  Vane,  Scot,  and  Sydney 

Battle  of  Portland 

First  day's  battle 

Second  dtiy's  battle          .... 
Third  day's  battle 

VOL.  II.  a 


Jg 


Hoi 


round 


383 

381 

385 

383 

.  387 

-389 

.  388, 

note 

390 

391 

.  393, 

394 

.  396, 

397 

.  398, 

399 

400 

401, 

402 

XVI 


CONTENTS 


CONTENTS. 


XVll 


y 


Eesiilts  of  the  Battle  of  Portland  . 
Effect  of  the  battle  .... 
Blake's  exploits  in  the  last  ten  months 


CHAPTER   XVI. 


/ 


The  worshippers  of  success 

Pay  of  the  parliamentary  army 

Ixtra  pay  of  two  regiments  out  of  the  Lord-General's  contingencies 
amounted  to  giving  Cromwell  a  sortjof  Praetorian  guard    . 
Effect  on  the  Romans  of  the  despotism  of  Julius  Csesar   . 

A  good  despotism  is  a  false  ideal 

nsequences  of  a  great  crime  committed  by  a  great  man 
Effects  of  the  apotheosis  of  Cromwell 

The  retrenchment  of  forces  and  garrisons  displeased  and  alarmed 
Cromwell  .         .         . 

Sir  Roger  Twysden's  testimony  against  the  Long  Parliament    . 
Integrity  of  Vane,  Ireton,  Blake,  Scot,  Ludlow,  Sydney,  and  others 
Cromwell's  conversation  with  Whitelock,  in  which  he  says,  "  What 

if  a  man  should  take  upon  him  to  be  king  ?  "    . 
Contrast  between  Cromwell  in  1652  and  Cromwell  in  1647 
Answer  to  the  worshippers  of  Cromwell  .... 

Answer  to  the  defenders  of  Cromwell — Cromwell's  course  not  a  poli 
tical  necessity 

Good  and  bad  great  men 

The  Parliament  endeavour  to  countermine  Cromwell  by  drafting 
soldiers  into  the  fleet 

Effect  of  Blake's  victories  on  Cromwell 

Cromwell  secures  the  concurrence  of  Lambert  and  Harrison    . 

Ludlow's  conversation  with  Harrison        .         . 

Cromwell  calumniates  the  Parliament 

Proof  of  the  falsehood  of  his  chaises  against  the  Parliament     . 

Cromwell  endeavours  to  obtain  the  concurrence  of  Calamy  and  others 
of  the  clergy     ......... 

The  Parliament  determine  on  an  immediate  dissolution    . 

Alteration  in  Cromwell's  plans 

Meeting  of  members  of  the  Parliament  and  officers  of  the  army  at 
Cromwell's  lodgings  on  April  19,  1653 

Inconsistency  of  Cromwell's  statement — "  the  Parliament  being  ready 
to  put  the  main  question  for  their  dissolution,  we  have  been 
necessitated  to  put  an  end  to  this  Parliament " . 


PAGE 

403-405 

406,  407 

408 


410 

411 

412- 

-414 

415 

416 

417 

418 

419 

419 

421, 

422 

423, 

424 

425, 

,426 

427- 

-429 

430 

431 

432- 

-434 

435 

436 

437 

437, 

438 

438-440 

440, 

441 

441, 

442 

443, 

444 

445, 

446 

447, 

448 

449- 

-451 

Illegal  and  treasonable  character  of   the  meetings  at   Cromwell's 

lodgings  ...... 

The  eve  of  an  evil  deed  . 

Csesar  and  Frederic  II.  of  Prussia  were  not  deceived  by  the  shallow 

sophistries  by  which  inferior  minds  have  sought  to  defend  evil 

deeds       

Vane,  Scot,  Sydney,  and  Harrison  meet  together  in  Parliament  for 
the  last  time   . 

The  twentieth  of  April,  1653 

Cromwell  first  gets  into  a  rage  with  the  Parliament  for  not  putting 
/  an  end  to  their  sitting,  and  then  gets  into  a  new  rage  when  he 

finds  them  putting  the  question  for  passing  the  bill  for  their 

dissolution 


/ 


PAGE 

452,  455 
453 


453,  note 

456 
457 


./ 


Whitelock's  inaccurate  statement      . 
^-'Cromwell  insults  and  expels  the  Parliament      . 
,  Who  was  the  ''juggler  "—Vane  or  Cromwell  ? 
Cromwell's  madness  was  maldness  with  method  in  it 
Departure  of  the  great  Parliament  .... 

And  of  the  Council  of  State 

Cromwell's  unproved  assertions       .... 
^Cromwell  could  have  proved  them  if  they  had  been  true  by  printing 
and  publishing  the  bill.     Why  then  did  he  not  print  and  publish 
the  bill? 

End  of  the  Commonwealth 
Cromwell's  Council  of  State     . 
Character  of  the  Commonwealth  men 
Character  of  their  successors    . 
Consequences  of  Cromwell's  conduct 
The  glorious  career  of  Blake   . 
Remorse 


459 

460  and  note 

.     461-464 

464 

465 

466 

.     467, 468 

469-471 


472,473 
474,  475 
476,  477 
478,479 
481,482 
483,  48-1 
485 
486,  487 


\/ 


451 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND 


UNDER   THE    GOVERNMENT   CALLED 


THE    COMMONWEALTH. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

From  that  day  in  July,  1644,  when  the  armies  of  the  King 
and  Parliament  of  England  encountered  each  other  on 
Marston  Moor,  the  armies  of  the  Parliament  had  marched 
to  uninterrupted  victory.  Hitherto,  however,  they  had 
only  had  to  contend  against  enemies  not  very  much  exceed- 
ing themselves  in  number.  But  a  new  aspect  of  affairs 
now  presented  itself. 

A  great  change  had  come  over  the  scene  between  1585, 
when  the  Netherlanders  had  shown  an  eager  desire  to  be- 
come the  subjects  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  1648  9,  when 
the  English  Parliament  brought  their  King  to  a  public 
trial  and  a  public  execution ;  declared  their  Government 
to  be  a  Commonwealth,  or  Republic,  like  the  Government 
of  the  Netherlands,  and  invited  the  Netherlanders,  or 
Hollanders  (as  they  then  began  to  be  caUed),  to  enter  into 
a  close  alliance— to  come,  as  they  termed  it,  to  "oneness"  ^ 
with  them. 

But  the  times  had  changed,  and  with  the  change  of 
times  a  strange  change  had  come  over  the  minds  of  the 

'Speech  of  Thomas  Scot,  in  Eichard  CromweU's  first  Parliament,  reported 
in  Burton's  Diary. 

VOL.  II.  B 


/ 


'''*'''-*-*^-^*^- **"*""*-' 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VII. 


Netherlanders.  Tlie  Nebherlanders  of  the  latter  years  of 
the  16th  century  had  shown  themselves  most  anxious  and 
eager  to  obtain  the  aid  of  their  fellow-Protestants  of  Eng- 
land, against  the  sacerdotal  and  royal  tyranny  of  the  Pope 
of  Eome  and  the  King  of  Spain.  The  Netherlanders  of 
the  middle  of  the  17th  century,  so  far  from  receiving  in 
a  frank  and  friendly  spirit  the  proffered  alliance  of  the 
Protestant  English  Parliament,  were  actually  willing  to 
employ  against  England  not  only  their  own  naval  power, 
then  the  greatest  in  the  world,  but  to  transport  into  Eng- 
land and  Ireland  troops,  under  the  command  of  the  Duke 
of  Lorraine,^  one  of  the  commanders  of  the  army  of  the 
Catholic  League  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  just  ended — 
troops  who  had  formed  a  portion  of  the  disciplined  brigands 
of  Wallenstein  and  Tilly,  and  who  had  shared  in  the  storm 
and  sack  of  Magdeburg,  when  that  unfortunate  city  was 
given  up  to  pillage  for  three  days,  and  thirty  thousand  of 
the  inhabitants  were  put  to  the  sword.  And  these  foreign 
brigands  were  to  be  joined  by  large  bodies  of  the  native 
Irish,  according  to  a  treaty  between  the  Duke  of  Lorraine 
and  Viscount  Taff,^  and  were  thus  to  be  enabled  to  accom- 
plish that  work  of  murder,  rapine,  burning,  torture,  and 
endless  abominations,  which  Charles  I.  and  his  Medici- 
Bourbon  Queen  had  before  planned,  by  way  of  punishment, 
for  their  rebellious  English  subjects,  and  in  particular  for 
London,  "  the  rebellious  city,"  as  they  called  it.^ 

By  the  treaty  mentioned,  the  forces  of  the  Duke  of 
Lorraine   were   to   be   brought   by  the   Dutch  fleet  into 

^  The  evidence  of  this  from  MS.,  as  p.  212  et  seq.      Wishart's  Memoirs  of 

well  as  printed  documents,  will  be  given  Montrose,  p.  32  et  seq. ;  and  Appendix, 

in  subsequent  pages.  p.  422  et  seq.      Baillie's  Letters  and 

*  See  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  i.  pp.  Journals,  vol.  ii.  pp.  73,  74  (Edinburgh 
389,  390.  Second  edition,  London,  1841).  Append,  to  Carte's  Ormonde, 
172L  pp.  3,  4  et  seq.     Carte's  Letters,  vol.  i. 

•  Burnet's  Mem.  of  the  Hamiltons,  pp.  19,  20.    Burnet's  Hist.  vol.  i.  p.  74. 


■''i 


1651.]   PROJECTED  INVASION  OF  ENGLAND  AND  IRELAND.         3 

Ireland,  "  in  order  to  extirpate  all  heretics  out  of  that 
nation,  to  re-establish  the  Eomish  religion  in  all  parts  of 
it,  and  to  restore  the  Irish  to  their  possessions ;  all  which 
being  performed,  he  should  deliver  up  the  authority  to  the 
King  of  Great  Britain,  and  assist  him  against  his  rebel- 
lious subjects  in  England:  that  aU  Ireland  should  be 
engaged  for  his  reimbursement :  that  Galway,  Limerick, 
Athenree,  Athlone,  Waterford,  and  the  fort  of  Duncannon 
should  be  put  into  his  hands  as  cautionary  places."  ^ 

It  appears,  however,  from  some  MS.  minutes  of  the 
Order  Books  of  the  Council  of  State,  which  I  will  quote 
subsetjuently,  that  a  landing  was  to  be  made  in  England, 
on  the  coast  of  Suffolk,  whence  the  foreign  brigands  of  this 
Duke  of  Lorraine  could,  as  they  fancied,  easily  march 
upon  London,  which  they  had  been  given  to  understand 
was  a  city  far  more  wealthy  and  far  more  defenceless  than 
Magdeburg.  If  they  had  been  told  that  the  English  were 
an  unwarlike  race — a  race  to  be  plundered  and  butchered 
more  easily  than  the  burghers  of  Magdeburg— and 
should  ever  chance  to  come  to  a  death-grapple  with  the 
soldiers  of  Dunbar  and  Naseby,  they  might  peradventure 
find  themselves  somewhat  out  in  their  reckonings. 

The  name  of  the  Duke  of  Lorraine — of  whose  family 
the  House  of  Guise  was  a15ranch^occurring  here,  reminds 
us  of  one  significant  feature  of  this  great  English  Civil 
War ;  reminds  us  that  this  war  bore  a  certain  affinity  to  the 
great  conspiracy  of  the  Pope  and  the  King  of  Spain  and 
the  Duke  of  Guise,  against  the  liberties,  civil  and  religious, 
of  all  mankind.  For  (besides  the  fact  of  this  Duke  of 
Lorraine's  having  been  one  of  the  commanders  of  the  Catho- 
lic League  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War)  in  the  preceding  age, 

'  LudloVe  Memoirs,  vol.  i.  pp.  389,  390. 

p2 


I 


■"-•-•  '^-'■"■"■toi^  Jal[4mataiWMSi..l 


4 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLANI;. 


[Chap.  VII. 


1651.] 


when  there  was  no  hope  of  issue  of  Henry  III.  of  France, 
it  had  been  the  determination  of  Henrj^s  mother,  Cathe- 
rine de'  Medici,  that  the  children  of  her  daughter,  the 
Duchess  of  Lorraine,  should  succeed  to  the  throne  of 
France. 

A  branch  of  the  sovereign  House  of  LoiTaine,  which 
settled  in  France  in  the  beginning  of  the  16th  century, 
bore  the  title  of  Dukes  of  Guise — a  name  of  evil  omen, 
fipr  it  is  indelibly  connected  in  history  with  the  Massacre 
of  St.  Bartholomew;  all  the  preliminary  details  of  that 
transaction  having  been  arranged  by  Henry  Duke  of 
Guise,  a  man  of  an  infamous  pre-eminence,  even  in  an  age 
fruitful  in  deeds  of  treachery  and  murder.  James  V.  of 
Scotland  had  married  a  daughter  of  the  House  of  Guise, 
who  after  the  death  of  James,  being  for  a  time  Regent 
of  Scotland,  attempted  to  establish  despotism  and  Roman- 
ism, and  to  extirpate  heresy  after  the  fashion  of  the  House 
of  Guise.  His  daughter  was  Mary  Stuart,  the  grand- 
mother of  Charles  1.  And  if  Charles  I.  and  his  Queen 
(who,  as  well  as  himself,  was  related  to  the  House  of  Guise 
and  Lorraine),  had  not  precisely  the  same  relation  of 
cause  and  effect  with  the  Irish  massacre  of  English  Pro- 
testants, which  Henry  of  Guise  had  with  the  St.  Bartholo- 
mew massacre  of  French  Protestants,  the  Irish  massacre 
would  certainly  not  have  taken  place  if  the  Irish  had  not 
believed  that  the  Queen  encouraged  it.* 


THE  NETHERLANDS  IN  16ol. 


»  The  Earl  of  Essex  told  Bishop 
Burnet,  "  That  he  had  taken  all  the 
pains  he  could  to  inquire  into  the 
original  of  the  Irish  massacre,  but 
could  not  see  reason  to  believe  the 
King  was  accessory  to  it ;  but  he  did 
believe  that  the  Queen  did  hearken  to 
the  propositions  made  by  the  Irish, 
who  undertook  to  take  the  Government 


of  Ireland  into  their  own  hands,  which 
they  thought  they  could  perform,  and 
then  they  promised  to  assist  the  King 
against  the  hot  spirits  of  Westminster. 
With  this  the  insurrection  began,  and 
all  the  Irish  believed  the  Queen  en- 
couraged it."  {Hist,  of  His  Own  Times, 
vol.  i.  p.  41.)  The  editor  of  the  Ox- 
ford edition  (1833)  of  Burnet's  History, 


N 


Such  were  some  of  the  allies  with  whom  the  Nether- 
landers  of  1651  thought  fit  to  leage  themselves  against 
the  Protestant  Parliament  of  England. 

What  was  the  cause  of  this  great  change  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  Netherlanders  ?     There  were  several  causes. 

In  the  first  place,  by  the  Peace  of  Westphalia,  con- 
cluded in  October  1648— which  put  an  end  not  only  to  the 
Thirty  Years'  War  in  Germany,  but  to  the  Eighty  Years' 
War  between  Spain  and  the  Netherlands— the  United  l^tates 
of  the  Netherlands  were  recognised  as  independent  States. 

In  the  second  place,  whHe  the  naval  power  of  Spain  had 


in  a  note  on  this  passage,  merely  cites 
the  opinion  of  Mr.  Brodie  {Histori/  oj 
the   British  Empire,  vol.   iii.   p.   199, 
note,  Edin.  1822),  that  he  "cannot  dis- 
tinguish between  the  King  and  Queen, 
considering  tlieir  dark  correspondence 
and  joint   plots."     Mr.    Morrice,  the 
chaplain  of  the  first  Eai-l  of  Orrery 
(before  Lord  Broghill),  in  his  Memoirs 
of  that  nobleman,  prefixed  to  the  Earl 
of  Orrery's  State  Letters  (2  vols.  Dub- 
lin,   1743),   tells   the  following  story 
respecting  the  commission  under  the 
Great  Seal  under  which  the  Irish  pro- 
fessed to  act :    "  Lord  Orrery  took  an 
opportunity  one  day,  when  alone  with 
Mu.skerry,  who  happened  then  to  be 
in  a  pleasant  open  humour,  to  ask  him 
how   the   rebels    obtained   that    com- 
mission, which  they  showed,  under  tlie 
King's   great   seal?     Lord   Muskerry 
answered,  '  I  will  be  free  and  unre- 
served  with   you.      It  was  a   forged 
commission,  drawn  up  by  Walsh  and 
others,  who  having  a  writing  to  which 
the  Great  Seal  was  fixed,  one  of  the 
company  very  dexterously  took  off  the 
sealed  wax  from  the  label  of  that  writ- 
ing, and  fixed  it  to  the  label  of  the 
forged  commission.     Wliilst  this  was 


doing,    an    odd    accident    happened, 
which  startled  all  present,  and  had  al- 
most entirely  disconcerted  the  scheme. 
The  forged  commission  l^eing  finished, 
wliile  the    parchment    was    handling 
and  turning,  in  order  to  put  on  the 
seal,  a  tame  wolf,  which  lay  asleep  by 
tlie  fire,  awakened  at  the  crackling  of 
the   parchment,    and    running   to   it, 
seized  it,  and  tore  it  to  pieces,   not- 
withstanding all  haste  and  struggle  to 
prevent  him  :  so  that,  after  their  pains, 
they  were  obliged  to  begin  anew,  and 
write  it  all  over  again.'     Lord  Orrery, 
struck  with    the    wickedness    of  this 
transaction,  could  not  refrain  express- 
ing himself  to  that  purpose  to  Lord 
Muskerry,  who  laugliingly  replied,  « It 
would  have  been  impossible  to  have 
held  the  people  together  without  this 
device.'  "—Memoirs  of  Roger,  Earl  of 
Orrery  (pp.  73,   74),  prefixed  to  the 
State    Letters   of    Roger   Boyle,   the 
first  Earl  of  Orrerj',  Lord  President 
of  Munster  in  Ireland  (2  vols.  Dub- 
lin, 1743).     He  was  the  fifth  son  of 
Richard,  Earl  of  Cork,  and  in  1628, 
when  only  seven  years  old,  was  created 
Lord  Broghill, 


■'"■■■"  ^»" 


6 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VII. 


been  rapidly  declining,  the  naval  power  of  the  ISTetlierlands 
had  been  as  rapidly  increasing,  so  that  at  this  particular 
time,  the  middle  of  the  17th  century,  it  was  the  greatest 
naval  power  then  in  the  world;  and  its  masters  looked 
upon  England  with  very  different  sentiments  from  those 
of  their  predecessors,  who  had  earnestly  and  humbly 
sought  for  the  aid  of  England  against  the  tyranny  of 
Spain. 

There  was  a  third  cause,  the  consideration  of  which  will 
throw  light  upon  a  very  prominent  feature  in  the  history 
of  Modem  Europe. 

About  a  century,  and  a  half  or,  at  most,  two  centuries 
before  this  time,  the  doctrine  of  the  sanctity  and  divinity 
of  kingship  had  arisen  in  Europe.  It  would  delay  us  too 
long  to  trace  here  all  the  causes  of  that  rise.  It  will  be 
suflacient  to  say  that  the  rise  was  sudden  and  rapid,  and 
that  the  idea  soon  acquired  great  strength.  Of  both  the 
rapid  rise  of  this  idea,  and  the  strength  which  it  speedily 
acquired,  a  proof  is  afforded  in  the  general  horror  excited, 
about  the  beginning  of  the  16th  century,  by  the  rebellion 
or  treason  (as  it  was  called)  of  the  famous  Constable  de 
Bourbon  against  Francis  I.  of  France ;  while,  not  many 
years  before,  the  frequent  conspiracies  of  Louis  XII.,  when 
Duke  of  Orleans,  were  viewed  as  common  occurrences 
of  no  extraordinary  criminality.  This  idea  *  spread  itself 
over  Europe,  and  of  course  passed  into  England,  where  it 
coloured  the  writings  o£  the  most  popular  writers,  who 
were  then  the  dramatists.  Shakspeare's  dramas  are  full 
of  the  "divinity  that  doth  hedge  a  king,"  and  Shakspeare's 
dramas  had  far  more  influence  oh  the  popular  mind  than 
Milton's  pamphlets.  A  cotemporary  of  Shakspeare,  Sir 
Fulke  Greville,  afterwards  Lord  Brooke,  the  friend  and 
biographer  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  has  a  line,  of  which  one 


1651.] 


THE  DIVINE  RIGHT  OF  KINGS. 


of  the  lines  oftenest  quoted  from  Pope's  "  Essay  on  Man  " 
is  but  an  alteration — a  line  embodying  an  apophthegm 
pointedly  expressive  of  the  spirit  of  kingship  of  the 
16th  century:  "Men  would  be  tyrants,  tyrants  would  be 
gods."  * 

Under  such  circumstances,  it  is  evident  that  the  daring 
men  who  publicly  cut  off  a  king's  head,  though  solemnly 
professing  that  they  did  that  execution  as  an  act  of  public 
justice,  were,  considered  merely  as  politicians,  playing  a 
very  dangerous  game  :  for  all  their  great  deeds,  in  which 
they  manifested  so  much  genius  and  so  much  valour,  were 
insufficient  in  so  short  a  time  to  extirpate  from  the  popu- 
lar mind  the  notion  that  "  there  is  a  divinity  doth  hedge  a 
king,"  2 — even  a  king  like  Charles  IX.  of  France,  and 
a  queen  like  his  mother  Catherine  de'  Medici.  Such  force 
had  this  notion  acquired,  that  a  Protestant  archbishop 
actually  published  at  the  end  of  his  character  of  that  com- 
pound of  blood  and  mud,  that  embodiment  of  all  the  vices 
of  Tiberius  without  his  talents,  James  I.,  these  lines, 
"  penned,"  says  the  archbishop,  "  by  a  learned  divine  " : 

Princes  are  gods  ;  oh  do  not  then 

Eake  in  their  graves  to  prove  them  men !  • 

It  is  hardly  too  much  to  say,  that  this  idea  of  the  divinity 


*  Pope's  line  is,  "  Men  would  be 
angels,  angels  would  be  gods."  (Essay 
on  Man,  Epist.  i.  v.  126.)  What  Can- 
ning, in  "  New  Morality,"  has  said  of 
a  very  inferior  vVl'gfffBlV  may  be  said 
here  of  Pope,  that  he  "  mars  the  verso 
he  steals."  ►^.-,*=.*-«wt. 

2  According  to  Lord  Leicester,  when 
the  Act  for  taking  away  kingly  go- 
vernment was  proclaimed  by  the  Lord 
Mayor  and  fifteen  Aldermen  in  full  ex- 
change  time,  "the  people  murmured 


and  began  to  rise,  but  were  soon  sup- 
pressed by  some  troops  of  horse  that 
were  ready  in  arms." — Lord  Leicester's 
Journal,  May  30,  1649,  p.  73,  in  Syd- 
ney Papers,  edited  by  E.  W.  Blencowe 
(London,  1825). 

^  Archbishop  Spottiswood's  History 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  xvol.  iii. 
p.  270,  Bannatyne  Club  edition. — The 
lines  quoted  by  Spottiswood  furnish  a 
curious  verification  of  the  line  just 
quoted  from  Lord  Brooke. 


S  COMMONWKILTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VII. 

of  kingship  threw  back  civiHsation  more  than  two  hundred 
years.      It  cast  its  aegis  over  the  most  revolting  cruelties 
and  the  most  hideous  crimes  when  performed  bj  crowned 
criminals.    No  stronger  proof  of  its  force  could  be  afforded 
than  the  fact  that,  in  1584,  the  Netherlanders,  who  had 
been  fighting  so  long  and  bravely  for  liberty  of  conscience 
before  they  applied  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  sent  an  embassy 
to  Henry  in.  of  France,  that  worthy  son  of  Catherine 
de'  Medici,  offering  to  him  the  sovereignty  of  their  country 
to  that  Medici  Yalois,  of  whom  the  English  ambassador, 
Sir  Edward  Stafford,  speaks  in  almost  precisely  the  same 
terms  in  which  the  French  ambassador.  Count  Tillieres 
speaks  of  James  the  I. :_«  Unhappy  people  !  to  have  such 
a  king,  who  seeketh  nothing  but  to  impoverish  them  to 
enrich  his  favourites,  and  who  careth  not  what  cometh 
after  his  death;"  and  whose  court  was  a  place  of  which 
''  impiety  the  most  cynical,  debauchery  the  most  unveiled 
public  and  unpunished  homicide,  private  murders  by  what 
was  called  magic,  by  poison,  by  hired  assassins,  crimes 
natural,  unnatural,  and  preternatural,  were  the  common 
characteristics."  ^ 

It  is  in  accordance  with  common  experience  that  a  person 
of  weak  intellect,  like  James  I.,  should  give  himself  com- 
pletely up  to  the  dominion  of  this  idea  of  the  divinity  of 
kingship.  But  it  is  not  a  little  surprising  to  find  a  person 
of  strong  intellect,  like  Queen  Elizabeth,  fascinated^  by  it 


•Motley's   History   of   the   United 
Netherlands,  vol.  i.  p.  40. 

^  "  Princes,"  said  Queen  Elizabeth, 
in  her  reply  to  the  Netherland  envoys 
(Feb.  7,  N.S.  1587),  "  transact  business 
in  a  certain  way,  and  with  a  princely 
intelligence  such  as  private  persons  can- 
not imitater  (Hague  Archives,  MS., 
cited  in  Motley's  History  of  the  United 


Netherlands,  vol.  ii.  p.  199.)  If  Her 
Majesty  had  been  fated  to  come  into 
contact  with  the  intelligence  of  some 
of  the  statesmen  and  statesmen-soldiers 
of  the  English  Commonwealth,  she 
might  have  seen  reason  to  change  her 
opinion  of  the  respective  qualities  of 
princely  intelligence  and  the  intelli- 
gence of  private  persons.     All  King 


1651.] 


THE  DIVINE  EIGHT  OF  KINGS. 


9 


to  such  an  extent  as  to  contemplate  a  marriage  with  one 
of  the  sons  of  Catherine  de'  Medici — of  that  abandoned 


James's  writings,  and  particularly  his 
"  True  Law  of  Free  Monarchies  "  (in 
which  he  expounds  his  notions  of  his 
kingly  power,  and  builds,  on  those 
passages  in  the  Book  of  Samuel  in 
which  God,  after  condemning  the 
desire  of  the  Jews  to  have  a  king, 
commands  Samuel  to  show  them  what 
oppressions  their  kings  would  execute 
upon  them,  conclusions  in  direct 
logical  opposition  to  the  premisses), 
discover  a  singular  feebleness  and 
obliquity  of  understanding.  It  is  re- 
markable that  a  person  of  so  very 
different  an  order  of  intellect  from 
King  James  as  Hobbes,  should  have 
attempted  to  make  the  same  passage 
of  Scripture  subservient  to  the  same 
purpose.  Hobbes,  in  his  "  Leviathan," 
quotes  the  passage  in  even  a  more 
mutilated  shape  than  his  royal  pre- 
decessor in  his  "  True  Law  of  Free 
Monarchies."  Hobbes  says  :  "  Con- 
cerning the  right  of  kings,  God  him- 
self, by  the  mouth  of  Samuel,  saith." 
He  then  quotes  the  verses  (1  Samuel 
viii.)  from  the  11th  to  the  17th,  and 
thus  proceeds  :  "  This  is  absolute 
power,  and  summed  up  in  the  last 
words.  Ye  shall  be  his  servants'' 
Again,  taking  care  to  leave  out  the 
19th  verse,  which  is,  "  Nevertheless  tlie 
people  refused  to  obey  the  voice  of 
Samuel ;  and  they  said.  Nay,  but  we 
will  have  a  king  to  reign  over  us  "  (in 
which  suppression  of  the  truth  he  even 
exceeds  James  in  dishonesty),  Hobbes 
goes  on  thus :  "  When  the  people  heard 
what  power  their  king  was  to  have, 
yet  they  consented  thereto,  and  said 
thus — We  will  be  as  other  nations,  and 
our  king  shall  judge  our  causes,  and 
go  before  us  to  conduct  our  wars.    Here 


is  confirmed  the  right  that  sovereigns 
have,  both  to  the  militia,  and  to  all 
judicature,  in  which   is  contained  as 
absolute  power  as  one  man  can  pos- 
sibly  transmit  to    another."    {Levia- 
than, part  ii.  chap.  xx.  p.  105,  folio. 
London,   1651).   A  strange   confirma- 
tion !     In  the  first  place,  the  voice  of 
the  Jewish  multitude  is  quoted  as  if  it 
were  the  voice  of  God,  althougli  the 
context  expressly  declares  the  contrary : 
and  in  the    second   place,  might  not 
the  Jewish   people  choose  to  be  go- 
verned by  a  king  without  that  being 
any  argument  whatever,  either  for  the 
divinity  of  the  institution,  or  for  its 
being  adopted  by  other  nations  ?  Some 
writers  have  of  late  years  objected  to 
Hobbes  being  called  "  the  apologist  of 
tyranny."     I  also  at  one  time  thought 
that  Hobbes   had   been  hardly  dealt 
with,  and  the  effect  produced    in  the 
way  of  clear  thinking,  on  the  subject 
both  of  mental  and  political  philosophy, 
by  his  powerful  and  original  under- 
standing, not  sufficiently  appreciated. 
But   the   example   of  flagrantly   dis- 
honest dealing  with  evidence  whicli  I 
have  here  pointed  out,  appears  to  place 
a  man  in  almost  as  bad  a  category  as 
being  the  apologist  of  tyranny,  or  the 
apologist  of  anything  else  that  is  bad. 
The  mode  in  which  King  James  and 
Hobbes  have  dealt  with  this  passage 
of  Scripture  is  the  more  remarkable, 
when  contrasted  with  the  use  made  of 
it  by  Sir  John  Fortescue,  Lord  Chief 
Justice  and  afterwards  Lord  Chancel- 
lor under  King  Henry  VI.,  in  his  work 
on  the  "  Difference  between  an  Abso- 
lute and  Limited  Monarchy"  (pp.  4-6, 
edn.  London,  171 -i).     Fortescue,  writ- 
ing  before   kingship   had   set   up  its 


1^  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIL 

woman,  half  poisoner,  half  procuress,  who  had  by  cold 
calculation  plunged  her  sons  into  the  deepest  debauchery, 
that  their  enervated  faculties  might  render  them  the  slaves 
of  her  will  in  political  affairs,  and  whose  daughter,  the 
Medici-Yalois  Messalina,  the  Bartholomew-massacre  wife 
of  Henry  of  Navarre,  made  the  miniature  Court  of  Pan 
almost  equal,  in  vice  if  not  in  splendour,  the  voluptuous- 
ness and  infamy  of  the  Louvre.     It  is  impossible  that 
Queen  Elizabeth  could  have  been  entirely  ignorant  of  the 
character  of  the  Court  of  the  Louvre  at  that  time,  and 
of  the  Medici-Valois  famHy  at  the  head  of  it ;  and  the  only 
explanation  of  her  conduct  would  seem  to  be  that  the 
boundary-lines  between  vice  and  virtue,  between  good  and 
evil,  were  for  the  time  effaced.    Indeed,  the  cotemporary 
evidence  seems  to  lead  to  this  conclusion.     For  instance, 
Brantome,  who  was  considered  one  of  the  most  accom- 
plished noblemen  and  courtiers  of  Charles  IX.,  while  he 
recounts  actions  that  stamp  the  authors  of  them  as  tho- 
roughly deserving  Samuel  Johnson's  coarse  but  expressive 
character  of  Lord  Chesterfield,  always  begins  or  ends  by 
informing  us  that  those  personages  were  tres-helles  et  tres- 
honnetes  dames  or  demoiselles.     The  most  abandoned  of  the 
female  worthies  whose  lives  he  details,  are  characterised 
by  him  as  both  illustrious  ladies  and  good  Christians.    But 
this  was  quite  in  keeping  with  the  moral  and  religious 
code  of  an  age  which  designated  Philip  11.  of  Spain  "  the 
most  Catholic  "  and  Heniy  III.  of  Prance  "  the   most 
Christian  king." 


claim  to  divinity,  deals  honestly  with 
the  passage,  and  says  that  God  was 
greatly  offended  with  the  desire  of  the 
Jews  to  have  a  king,  and  charged 
Samuel  to  declare  unto  them  the  vari- 
ous oppressions  and  evils  they  would 


be  subjected  to  under  a  king.  The 
idea  of  turning  this  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture into  an  argument  in  favour  of  the 
divinity  of  kingship  is  one  of  the  most 
audacious  perversions  of  truth  in  the 
whole  history  of  imposture. 


1651.]      PUKITANISM  IN  THE  16th  AND  17th  CENTURIES.  11 

There  is  an  incident  connected  with  that  contemplated 
marriage  of  the  English  Queen  with  the  effeminate  and  in- 
cestuous Medici-Valois,  which  stamps  in  strong  characters 
the  cruel  and  tyrannical  disposition  of  the  daughter  of  that 
Tudor  tyrant — that  amiable  man,  according  to  a  modern 
historical  discovery,  who  had  the  misfortune  to  have  so 
many  bad  wives  !  David  Hume  thus  tells  the  story  :  "  A 
Puritan^  of  Lincoln's  Inn  had  written  a  passionate  book, 
which  he  entitled  ^  The  Gulph  in  which  England  will  be 
swallowed  by  the  French  Marriage.'  He  was  apprehended 
and  prosecuted  by  order  of  the  Queen,  and  was  condemned 
to  lose  his  right  hand  as  a  libeller."  "  A  Puritan  of  Lin- 
coln's Inn ! "  Hume  probably  thought,  when  he  branded 
this  unfortunate  gentleman  with  the  term  Puritan,  that  he 
was  a  religionist  of  the  intolerant  and  tyrannical  Presby- 
terian type,  which  in  the  18th  century,  as  well  as  in  the 


*  "Puritanism — a  form  of  religion 
which  Elizabeth  detested,  and  in  which, 
with  keen  instinct,  she  detected  a  mu- 
tinous element  against  the  divine  right 
of  kings."  (Motley's  History  of  the 
United  Netherlands,  vol.  i.  p.  351.)  It 
is  but  justice  to  Leicester  to  add  what 
Mr.  Motley  says  of  him  in  the  same 
place :  "  Leicester,  to  do  him  justice, 
was  thoroughly  alive  to  the  importance 
of  the  crisis.  On  political  principle, 
at  any  rate,  he  was  a  firm  supporter 
of  Protestantism,  and  even  of  Puritan- 
ism." {Ibid.)  While  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  there  was  a  large  substra- 
tum of  materials  against  the  character 
of  Leicester,  there  can  be  as  little  doubt 
that  upon  that  was  built  a  large  super- 
structure of  falsehood  by  the  Jesuit 
emissaries  of  the  Pope  and  the  Spa- 
niard— probably  the  largest,  the  most 
adroit,  and  the  most  unscrupulous 
dealers  in  falsehood  in  the  whole  his- 


tory of  the  world.  And  the  Jesuits 
themselves  were  outdone  in  their  own 
trade  by  "the  most  Catholic  king," 
Philip  II.  of  Spain,  whose  falsehood 
was  upon  a  level  with  his  bigotry  and 
cruelty  :  "  To  lie  daily,  through  thick 
and  thin,  and  with  every  variety  of 
circumstance  and  detail  which  a  genius 
fertile  in  fiction  could  suggest,  such 
was  the  simple  rule  prescribed  to  Far- 
nese  by  his  sovereign.  And  the  rule 
was  implicitly  obeyed,  and  the  English 
sovereign  thoroughly  deceived."  {Ibid. 
vol.  ii.  p.  311.)  If  Queen  Elizabeth 
really  possessed  the  practical  ability  for 
which  she  has  long  had  credit,  it  seems 
incredible  that  she  should  have  placed 
any  faith  in  the  words  either  of  Philip 
II.,  or  of  Farnese,  or  of  the  Medici,  or 
the  Valois.  Would  Cromwell  or  Vane 
have  been  duped  by  them  ?  Certainly 
not. 


12 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VII. 

19th  in    Scotland,   gave  the  same  meaning  to  the  term 
"free  church"  that  James  I.  gave  to  "free  monarchy "- 
that  IS,  free  to  do  what  they  liked,  and  to  hinder  all  other 
people  from  doing  what  they  liked.      And  he  probably 
did  not  know  that  the  royal  and  courtly  and  sacerdotal 
tyrants  of  the  16th  and  17th  centuries  sought  to  brand 
with  the  title  of  Puritan  all  men  who  objected  to  vices  not 
only  natural  but  unnatural,  and  to  wearing  the  attire  of 
women,  and  not  of  women  only,  but  of  harlots.     For  it 
was  not  only  in  the  polluted  halls  and  chambers  of  the 
Louvre  that  the  degraded  Henry  III.,  the  last  of  that 
Medici- Valois  brood,  exhibited  himself  attired  like  a  woman 
and  a  harlot,  and  surrounded  by  a  gang  of  "  minions " 
such  as  the  world  had  not  seen  since  the  age  of  Nero  and 
Sporus ;  but  a  few  years  later,  Somerset  and  Buckingham,^ 
with  their  master  James,  revived  in  the  palace  of  White'- 
hal]  the  infamies  of  the  Louvre,  the  horrible  crimes  as 
well  as  the  revolting  vices.    Mrs.  Turner,  who  was  executed 
for  being  accessory  to  the  murder  of  Sir  Thomas  Over- 
bury,  though  the  real  criminals,  the  Earl  and  Countess  of 
Somerset,  were  allowed  to  escape  by  "James  the  Just," 
shortly  before  her  execution  exclaimed  against  the  court, 
"  wonders  the  earth  does  not  open  to  swallow  up  so  wicked 
a  place! "2     Surely  Admiral  Blake  had  some  ground  for 
the  saying  attributed  to  him,  that  "  monarchy  was  a  kind 
of  government  the  world  was  weary  of!  "3 


'  "  Osborne  says  that  Somerset  and 
Buckingham  laboured  to  resemble 
women  in  the  eifeminaey  of  their  dress, 
and  exceeded  even  the  worst  in  the 
grossness  of  their  gestures."— Note  by 
Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  his  edition  of 
Somers'  Tracts,  vol.  ii.  p.  488. 

2  Conference  between  Dr.  John  Whit- 
ing and  Mrs.  Turner,  Nov.  11,  1615. 


(MS.  State  Paper  Office.) 

^Sir  Edward  Hyde  to  Secretary 
Nicholas,  Madrid,  Feb.  9,  1651.  (Cla- 
rendon State  Papers,  vol.  iii.  p.  27.) 
Aubrey,  after  mentioning  that  Dr. 
William  Harvey,  the  discoverer  of  the 
circulation  of  the  blood,  was  wont  to 
say  that  "man  vas  but  a  great  mis- 
chievous baboon,"  continues    (Letters 


1651.] 


THE  DIVINE  EIGHT  OF  KINGS. 


13 


Such  was  the  tyrannous  force  in  that  age  of  the  idea  of 
the  supposed  necessity  of  kingship,  that  the  hardy  and 
industrious  Netherlanders,  who  had  thrown  off  the  yoke 
of  one  crowned  tyrant,  and  had  been  fighting  for  sixteen 
years  rather  than   return  to   that  yoke,  were  willing  to 
accept   the   sovereignty   of  a  king   like   the  last  Yabis, 
because  that  thing  "  the  semblance  of  a  kingly  crown  had 
on."     Failing  in  their  attempt  to  induce  the  Medici- Valois 
to  accept  the  sovereignty  of  their  country,   the  Nether- 
landers  then  applied  to  Elizabeth  Tudor,  who,  albeit  but 
the  great-granddaughter  of  a  Welsh  squire  and  a  London 
citizen,  stood  as   punctiliously  upon   the  divinity  of  her 
queenship,  as  if  she  had  actually  been,  what  Walter  Scott 
has  called  her,  "  the  daughter  of  a  hundred  kings."    What 
between  her  own  iU-temper   and  penuriousness,  and  the 
want  of  decision  and  clearheadedness  of  her  principal  min- 
ister, Burghley,  "  puzzled  himself  and  still  more  puzzling 
to  others,"  1  small  was  the  benefit  which  the  Netherlanders 
reaped  from  Queen   Elizabeth.     If  she  had  sent  as  her 
Lieutenant-general  a  man  of  ability,  instead  of  the  shal- 
low-brained intriguer  and  court  favourite,  Leicester,  the 
Netherlanders  might  perhaps  have  reaped  more  benefit, 
even  from  the  smaU  assistance  she  sent  them.     But  no 
great  soldier  or  sailor,  no  CromweU  or  Blake,  could  ever 


and  Lives,  vol.  ii.  p.  381) :  "  He  would 
say  that  we  Europeans  knew  not  how 
to  order  or  govern  our  women,  and 
that  tlie  Turks  were  the  only  people 
who  used  them  wisely.  ...  He  had 
been  physician  to  the  Lord-Chancellor 
Bacon,  whom  he  esteemed  much  for 
his  wit  and  style,  but  would  not  allow 
him  to  be  a  great  philosopher.  Said 
he  to  me,  '  He  writes  philosophy  like 
a  lord-chancellor,'  speaking  in  de- 
rision."     Morally   and    socially,   the 


x^ourt-party  of  that  age,  including 
some  men  of  the  highest  intellectual 
endowments  (Han-ey  himself.  Bacon, 
and  Hobbes),  were  indeed  "  but  great 
mischievous  baboons."  If  the  Puri- 
tan insurrection  against  those  moral 
baboons  had  not  succeeded,  Harvey 
might  have  had  his  wish,  and  England 
might  have  fallen  to  the  moral,  social, 
and  political  condition  of  Turkey. 

•  Motleys   History   of    the    United 
Netherlands,  vol.  i.  p.  88. 


1^  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIL 

flourish  under  the  poisonous  shade  of  a  court  minion,  such 
as  Leicester  or  Buckingham. 

Besides  the  charge  of  incapacity,  charges  of  frightful 
crimes  were  made  against  Leicester ;  and  if  these  charges 
were  never  satisfactorily  proved,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  proof  was  extremely  difficult  in  that  age,  in  the  case 
of  a  royal  favourite.     In  the  case  of  Somerset  and  the 
murder  of  Overbury,  there  had  been  less  profound  ai-tifice 
than  Leicester  was  master  of;  and,  besides,  the  King  was 
then  tired  of  Somerset,  and  wished  for  an  excuse  to  be  rid 
of  him.     If  Leicester  was  innocent  of  perhaps  the  foulest 
crime  imputed  to  him,  the  murder  of  his  first  wife— and  aU 
that  a  coroner's  inquest,  said  to  be  rather  hostile  than 
otherwise,  could  make  of  it  was  that  the  unfortunate  lady 
was  killed  by  a  fall  downstairs^~he  must  be  considered  as 
a  deeply  calumniated  man;  for  the  tale  has  now  taken  such 
root,  that  his  very  name  calls  up  the  phantom  of  a  man 
who  murdered  poor  Amy  Eobsart,  that  he  might  have  the 
chance  of  marrying  a  red-haired,  hook-nosed  shrew,  with 


'  In  that  age  murder,  as  well  as  for- 
gery of  handwriting,  was  an   art   as 
carefully  studied  as  the  professions  of 
law  and  physic.      And  if  the  unhappy 
Amy  Eobsart  was  killed  in  the  manner 
described  by  Scott,  in  «'  Kenilworth," 
her  dead  body  would  present  the  same 
appearances  which  a  fall  downstairs 
would  produce.     What  then  could  the 
coroner's  jury  make  of  it?     As  Mr. 
Motley  truly  says,  ♦'  The  secret  deeds 
of  a  man  placed  so  high  can  be  seen 
but  darkly  through  the  glass  of  con- 
temporary record.     There  was  no  tri- 
bunal to  sit  upon  his  guilt.     A  grandee 
could  be  judged  only  when  no  longer  a 
favourite,  and  the  infatuation  of  Eliza- 
beth   for  Leicester    terminated   only 
with  his  life."     {United  Netherlands, 


Tol.  i.  p.  367.)     The  trial  of  Somerset 
for    the    murder    of    Overbury    was 
allowed   to   take   its   course.      Why? 
Because     the     infatuation     of-  King 
James    had    been     transferred    from 
Somerset  to  Buckingham.     The  same 
James,  for  reasons  best  known  to  him- 
self, had  murdered  the  Earl  of  Gowrie 
and  his  brother,  Alexander  Euthven, 
and  put  forth  a  tissue  of  the  most  as- 
tounding falsehoods  about  a  pretended 
conspiracy;  so  that  the  Divine  Eight 
and  Jacobite  writers    of  after-times, 
who  profess  to  believe  a  man  who  was 
the  greatest  liar  in  Christendom  after 
the  death  of  Philip  II.  of  Spain,  tell 
us  nursery-tales  about  an  aifair  they 
call  the  '  Gowrie  Conspiracy.' 


1651.] 


DIVINE-RIGHT  TYRANNY. 


15 


thin  lips  and  black  teeth.  Be  that  as  it  may,  it  is  certain 
that  Leicester  was  an  arrogant,  intemperate,  and  incapable 
man — incapable,  at  least,  in  everything  that  constitutes  a 
man  either  a  great  statesman  or  a  great  soldier.  For  he 
was  capable  enough  in  all  the  base  arts  by  which  court 
favourites  become  rich  and  powerful — in  filling  his  purse 
by  the  sale  of  honours  and  dignities,  in  violent  ejectments 
from  and  in  the  manufacture  of  fraudulent  titles  to  land, 
in  rapacious  enclosures  of  commons,  in  taking  bribes  for 
matters  of  justice,  and  of  supplication  to  the  royal  authority. 
Besides  the  charges  of  poisoning  (if  but  half  of  which  could 
be  believed,  neither  Csesar  Borgia,  nor  his  father  nor  sister, 
were  more  accomplished  in  that  infamous  art),  Leicester 
was  also  accused,  falsely  or  not,  of  forging  various  letters 
to  the  Queen  to  ruin  his  political  adversaries,  and  of  plots 
to  entrap  them  into  conspiracies — playing  first  the  accom- 
plice, and  then  the  informer. 

The  career  of  this  Eobert  Dudley,  created  by  Queen 
Elizabeth  Earl  of  Leicester,  was  worthy  of  his  origin: 
for  he  was  the  grandson  of  that  "horseleech"^  lawyer, 
who,  with  Empson,  had  been  the  instrument  employed 
by  Henry  YII.  in  oppressing  and  pillaging  the  people  of 
England,  and  who,  as  a  reward  for  his  subservience  to 
the  tyrant  father,  Henry  YIL,  lost  his  head  in  the  first  year 
of  the  reign  of  the  tyrant  son,  Henry  YIIL    One  principal 


*  Lord  Bacon,  in  his  "History  of 
King  Henry  VII.,"  says :  "  And  as  kings 
do  more  easily  find  instruments  for 
their  will  and  humour  than  for  their 
service  and  honour,  he  had  gotten  for 
his  purpose,  or  beyond  his  purpose, 
two  instruments,  Empson  and  Dudley, 
whom  the  people  esteemed  as  his  horse- 
leeches and  shearers — bold  men  and 
careless  of  fame,  and  that  took  toll  of 


their  master's  grist.  Dudley  was  of  a 
good  family,  eloquent,  and  one  that 
could  put  hateful  business  into  good 
language.  But  Empson,  that  was  the 
son  of  a  sieve-maker,  triumphed 
always  upon  the  deed  done,  putting  off 
all  other  respects  whatsoever." — Hist, 
of  the  Reign  of  King  Henry  VII.,  p. 
380  (in  vol.  iii.  of  Montagu's  edition 
of  Lord  Bacon's  Works). 


1^  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIL 

mode  of  oppression  and  plunder  employed  by  him   and 
Empson,  had  been  an  abuse  of  that  incident  of  the  feudal 
tenures,  termed  Escheat,  by  which,  under  certain  circum- 
stances,  lands  escheated  or  fell  back  to  the  lord  who  gave 
them,  which  in  the  case  of  the  tenants  in  capite  would  be 
to  the  king.     The  officers  to  whom  it  belonged  to  enquire 
into  the  escheats  that  feU  to  the  crown  were  called  es- 
cheators.     The  abuses  to  which  this  office  was  liable  are 
thus  set  forth  in  the  preamble  of  the  Statute  1  Henry  VIII. 
cap.   8,  intituled  "  The  Act  of  Escheators  and  Commis- 
sioners:"-" Forasmuch  as  divers  of  the  king's  subjects 
lately  have  been  sore  hurt,  troubled,  and  disherited  by 
Escheators  and  Commissioners,  causing  untrue  offices  to 
be  found,  and  sometimes  returning  into  the  courts  of  re- 
cord offices  and  inquisitions  that  were  never  found,  and 
sometimes  changing  the  matter  of  the  offices  that  were  truly 
found,  to  the  great  hurt,  trouble,  and  disherison  of  the  king's 
true  subjects,"  &c.     Thus  from  the  abuse  of  this  office,  the 
word  "escheator  "  came  to  have  the  meaning  of  a  fraudulent 
person,  and  gave  rise  to  the  common  words  "cheat"  and 
"cheater."     Shakspeare,  in  the  following  passage,  uses  the 
word  at  once  in  its  old  and  new  sense  :  "  I  wHl  be  cheater  to 
them  both,  and  they  shall  be  exchequers  to  me."  From  this 
escheator,  cheater,  or  cheat  descended  the  magnificent  court 
favourite.  Queen  Elizabeth's  "sweet  Eobin,"the  husband  of 
the  ill-starred  Amy  Eobsart,  and  the  husband  or  lover  of 
at  least  two  other  nearly  as  unfortunate  women.     For  the 
"  gipsy"  (as  he  was  called,  from  his  dark  complexion)  was, 
to  say  the  least,  a  dangerous  man ;  and  the  power  which 
he  owed  neither  to  genius  nor  to  virtue,  but  to  the  caprice 
of  the   imperious   woman   who   then   filled  the   English 
throne,  had  been  used  for  the  ruin  of  many  women  as 
weU  as  many  men.     The  infatuation  of  Queen  Elizabeth 


165LJ 


DIVINE-IIIGHT  NOBILITY. 


17 


in  favour  of  Robert  Dudley  will  ever  remain  one  of  the 
greatest  stains  on  her  memory.  Indeed,  the  whole  history 
of  these  Dudleys  is  a  most  instructive  illustration  of  the 
government  of  the  Tudors,  under  which  the  old  nobility — 
who,  whatever  their  faults,  were  warriors  and  statesmen — 
gave  place  to  a  nobility  of  pettifoggers,  of  horseleech 
lawyers,  and  court  minions,  the  basest  of  all  things 
wearing  a  human  shape.  The  peerages  of,  perhaps, 
the  three  greatest  historical  families  in  the  English  an- 
nals (the  De  Montforts,  the  Percys,  and  the  Nevills)  were 
absorbed  by  the  Dudleys,  whose  cognizance  was  heredi- 
tary baseness  ;  and  the  great  historic  titles  of  Leicester, 
of  Northumberland,  and  of  Warwick,  as  if  to  show  into 
what  a  depth  of  degradation  tyranny  can  plunge  a  nation, 
were  conferred  upon  the  brood  of  the  horseleech  of  Henry 
VII.  If  we  must  have  a  hereditary  nobility,  it  should  be 
distinguished  by  something  else  than  the  faculty  of  giving 
to  the  old  word  "  escheator"  the  new  meaning  of  common 
cheat  or  cheater — by  something  else  than  hereditary  servi- 
lity, hereditary  falsehood,  cruelty,  insolence,  and  baseness. 
That  age  of  transition  from  the  old  barbarism  to  the  new 
civilisation  presents  a  picture  of  startling  contrasts  :  of 
the  genius  of  Shakspeare,  of  Spenser,  of  Ealeigli,  of  Bacon, 
side  by  side  with  the  rack,  the  faggot,  and  the  branding- 
iron  ;  of  Leicester,  the  gorgeous  minion  of  court-favour, 
rustling  in  satin  and  feathers,  with  jewels  in  his  ears — 
such  was  the  taste  of  the  Tudor  Queen,  who  spoke  the 
language  and  could  relish  the  genius  of  Shakspeare — side 
by  side  with  William  the  Silent,  in  coarse  unbuttoned 
doublet,  and  bargeinaii'^s' woollen  waistcoat.  No  wonder 
that,  when  the  gorgeous  courtier  of  Queen  Elizabeth  went 
to  Holland,  "everybody  wondered  at  the  great  magnifi- 
cence and  splendour  of  his  clothes."     The  Hollanders  had 

VOL.  II.  o 


18  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VII. 

not  been  used  to  consider  satin  and  feathers,  and  jewels  in 
the  ears,  as  essential  portions  of  the  materials  that  went 
to  make  either  a  statesman  or  a  soldier.     And  in  the  short 
period  of  England's  annals-namely,  from  rebruary  164-B- 
to  Aprd  1653,  a  period  of  less  than  five  years-when  Eng! 
land  was  governed  by  men  who  were  statesmen  in  the  best 
sense  of  the  word,  neither  satin,  nor  feathers,  nor  jewels  iia 
,    the  ears,  formed  a  portion  of  the  machinery  of  government. 
.      I^is  man,  this  Robert   Dudley,  owed  his  favour  with 
Queen  Ehzabeth-whose  infatuation  for  him  lasted  till  his 
death,  when,  true  to  her  character,  she  had,  while  drop- 
ping a  tear  upon  the  grave  of  "  sweet  Eobin,"  sold  his 
goods  by  auction  to  defray  his  debts  to  herself-to  the 
beauty  of  his  person,  and  the  talent  which  he  possessed  of 
adroit  adulation  towards  women.     He  is  described  bv  eo 
temporaries  as  "tall  and  singularly  well-featured,  of  a  sweet 
aspect,^but  high-foreheaded,  which  was  of  no  discommen- 
dation.     But  wnen  we  look  at  his  face,  as  the  painter's  art 
has  transmitted  it  to  us,  we  see  little  to  convey  to  us  the 
fovourable   impression   which   that   face   gave   to   Queen 
Elizabeth.     Tor  though  his   forehead  may  be  hil    it 
wants  breadth ;  the  small  aquiline  nose  and  small  mo^th 
want  the  character  of  intellectual  power;   the  eyebrows 
are  weak,  and  the  eyes  somewliat  sinister ;  and  altogether 
the  face  and  head  have  nothing  of  the  grandeur,  either  of 
resolution  or  of  inteUect,  which  stamps  the  outward  aspect 
of  a  great  man,  a  great   statesman-soldier,  such  as  the 
lime  and  the  occasion  imperatively  demanded,  but  such  as 
IS  never  found  lackeying  either  an  imperious  woman  like  the 
las   Tudor  or  an  unsexed  man  like  the  last  Medici-Valois, 
or  tlie  nrst  Stuart.  ' 

And  the  Netherlanders-although  they  had  known  what 
It  was  to  be  governed  by  a  great  man,  having  but  just  lost 


1651.]  FOEEIGN  ENEMIES  OF  THE  ENGLISH  COMMONWEALTH.  19 

William  the  Silent,  assassinated  by  the  hellish  contrivance 
of  the  Pope  and  the  Spaniard — were  willing",  from  the  sup- 
posed necessity  of  kingship,  to  submit  to  the  government 
of  such  a  poor  imitation  of  a  statesman-soldier  as  this 
Eobert  Dudley,  Earl  of  Leicester. 

Now  the  Rump  of  the  Long  Parliament  of  England, 
whether  the  fact  be  viewed  with  approbation  or  disapj^ro- 
bation,  were  the  first  in  Modern  Europe  to  change  a 
monarchy  into  another  kind  of  government,  and  to  discard 
the  idea  of  the  necessity  of  kingship.  It  will  be  seen  that 
the  English  Government  of  that  time  had,  by  their  auda- 
cious act  of  declaring  that  kingship  was  not  only  not  a 
necessity,  but  that  "  the  office  of  a  king  in  this  nation 
was  unnecessary,  burthensome,  and  dangerous,"  added 
another  solid  reason  to  the  monarchical  despots  of  Europe 
for  their  destruction.  For  those  accursed  heretics,  who 
by  discarding  the  Papal  supremacy  had  incurred  the  deadly 
enmity  of  the  Pope,  and  of  such  t^Tunts  and  bigots  as  the 
Kings  of  Spain  and  France,  had  now  to  heresy  added  the 
frightful  crime  of  regicide ;  and  were  therefore  now  more 
than  ever  to  be  exterminated,  as  being  at  once  the  enemies 
of  God  and  of  God's  representatives  on  earth.  The  conse- 
quence was  that  the  English  Government  of  the  middle  of 
the  17th  century  had  far  more  formidable  enemies  to 
encounter  than  the  Government  of  Queen  Elizabeth  in 
1588,  when  the  Armada,  which  Spanish  bombast  styled 
''  the  Invincible,"  was  ready  to  sail  for  the  conquest  of 
England. 

For  it  seemed  as  if  all  the  kings  and  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth  were  suddenly  banded  together,  for  the  destruction 
of  those  daring  men  who  had  brought  their  king  to  a  pub- 
lic trial  and  a  public  execution,  and  now  called  themselves 

c2 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


I 


I 


20 

[Chap.  VII. 

the  Commonwealth  of  England.  French  ships'  made 
prize  of  all  English  vessek  naf  =+^^  , 

thpn,       A   fl    .         .      1  "^"""^  ^"°"»^  t«  resist 

them  A  fleet  under  Prince  Eupeit,  after  having  com- 
mitted great  plunder  of  English  merchant-ships,  and 
many  atrocious  acts  of  piracy,  was  protected  in  /o^ugal 
from  the  fleet  of  the  Parliament.  In  Eussia  the  Englfsh 
merchants  were  insulted  and  iUtreated  by  the  Government.^ 

Ascham  the  agent  of  the  Parliament  in  Spain,  was  assas- 
sinated       ^,,,,,^  ^,,,  ^^^  ^^^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^ 

by  the  Government  of  Spain.     Dorislaus,  soon  after  his 
arrival   as   the   agent   of    the   English   Parliament,   wa 
assassinated  in  Holland,  and  the  assassins  were  pen  litled 
to  escape,  though  the  Dutch  Government  was  a  rep^bl ' 

make  hostile  demonstrations. 

«tt  ^'^"r.t*'''/'*'  "'  ^"™I'^  ^*  *^^t  ti-e  will  show 
at  once  that  the  Parliament  of  England  stood  alone  ;  for 
the  Senate  of  Hamburg,  if  it  had  been  disposed  t;  be 

'  I  will  give  one  or  two  cases  from 
the  MS.   Minutes   of  the  Council  of 
State.     On  one  day,  the  9th  of  Janu- 
ary,   16|§,    there   is   a    statement   of 
losses  of  the  English   merchants   by 
French  ships,  to  the  amount  of  60.260/ 
in  the  ship  '  Talent ; '  of  9,838/.  in  the 
'  Mercury  ; '  of  32.763/.  in  the  '  Grey- 
lioun(l;'_forall  whichletters  ofmarque 
or   reprisal  were  granted,    under   the 
great  seal  of  the  High  Court  of  Admi- 
valty.— OrdeT-  Book  of  the   Council  of 
State,  Jan.  9,  16|,^,   MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

That  a  letter  be  prepared  to  be 
sent  to  the  Emperor  of  Eussia,  con- 
cerning the  denying  our  merchants  to 
trade  in  Russia  as  formerly;  and  that 
the  merchants  do  give  in  the  titles  and 
the  matter  of  the  letter  to  the  Council." 


—  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State 
die  Lunae,  Dec.  24,  1649.  "  That  the' 
draught  of  the  letter  to  the  Emperor 
of  Russia  be  reported  to  the  House  by 
Sir  James  Harrington."-//,,-^.  Jan.  4, 
\Q~,  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 

'  "  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the 
Senate    of  Hamburg,    to   take  notice 
unto  them  of  the  restraint  which  they 
have  laid  upon  the  heads  of  our  mer- 
chants there,  for  taking  the  engage- 
ment,  to  expostulate  the  matter  with 
theni, '  &c.~OrdcrBookofthe  Council 
oj    btate,    die    Mart  is,    Jan.    1,    i6ii? 
MS.  State  Paper  Office.      -  That  the 
Latin  letter  prepared  by  Mr.  Milton 
and  now  read  at  the  Council,   to  be 
sent  to  the.  Senate  of  Hamburg,   be 
fair-written,  signed,  and  sent."_/i^•^ 
Jan.  4,  16|§. 


1651.J 


PROGRESS  OF  DESPOTISM  IN  EUROPE. 


21 


friendly,  was  not  strong  enough  to  be  an  ally  of  any  im- 
portance, and  the  Dutch  Government,  for  reasons  which 
Avill  be  mentioned  presently,  was  far  more  likely  to  be  an 
enemy  than  a  friend.  In  all  the  other  Eurojiean  Govern- 
ments the  principle  of  military  despotism  had  by  this  time 
already  acquired  such  force,  as  to  regard  the  X3rinciple  of 
constitutional  liberty,  for  which  the  English  Parliament 
fought,  as  dangerous  and  hateful ;  and  all  the  European 
tyrants,  from  Moscow  to  Copenhagen,  from  Stockholm  to 
Madrid,  would  have  rejoiced  to- see  England  effaced  from 
the  list  of  nations,  if  her  people  could  not  be  reduced  to 
the  servile  condition  of  their  own  subjectsr" 

Since  theTniddlet)ftheT5tli  century  the  progress  of  events 
had  all  been  in  the  direction  of  absolute  monarchy.  Any 
popular  liberty  which  had  existed  in  the  Italian  Eex^ublics 
had  been  long  dead.  In  Spain,  in  France,  in  Germany,  even 
in  Denmark  and  Sweden,  all  constitutional  bulwarks 
against  the  excesses  of  kingly  power  had  perished,  or  were 
perishing.  The  nobles  were  impoverished  and  powerless. 
The  sword  had  fallen  from  their  hands,  and  from  those  of 
their  once  warlike  vassals,  into  those  of  standing  armies ; 
and  the  power  which  belonged  to  them,  when  they  were  a 
military  aristocracy,  had  passed  to  the  kings  who  were  mas- 
ters of  the  standing  armies.  The  Free  or  Hanse  Towns  had 
lost  their  independence,  and  were  at  the  mercy  of  the  nearest 
robber-tyrant,  who  pursued  his  own  and  his  family's  aggran- 
disement with  some  diplomatic  jargon  in  his  mouth,  and 
with  an  utter  disregard  of  all  the  laws  of  God  and  man. 
As  in  the  time  of  the  Idumean  Emir,  "  the  tabernacles  of 
robbers  prospered."  Except  in  the  Parliament  of  England, 
not  a  vestige  remained  of  those  assemblies  of  freemen,  in 
which,  among  the  ancient  Germans  and  Franks,  the  affairs 
of  the  nation  were  debated  and  settled.     All  authorities, 


I 


I 

i 


COMMONAVEALTII   OP  ENGLAND. 


22 

[Chap.  VII. 

corporate  or  individual,  which  had  protected  the  people  from 
the  encroachments  of  their  kings,  lost,  one  after  another 
their  power,  and  then  totally  disappeared;  as,  according  to 
the  Greek  superstition,  at  the  incantation  of  the  Thessalian 
witches,  the  stars,  one  by  one,  faded  from  the  face  of 
iieaven : — 

As  one  by  one,  at  clroad  Medea's  strain, 
ihe  sickening  stars  fade  off  the  ethereal  plain  • 
As  Argus'  eyes,  by  Hermes'  wand  oppress'd     ' 
Uos  d  one  by  one  in  everlasting  rest. 

^Jrafr  \T  "-^''''^  ^^^  ^'  ^-^P^  *^e  fonns  as 
^mgiy  lust  had  uncontrollable  dominion^ 


>  Eankes  "Nine  Books  of  Prussian 
IlistorjV  of  which  an  English  transla- 
tion (by  Sir  Alexander  and  Lady  Duff 
Gordon)  has  been  published,  under  the 
title  of  "Memoirs  of  the  House  of  Bran- 
denburg, and  Histoiy  of  Prussia  during 
the  Seventeenth  and  Eighteenth  Cen- 
tunes,"  but  which  might  be  more  aptly 
intituled  a  "  Panegj-ric  on  the  House  of 
Brandenburg,  and  History  of  the  Pro- 
gress of  Despotism  in  Europe,"  show 
liow   that   family   robl)ed    their    own 
subjects  of  their  constitutional  or  tra- 
chtional    rights,    as    they   afterwards 
robbed  their  neighbours  of  their  pro- 
perty.     A  maxim  of  the  Elector  Fre- 
derick William  was.  that  "no privilege 
should  stand  in  the  way  of  a  needful 
reform."  And  his  historian  says,  "  We 
liave  seen  how  little  regard  he  paid  to 
traditional  rights."     "  He  was  without 
mercy  in  dealing  %vith  individual  op- 
ponents, as  the  example  of  Paul  Ger- 
Jiard  sufficiently  proves.     His  rule  was 
by  no  means  easy  or  popular.     AVe 
find  complaints  that  words   were  rec- 
koned as  criminal  as  deeds."    All  this, 


which  will  remind  the  reader  of  Eng- 
lisli  history  of  Charles  I.  and  Sir  John 
Eliot,  is  defended  by  the  plea  of  "  the 
necessities   of  his  position."— i?^,?;^^ 
vol.  i.  p.  72.     Charles   I.    considered 
the   pnver    to     raise  money  without 
consent  of  Parliament,  and  to  keep  a 
standing  army  with  it,  to  oppress  and 
insult  his  subjects,  a  "needful  reform  '» 
called  for  by  the  "  necessities  of  his 
position  ; "  but  he  found  the  English- 
man  a  rather  more  dangerous  subject 
to  make  experiments  upon  than  his 
cotemporary  kings   or  electors  found 
Spaniards,  Frenchmen,  and  Germans 
The  sophistry  by  which  the  German 
writers  defend  tyranny  may  be    seen 
by  the  following  sentence,  in  which  the 
writer,  after  mentioning  that  at  this 
time     the    rights     and    liberties     of 
constitutional    States   were  "greatly 
abridged   throughout  Europe,"   adds  • 
"Frederick  William  was  compelled  by 
his  position,  and  incited  hy  the  public 
opinion  of  his  country,  to  engage  in  a 
similar  contest,  and  to  strive  to  de- 
Telope  the  idea  of  sovereignty  as  he 


1651.] 


VIGILANCE  OF  THE  ENGLISH  PARLIAMENT. 


23 


None  of  these  Powers  had,  indeed,  yet  made  anything  like 
a  formal  declaration  of  war.  But  though  the  English 
Parliament  expressed  their  disposition  to  friendly  relations 
with  all  their  neighbours,  they  had  good  reason  to  know 
that  the  intentions  and  feelings  of  the  Powers  of  Europe 
were  the  reverse  of  friendly  to  them,  and  that  any  oppor- 
tunity for  effecting  their  desti'uction  would  be  eagerly  laid 
hold  of.  They  were  not,  however,  men  to  be  taken  off  their 
guard.  They  had  emissaries  everywhere.  They  paid  con- 
siderable sums  for  secret  service;  and  they  obtained 
intelligence  of  the  plots  of  their  enemies  in  all  parts  of 
Europe,  from  Stockholm  to  Madrid,  and  from  Moscow  to 
the  Hague. ^ 


had  conceived  it." — Ibid.  p.  48.  He  was 
as  much  "  incited  by  the  public  opinion 
of  his  country"  as  Charles  I.  was 
incited  to  levy  ship-money  by  the 
public  opinion  of  his  country. 

*  There  are  manv  minutes  in  the 
Order  Book  relating  to  the  "  matter  of 
intelligence."  Thus  (Feb,  27,  IS^-f^), 
"That  Mr.  Scot  be  continued  in  tliat 
trust  for  the  matter  of  intelligence 
which  was  executed  bv  him  the  last 
year,  with  the  same  power  and  salary 
for  the  year  to  come." — Order  Buck  of 
the  CouncU  of  State,  MS.  State  Paper 
Office.  "That  the  letter  from  Paris, 
concerning  the  setting  out  of  ships  at 
Toulon,  he  communicated  by  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Admiralty  to  the  Generals- 
at-sea,  and  that  they  give  order  for  all 
expedition  to  be  used  in  setting  out^ 
that  fleet,  which  is  to  go  southward 
to  join  with  those  ships  which  are 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  Blake." 
—Ibid.  March  6,  16ff.  "That  Mr. 
Frost  do  send  unto  Mons.  Augier  so 
much  of  Langton's  examination  as 
relates  to  the  business  of  Cezi,  and  to 
desire  him  to  write  over  [from  France] 


what  lie  knows  of  the  said  Langton's 
actions  when  he  was  at  Btauvoir." 
"  That  Mons.  Augier  shall  have  liberty 
to  draw  Bills  of  Exchange  upon  the 
State  to  the  amount  of  300^.,  to  be 
paid  at  ten  days'  sight."  "  That  the 
commands  of  this  Council  be  renewed 
to  Mons.  Augier  to  return  hither 
speedily."— /6i</.  April  3,  16o0.  Tliis 
Mons.  Augier  is  often  mentioned  in 
the  Minutes,  and  they  had  many  other 
persons  similarly  employed.  "  That 
Mr.  Scot  be  empowered  for  the  carry- 
ing on  the  baldness  of  secret  in- 
telligence." Feb.  17,  16^.  "That 
Mr.  Challoner  and  Mr.  Scot  be  ap- 
pointed a  Committee,  to  confer  with 
a  certain  man  which  shall  be  brought 
unto  them  on  Friday  next." — Ihid. 
May  15,  1650.  "  That  Mr.  Scot,  Mr. 
Challoner,  and  Mr.  Martin,  being  the 
C(mimittee  of  the  Council  appointed  to 
receive  an  account  from  Mr.  Frost  con- 
cerning some  Imsiness  of  importance, 
be  sent  unto  to  meet  on  Monday  morn- 
ing next,  in  the  Inner  Chaml»ers  at 
Whitehall."  — /W(/.  May  17,  1650. 
"You    shall    inform    yourself    what 


24 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VII. 

The  political  aspect  of  Europe  had  altered  considerably 
Since  the  year  1588  ('88,  as  it  was  called  in  England  for  a 
century  tm  another  .e.orable  '88, 1688,  arrived)-t,e  !  ^ 

atsr" '  7 'T^  '""^'''^  ^-«^  «^^-^ticisi,  pa:ro 

SI  7"  "^  -successful  attempt  to  efface  eL- 

h^nd  from  the  roll  of  nations.    In  the  course  of  tl.P  ,•  f 

the  intelligence,  and  the  valour  of  a  nation.     She  was  still 
J-wever,  hi  a  condition  to  be  a  formidable  nieX  of  i 
confederacy  against  the  Parliament  of  England      Lw 
he  same  penod  France  had  ,rown  in  powe^    L^Z 
the  able  administration  of  Eichelieu;  aL  though  Elchetu 
was  now  dead,  and  Mazarin  was  his  successorfof  a  g^    .^ 
-  inferior  to  Eichelieu's,  the  power  of  Fran  e  was  SI 
to  render  her  also  a  formidable  member  of  a  confederacy 
against  the  English  Parliament.     As  regarded  the  ^"^^^^ 
of  Europe  the  ThiH,  Years'  War,  the  Pefoponnes  'l  war  o 
Germany,  had  just  ended. 

Eroin  the  day  when  the  unfortunate  Elector  Palatine  the 
son-n.law  of  James  I.  and  father  of  Prince  Eupeit  W  a 
year  after  he  had  been  chosen  TTi^.o.  ^fni.      •  "^ 

bv  Tillv  nni       TT'^^^^^^^^n^ia,  was  defeated 
^y  Tilly  under,  tl^e  walls    of  Prague,    for    twenty-eight 


tiesigns  are  on  foot,  and  wliat  trans- 
.'ii-Uons  are  made,  in  Germany,  Poland 
^^weden,   and  Denmark,    and    thereof 
give  noiicer-!,,strnct/o,sfor  Ulchard 
Bradshuw,    Ksq.,    HesUhnt  from    the 
Ommonwealth   of  England  with   the 
^^■nate  of  Hamburg. —Ihid,  March  30 
1  G.30.    "  That  the  letters  from  France' 
and  the  translation  of  that  from  Mon- 
trose   [an  intercepted  letter],    be  re- 
ported to   the  House,    and   that  Mr 
^'^''*'^  be  desired  to  make  the  report " 
^-/'vtW.Feb.  14,  16ii2.     -That  a  copy 
^'f  tlie  intelligence  from  France,  con- 


cerning   some    ships    now    ready   in 
France  to  come  for  England,  be  written 
out  and  sent  to  Colonel  Deane,  and  the 
original  sent  to  the  Committee  of  the 
Admiralty,  to  be  taken  into  considera- 
tion by  them."-/Z,/^.  June  3,    1650 
''That  the  sum  of  500/.  be  paid  to 
Mr.  Scot  out  of  tlie  exigent  moneys  of 
he  Council,  for  the  carrying  on  of  the 
business  of  intelligence."-/^/^.  Mon- 
c%,  August  9,  1652.    There  is  an  order 
also,on  the  12th  May  1652,  for  the  pay- 
ment to  Mr.  Scot  of  500/.  upon  account, 
for  iutell]gence.-/«  May  12,  1652 


ia.'.»..fe-Av{=iB«-.3ri^  »S.A^  v.«^,I»..,. 


1651.] 


ENGLAND  ALONE  AGAINST  THE  WOULD 


years  Swedes,  Danes,  Spaniards,  Scots,  Dutchmen,  French- 
men, Hungarians,  Transylvanians,  Croats,  had  ravaged 
Germany  from  the  Baltic  to  the  Rhine,  and  from  the  Vistula 
to  the  German  Ocean. 

Whatever  causes  may  be  alleged  for  the  origin  and  long 
duration  of  that  war — the  advocates  of  Gustavus  Adolphus 
allecrinfr  the  defence  of  the  Protestant  relio^ion  as  the 
moving  force  on  his  part,  German  writers,  on  the  other 
hand,  alleging  that  his  sole  object  was  conquest  and 
self-aggrandisement — it  will  not  be  asserted  by  anyone 
that  the  defence  of  nations  against  the  encroachments 
of  kings  had  anything  to  do  with  it.  From  the  German 
Emperor  to  the  smallest  German  potentate  who  made 
pretensions  to  sovereignty,  all  that  host  of  kings  might 
be  reckoned  on  as  eager  to  join  a  confederacy  against 
destroyers  of  kings.  And,  w^hat  at  first  sight  may  seem 
strange,  the  most  formidable  enemy  that  the  English 
Parliament  had  was  a  State  which  called  itself  a  Eepublic 
— a  State  w^hich  England  had  assisted  to  shake  off  the 
3'oke  of  a  foreign  oppressor.  This  State  was  the  Dutch 
Republic,  w^hich  was  more  powerfully  excited  to  hos- 
tility against  England  by  commercial  and  naval  rivalry, 
than  moved  to  friendship  or  alliance  by  similarity  of 
government,  or  remembrance  of  past  good  offices  :  a  memo- 
rable example  of  the  operation  of  the  various  conflicting 
interests  that  complicate  the  affairs  and  relations  of  nations, 
producing  war  instead  of  peace,  contention  and  rivalry 
instead  of  alliance  and  co-operation. 

But  personal  or  family  interests  also  entered  into  the 
question.  Maurice  of  Nassau,  son  of  William  the  Silent, 
Prince  of  Orange,  had  been,  in  1584,  elected  their  Stadt- 
holder  bv  three  of  the  United  Provinces,  and  from  that  time 
the  Stadtholdership  had  continued  in  the  House  of  Nassau. 


\ 


26 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


M/ 


[Chap.  VII. 

William,   second   Prince   of  Orange  of  that  name,   had 

might  natural  resent  the  death  of  his  father-in-law,  the 
possible  succession  of  his  wife  and  children  to  the  En:i  'h 
throne  would  be  altogether  shut  out  by  the  scheme  of  an 
Enghsh  Eepubhc.  The  Prince  of  Orange  might  therefore 
c^llTtte  C*°  "''^'  T  "^^"  ^--^"'t^e^Govern::; 
more  than  the  average  amount  of  princely  antipathy. 

Of  these  many  enemies,  the  most  formidable  to  England 
from  their  being  maritime  Powers  of  the  first  rank  were' 

pubhc  of  Holland.  While  the  hostility  of  the  last-named 
was  awakened  by  a  fierce  spirit  of  naval  and  commercM 
rivalry,  that  of  the  two  former  was  excited  byThe  "e 

witraU  re°'""'.'''^?  ^"'  '""^^^^*^°^^'  ai/animated" 
with  all  the  inspiration  of  hatred.     And  to  the  old  causes 

of  quarrel  that  had  fitted  out  the  Great  Armada  for  the 
d  st^ction  of  the  impious  and  blasphemous  heretics  2 
had  dared  to  throw  off  the  Papal  supremacy,  was  now 
added  anew  cause-namely,  that  those  hereticsV those  ene 
mies  of  God  and  the  Pope,  had  become  reg  cides    and 
herefore  enemies  of  God  and  kings,  God's  rep'relnttiVeJ 
upon  earth.    Add  to  all  this  that  Scotland  and  Ireland  ! 
that  time  stood  to  England  in  the  relation  much  mo":  of 
enemies    han  of  friends  or  allies,  and  we  shaU  see  tUt 
England  hteraUy  stood  alone  against  the  worid 

Let  us  also  remember  that  the  Kings  of  Europe  at  that 
time  possessed  three  of  the  greatest  Generals  of  modern 

fTrf ':    '  ^°'^*^^"-l^'  -'J  Turenne,  any  one  of  whom 
If  he  had  effected  a  landing  in  England  with  an  anny  evl' 

he  Wides  and  their  hitherto  invincible  leader  wo^r 
doubtedly  have  found  a  far  more  formidable  opponent  thTn 


166L 


WORK  OF  THE  ENGLISH  PARLLIMENT. 


27 


King  Charles  or  any  of  his  cavalier  captains.  And  their 
being  prevented  from  effecting  an  invasion  of  England  must 
depend  on  England  having  the  command  of  the  sea — a 
result  which  must  depend  on  her  being  able  to  defeat  the 
most  powerful  fleets,  commanded  by  the  greatest  Admirals, 
Tromp  and  Ruyter,  that  had  then  ever  appeared  in  the 
world.  All  these  things  being  considered,  will  give  us  some 
idea  of  the  work  which  the  Parliament  of  Enorland  had 
before  them  about  the  middle  of  the  17th  century. 

A  time  may  come  again,  when  England  may  have  work 
on  her  hands  as  heavy  as  that  which  the  Council  of  State 
of  1650 — 1653  did  so  well.  It  will  not,  I  aj)prehend,  be 
altogether  a  useless  labour  to  endeavoiu*  to  show  how  the 
England  of  the  middle  of  the  17th  century  faced  and  de- 
feated her  multitudinous  enemies,  the  fleets  of  many  kings, 
and  of  one  powerful  repuHic. 

We  must  go  back  beyond  modern  history,  to  the  memo- 
rable day  when  the  great  Asiatic  despot  sat  on  the  rock 
that  overlooks  Salamis,  and  saw  his  mighty  host — ships  by 
thousands,  and  men  in  nations — assembled  below,  to  find 
something  of  a  parallel  to  the  odds  which  the  Parliament 
of  England  must  now  expect  to  meet  in  war.  The  contest 
with  the  Spanish  Armada  has  been  called  England's 
Salamis.  But  England's  achievements  then  were  really 
as  nothing  to  what  she  did  now,  when  not  merely  Spain 
but  all  the  kings  and  all  the  nations  of  Europe  were 
arrayed  against  her.  At  that  time  only  once  m  modern 
history  had  one  nation  been  attacked  by  such  a  host  of 
enemies ;  and  that  was  when,  150  years  before,  the  Em- 
peror of  Germany,  the  Kings  of  France  and  Spain,  the 
Pope,  and  all  the  princes  of  Italy,  formed  the  league 
called  the  League  of  Cambray,  and  in  a  week  conquered 


lajni-rtifefs^iiir  ^-'^i*^--*'^ 


/ 


23  CO-MMOXWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VII. 

all  the  provinces  of  Venice,  when  Venice  was  at  the  height 
of  her  power. 

But  there  were  physical  as  well  as  social  and  political 
circumstances   that  rendered   the  case  of  England   very 
different  from  that  of  Venice.     The  English  governing 
Coimcil  of  Forty  were  very  differently  constituted  from  the 
Venetian  Council  of  Ten  :  for  while  the  latter  consisted 
of  the  dregs  of  an  oligarchy,  suffered  to  run  out  its  full 
course,  the  former  was  composed  of  a  body  of  men,  of 
whom  it  has  been  not  untruly  said,  that  they  were  "  a'set 
of  the  greatest  geniuses  for  government  the  world  ever 
saw  embarked  together   in   one   common   cause." '     The 
social  and  political  institutions  of  England,  which  it  was 
the  great  aim  of  the  Stuarts  to  destroy,  had  formed  these 
men;   for  their  genius   for  government,  if  implanted  by 
nature,  would  not  have  produced  the  results  it  did  without 
that  practical  education  which  such  institutions  alone  can 


'  Bishop  Warburt oil's  Note  on  vv 
281,  283,  284,  of  Epistle  iv.  of  Pope's 
Essay  on  Man.— I  am  tempted  to  add 
liere  some  further  evidence  of  the  ex- 
traordinary care  which  the  Council  be- 
stowed upon  the  most  minute  affairs. 
"That   the    Committee  appointed   to 
view  the  horses  from  Tutbury  do  ap- 
point some  fit  person  to  expose  to  sale 
to-morrow,   in  the  afternoon,  all   the 
colts  which  were  brought   up  to  the 
mews,  excepting  only  those  which  are 
chosen  out  for  the  Lord-General,  and 
that   he   take   a   note   of    the   prices 
offered  for  every   horse  particidarly ; 
and,  that  being  done,  return  the  horses 
into  the  stable,  and  give  an  account  to 
the    Council  thereof,  to  the  end  some 
further  order  may  be  given  concerning 
tliem."— Orc/^r  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  July  3,  1650,  MS.  State  Paper 
.Office.     "  That  the  Earl  of  Salisburj^ 


the  Lord  Howard,  the  Lord  Lisle,  the 
Lord  Grey,  Sir  William  Armyne,  Sir 
Artliur  Haselrig,  Mr.  Bond,   Colonel 
Morley,  Sir  Henry  Mildmay,  Sir  Wm. 
Constable,  and  Mr.  Scot,  or  any  three 
of  them,  be  appointed  a  Committee,  to 
consider   how  the   horses   and  mares 
now  in  Tutbury  race  may  be  so  dis- 
posed of,  that  the  breed  may  not  be 
lost."— /6/d  March    30,    1650.      The 
Council  did  not  think  horse-races  ne- 
cessary for  .keeping  up  the  breed  of 
horses.     "  That  the  form  of  the  letter 
written  last  year  to  the  sei^eral  Sheriffs, 
to  prohibit  horse-races,  be  brought  to 
the  Council  to-morrow." — Ibid.  Feb.  9 
164|^.      -That  Gregorie  Julian,  late 
yeoman  of  the  race  at  Tutburie,be  dis- 
charged from  that  employment,   and 
the  whole  business  of  the  race  com- 
mitted to  the  care  of  Major  Edward 
J)QWiiGsr— Ibid.  June  8,  1650. 


/ 


/> 


A  W 


1651.] 


COMMITTEE  OF  THE  NAVY. 


,/ 


29 


give.  The  physical  circumstances  in  favour  of  England 
were  that,  prbvlcTecIslie  prevented  invasion  from  Scotland, 
the  sea,  if  she  was  master  of  it,  would  protect  her  from 
all  the  world. 

''I  have  already  called  attention  to  the  great  energy  and 
ability  with  which  the  affairs  of  the  Navy  wef^'conducted 
by  the  Gommittee  of  the  Council  of  State  for  administering 
the  affairs  of  the  l^avy.^  Of  this  committee  the  most  active 
and  influential  member  was  Sir  Henry  Vane,  one  of  the 
ablest  and  most  indefatigable,  as  welTas  most  incorrupt, 
administrators  recorded  in  history.  But  Yane'^  though  a 
great  statesman,  was  not,  and  made  no  pretensions  to  be,  a 
fighting  man.  I  believe  I  have  carefully  guarded  myself 
from  being  understood  to  say,  that  in  such  times  a  Council 
of  State  or  a  Parliament  could  do  the  work  that  had  then 
to  be  done,  further  than  the  selection  of  fit  instruments, 
and  the  wise  and  economical  management  of  the  State's  re- 
venues and  other  resources,  could  be  called  doing  the  work. 
The  work  that  had  to  be  done  absolutely  required  a  great 
General  ajid  a  great  Admiral.  Such  men  were  a  necessity 
of  the  time.  But  I  cannot  see  how  !t  follows  tliaTit  was 
also  a  necessity  of  the  time  that  the  great  General  or  great 
Admiral,  who  did  the  work  of  defeating  the  enemies  of  the 
Parliament  of  England,  should  turn  out  the  Parliament 
from  whom  he  had  received  his  commission,  and  concen- 
trate all  their  powers  of  sovereignty  in  his  single  person. 
He  might  do  so,  but  it  was  not  a  necessity  of  the  situation, 
further  than  being  an  incident  or  accident  of  the  situation 
that  has  so  often  happened  that  it  may  be  apt  to  be  mis- 
taken for  a  necessity. 

Now,  in  addition  to  the  great  energy  and  ability  with 


f^ 


6i 


_^ 


I 


r 


'  See  Vol.  I.  (p.  49,  77ote  1)  for  an     Committee  of  the  Navy  and  the  Corn- 
account  of  the  distinction  between  the     missioners  of  the  Na^-v. 


^^  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VII. 

^vhich  the  Council  of  State  conducted  their  naval  affairs, 
Providence  sent  to  their  assistance  a  man  whose  career  in 
the  conduct  of  their  naval  or  foreign  wars,  was  as  singular 
and  wonderful  as  that  of  Cromwell  had^een  in  the  con- 
I  duct  of  their  domestic  wars.  This  man  was  Eobert  Blake, 
J  the  greatest  Admiral,  save  one,  in  the  leijords  T5fthe  world ; 
and  hi!rcaT«€Mfa5-tl^^^^  though 

it  is  usually  considered  essential  to  enter  the  iiaval  pro- 
fession in  boyhood,  and  though  Blake"set  hKtoot^on  deck 
for  the  first  time  as  a  commander  at  the  age  of  fifty,  he 
raised  in  two  or  three  years  the  naval  glory  of  the  English 
nation  to  a  far  greater  height  than  it  had  ever  before  at- 
tained.    The  height  to  which  he  raised  it  may'be  judged 
from'  an  incident  in  his  last  action,  the  destruction  of  the 
Spanish  fleet  in  the  harbour  of  Santa  Cruz,  in  one  of  the 
Canary  Islands.    The  EedT^rioss  of  England  was  descried  at 
daybreak  from  the  Spanish  galleons,  and  the  well-known 
red^  flag,  bearing  the  arms  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England 
embroidered  in  gold,  visible  at  the  maintopgallant  mast- 
head of  one  of  the  ships,  showed  that  the  redoubted  Ad- 
miral commanded  in  person.     A  Dutch  captain,  who  had 
seen  something  of  the  late  war,  happened  to  be  lying  at 
that  moment  in  the  Santa  Cruz  roadstead  with  his  vessel. 
When  he  saw  the  English  admiral's  broad  pendant,  he 
went  straight  to  the  Spanish  admiral,  and  asked  his  per- 
mission to  leave   the   roadstead  with   his    vessel.      The 
Spaniard  made  light  of  his  fears,   saying  that  with  the 
castles,  batteries,  and  earthworks,  in  addition  to  his  naval 
force,  the  position  was  impregnable.     "  For  all  this,"  said 
the  Dutch  captain,  "  I  am  very  sure  that  if  Blake  is  there 

'  The  Admiral,  or  General  at  Sea  (as  '  witliin  a  conipartinent :  (or).'—  Order 
lie  was  then  called)  bore  the  arms  of  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  March  5, 
llie    Commonwealth    on    a   red    flag,      164f,  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


I 


■\ff^ 


if'^ 


(J 


1651.] 


ADMIRAL  ELAKE. 


31 


he  will  soon  be  ia^the  niidst ^of .  yoii."  "  Well,"  replied 
the  Spaniard,  "go  if  you  will,  and  let  Blake  come  if  he 
dare+" — ^leDiitchman  returned  to  his  sliip,  hoisted  sail, 
and  left  the  place  as  fast  as  he  could,  and  thereby  escaped 
the  destruction  that  overtook  all  that  floated  within  the 
Bay  of  Santa  Cruz  on  that  fatal  morning. 

As  Blake's  character  was  as  disinterested,  unselfish,  and 
stainless,  as  his  heart  was  fearless,  and  his  genius  great 
and  fertiley  some  of  the  details  of  the  early  life  of  a  man 
so  remarkable  may  not  only  interest  the  reader,  but  may 
throw  light  on  the  characters  of  other  remarkable  men  of 
that  remarkable  time. 


I 


\ 


1 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 

As  you  enter  the  Old  Chureh  at  Delft,  the  first  ohject  that 
meets  your  eye  is  the  magnificent  mass  of  white  marble, 
which  forms  the  monument  of  Martin  Harpertz  Tromp,' 
and  represents  the  Admiral  lying  at  full  length,  with  his 
head  resting  upon  a  ship's  gun;  and  below  and  around 
him,  carved  in  basrelief,  symbols  of  the  achievements  of 
his  stormy  and  valiant  life.  The  bones  of  the  EngHshman 
who  conquered  him  lie  undistinguighedl^y  tomb  or  epitaph. 
Robert  Blake  was  born  at  Bridg^water,  in  August  1599, 
the  same'yerrp'in  the  month  of  April  of  which  Oliver  Crom- 
well was  bom ;  so  that  there  were  but  three  months  between 
the  ages  of  these  two-TTien,"  one  of  whom  was  destined  to 
defeat  all  the  domestic  enemies,  the  other  all  the  foreio-n 
enemies,  of  the  Parliament  of  England.  Eobert  Blake  was 
the  eldest  son  of  Humphrey  Blake,^  an  eminent  Bridgewater 
merchant  at  a  time  when  the  Severn  was  the  great  road  of 
England  to  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  when  Bristol  and 


'  The  prefix  Van  to  the  name  of  the 
great  Dutch  adlSiral,  Tromp,  though 
used  by  Admiral  Blake  in  his  letter  of 
2()th  May,  1652,  and  also  in  the 
minutes  of  the  Council  of  State  of  the 
same  date,  and  subsequently  by  English 
writers,  does  not  belong  to  his  name; 
but  it  does  belong  to  the  name  of  his 
second  son,  Admiral  Cornel  is  Van 
Tromp,  created  Count  Van  Tromp  by 
the  King  of  Denmark,  to  whose  as- 


sistance, in  his  war  with  Sweden,  Cor- 
nelis  Tromp  had  been  sent  with  a 
fleet  in  1676. 

2  All  the  particulars  that  are  known 
respecting  Admiral  Blake's  family 
will  bo  found  collected  with  great  care 
and  industry-,  from  femily  papers  and 
other  MS.,  as  well  as  printed  sources, 
in  3Ir.  Ilepworth  Dixon's  very  in- 
teresting ffftd  valuable  life  of  Admiral 
Blake,  entitled,  IMcrt  Make,  Admiral 


^ 


1651.] 


ADIVUR'AL  BLAKE. 


33 


Bridgewater  were  what  Liverpool  is  now.    There  is  nothing 
very  remarkable  known  of  Blake's  boyhood,  as  showing 
that  early  predilection  for  an  active,  particularly  a  seafar- 
ing life,  which  might  help  to  account  for  his  future  emi- 
nence as  a  naval  commander.     On  the  contrary,  his  early 
bias  seems  to  have  been  rather  for  study  and  meditation, 
than  for  making  cruises  in  any  of  his  father's  merchant- 
ships;  or,  like  Cromwell,    robbing  orchards  and  pigeon- 
houses;  or,  like  (fiive,  climbing  to  the  top  of  lofty  steeples, 
or  farming  the  idle  lads  of  the  town  into  a  predatory  army, 
for  the  purpose  of  exacting  from  the  shopkeepers  a  tribute 
of  apples  and   halfpence.     Aubrey  does   indeed  mention, 
on  the  authority  of  a  cotemporary  of  Blake    at  Oxford, 
that  Blake  "  would  steal  swans."     But   even  this  mani- 
festation  of   an  "excess    of   volition,"   or  of   predatory 
daring,  if  it  is  to  be  accepted  as  sufficiently  authenticated, 
might  have  been  but  a  resource  of  Blake  on  those  occa- 
sions when  his  favourite  mode  of  relieving  his  studies, 
angling,  "  the  contemplative  man's  recreation,"  proved,  as 
it  often   does,  unsuccessful.     The    mclination   of  Robert 
Blake's   mind    being    strongly    turned    to    learning   and 
scholarship,  after  having  made   considerable  progress  in 
Latin  and  Greek  at  the  grammar-school  of  Bridgewater, 
while  he  lived  in  his  father's  house,  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
he  was  sent  to  Oxford,  where  he  matriculated  as  a  member 
of  St.  Alban's  Hall  in  Lent  Term,  1615.     He  soon,  how- 
ever, removed  from  St.  Alban's  Hall  to  Wadliam  College — 
at  the  request,  it  is  said,  of  his  father's  friend,  Mcholas 
Wadliam,  a  Somersetshire   man,  who  had  then  recently 

and  General  at  Sea  (London,  Chapman  donald   has  done  me  the  very  great 

and  'HsttTTSS^    A  new  and   cheap  honourof  revising  The  "naval  parts  of 

edition  of  this  work,  in  the  preface  to  this   -narrative,**     was    published    by 

which  Mr.  Dixon  says,  "  Lord  Dun-  Messre.  Chapman  and  Hall  in  1868. 

VOL.  II.  D 


m 


34 


COMMONWEALTH   OE  ENGLAND. 


[ClIAP.  VIII. 


i 


founded  tlie  college  which  bears  his  name,  and  in  the 
dining-hall  of  which  a  portrait  of  the  great  Admiral  is 
still  shown,  as  that  of  the  greatest  man  who  had  lived  and 
studied  within  its  walls. 

It  is  a  remarkable  circumstance,  even  in  a  very  remark- 
able life — particularly  when  we  consider  how  unusual 
anything  like  learning,  in  the  sense  of  what  is  called 
scholarship,  is  in  the  naval  profession — that  Blake  was 
probably  the  best  scholar,  the  most  learned  man,  of  all  the 
eminent  public  men  of  his  time,  unless  Milton  be  con- 
sidered as  one  of  those  men.  It  seems  at  that  time  to 
have  been  a  cominon^mctice  to  leave  the  university  with- 
out taking  a  degree.  Cromwell,  Hampden,  Wentworth, 
Pym,  Yane,  appear  to  have  done  so.  But  Blake  resided 
at  Oxford  (first  at  St.  Alban's  Hall,  and  afterwards  at 
Wadham  College)  altogether  about  eight  years,  and  till  he 
took  both  his  degrees  (B.A.  and  M.A.),  as  Milton  did  at 
Cambridge.  Aubrey  says  that  Blake  "  was  there  a  young 
man  of  strong  body  afid  good  parts ;  that  he  was  an  early 
riser  and  studied  well,  but  also  took  his  robust  pleasures  of 
fishing,  fowling,  &c.  He  would,"  adds  Aubrey,  "  steal 
swans."  ^  During  Blake's  residence  at  Oxford,  his  father 
had  been  unprosperous  as  a  merchant,  and  Blake  naturally 
felt  a  desire  to  turn  his  classical  acquirements  to  some 
account.  A  fellowship  having  fallen  vacant  at  Merton 
College,  of  whTCiT  Sir  Henry  Savile,  one  of  James 
I.'s  knights,  was  at  that  time  warden,  Blake  offered 
himself  as  a  competitor  for  it.  But  Sir  Henry  Savile 
chose  his  fellows  as  his  master,  King   James,  chose  his 


*  Aubrey's  Letters  and  Lives,  vol.  ii.  note,  his  authority  for  this  short  ac- 

p.  241(2  vols.    8vo.,   London,   1813),  count  of  Blako    at    Oxford — "From 

printed  from  the  MSS.  in  the  Bodleian  H.  Norbono,  B.D.,  his    contemporary 

Library,   &e.     Aubrey  subjoins,  in   a  there." 


165L] 


ADMIEAL  BLAKE. 


35 


Lord  High  Admiral ;  and  Blake,  being  only  five-feet-six, 
fell  below  the  Stuart  and  Savile  standard  of  manhood ; 
and  lost  his  election,  not  for  want  of  learning,  but  for  want 
of  stature.  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  Nelson,  and  Frederic 
II.  would  have  failed  in  the  competition  for  a  Merton 
fellowship  for  the  same  reason.  And  neither  Blake  nor 
Nelson  would  have  been  found  to  possess  the  qualities 
that,  in  the  eyes  of  King  James,  fitted  a  man  to  be  Lord 
High  Admiral  of  England.  Had  Blake  succeeded  in 
his  attempt  to  obtain  a  fellowship,  how  different  a  fate 
might  have  awaited  him !  As  he  trod  that  quiet  path  to  a 
quiet  grave,  the  words  of  that  exquisite  old  English  song  ^ 
ascribed  to  Sir  Edward  Dyer,  a  friend  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney, 
might  have  most^^uly"  described  his  character  and  his 
fate : — 

I  feign  not  lovo  where  most  I  hate — 
I  wait  not  at  the  mighty's  gate  ; 
I  fear  no  foe,  nor  fawn  on  friend — 
I  loathe  not  life,  nor  dread  mine  end. 

He  could  not  indeed  have  filled  a  more  obscure,  at  least 
a  more  unknown,  grave  than  he  does.  But  the  genius  and 
valour  that  made  him  the  conqueror  of  the  greatest 
admirals  of  his  own  or  any  past  time,  and  the  victor  in  a 
hundred  storms  and  battles,  would  probably  have  for  ever 
slept  within  him,  unknown  even  to  himself. 

In  regard,  however,  to  Blake's  scholarship  or  learning, 
it  must  be  admitted  to  be  a  point  about  which  we  know 
very  little.  What  we  do  know  is  that  Blake  passed  a 
number  of  years   at  Oxford,  which  he  would  not  have 

1  The   celebrated  song  from   which     MS.  copy  of  it,  in  the  Bodleian  Library 
these   linos   are  taken,  is  printed  in     at  Oxford,  the  poem  is  ascribed  to  Sir 
several  collections  of  poems,  published     Edward  Dyer,  a  friend  of  Sir  Philip 
in  the  16th  centuiy.     There  are  many     Sidney, 
variations  in  the  various  copies.     In  a 

D  2 


/ 


x 


36 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIII. 


passed  there  had  he  not  liked  the  place.  What  did  he 
like  it  for  ?  He  liked  it  for  its  quiet,  and  for  his  being 
there  able  to  lead  the  life  he  loved — a  silent  thoughtful 
life,  with  long  walks,  in  which  he  often  seemed  absorbed 
in  thought ;  as  in  after-years,  when  passing  some  months, 
before  his  last  expedition,  at  Knoll,  a  country-house  he  had 
near  Bridgewater,  in  his  long  morning  walks  and  musings 
on  Knoll  Hill,  he  appeared  to  his  country  neighbours  to  be 
as  if  working  out  in  his  own  mind  the  details  of  some  of 
his  great  battles.^  And  further  as  to  scholarship — though, 
when  we  consider  that  English  literature  then  contained 
no  historical  or  biographical  works  to  be  compared  to 
those  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  writers,  Blake  would  pro- 
bably read  with  interest  the  narratives  of  Thucydides,  of 
Xenophon,  of  Plutarch,  as  well  as  of  Csesar,  Livy,  and 
Tacitus — it  is  very  improbable  that  a  mind  like  his  would 
either  delight  or  excel  in  the  composition  of  Latin  verses, 
to  say  nothing  of  Greek.  A  younger  brother  of  the 
Admiral,  William,  v/as  also  at  Oxford,  and  furnished  a 
Latin  epigraph  to  the  book  published  by  the  University 
on  the  death  of  Camden  the  antiquary,  which,  as  Mr. 
Dixon  observes,  Anthony  Wood  falsely  attributes  to 
Robert  Blake.  But  it  is  of  far  other  stuff  than  that 
which  enables  a  man  to  shine  in  the  composition  of  Greek 
and  Latin  verses,  or  even  in  the  solution  of  mathematical 
problems,  that  the  men  are  made  who  fight  the  battles 
and  determine,  for  good  or  evil,  the  fate  of  nations — a 
Blake  or  a  Cromwell : 

A  patriot  hero,  or  despotic  chief, 
To  form  a  nation's  glory  or  its  grief. 

We   know   further    of   Blake — whether   or  not    it   be 

'  Dixon's  Eobert  Blake,  pp.  266,  267. 


165L]  CROMWELL'S  TASTE  FOR  PRACTICAL  JOKES.  37 

considered  as  in  any  part  due  to  his  Oxford  education,  to 
his  having  learnt  "  ingenuas  fideliter  artes  " — that  he  was 
emphatically  what  is  comprehended  in  that  untranslatable 
English    word  gentleman,  both  in  the  higher  and  lower 
significance  of  the  term ;  that  he'  was'  what  sucTi  men  as 
Cromwell  and  WeileTic  II.  of  Prussia  never  were,  either 
as  men  of  sincerity  and  honour,  or  as  men  of  thoroughly 
humane  demeanour.      Of   Frederic,   Lord  Macaulay  has 
truly  said :  "  He  had  one  taste  which  may  be  pardoned  to 
a  boy,  but  which,  when  habitually  and  deliberately  indulged 
by  a  man  of  mature  age  and  strong  understanding,  is  al- 
most invariably  the  sign  of  a  bad  heart— a  taste  for  severe 
practical  jokes."     Now  Cromwell  had  also  this  taste  for 
practical  jokes,  and  for  dirty  practical  jokes.     Such  jokes, 
which  are  attended  with  humiliation  and  pain  to  those  on 
whom  they  are  practised,  evince  even  in  small  things  the 
mind  of  a  tyrant.     As  with  the  Prussian  tyrant,  if  a  cour- 
tier was  fond  of  dress,  oil  was  flung  over  his  richest  suit. 
So  the  English  tyrant,  at  the  marriage  of  his  daughter 
rraireey-trriarf.'TSich,  the  grandson  and  heir  of  the  Earl 
of  Warwick,  amused  himself  by  throv^ing  about  the  sack- 
posset   and   wet   sweetmeats   among  the   ladies  to   spoil 
their  clothes,  and  daubed  all  the  stools  on  which  they  were 
to  sit  with  wet  sweetmeats.      The  PruLsian  tyrant  had 
some  talent  for  sarcasm ;  but  in  the  war  of  wit  against  a 
king,  his  adversary  has  no  more  chance  than  the  wretched 
gladiator,  armed  only  with  a  foil  of  lead,  against  whom 
Commodus  descended  into  the  arena  sword  in  hand,  and, 
after  shedding  the  blood  of  the  helpless  victim,   struck 
medals  to   commemorate   his  disgraceful    victory.      The 
English  tyrant,  says  Cowley,^  ^^was  wanton  and  merry, 

»  Cowley's  Discourse,  by  way  of  Vision,  concerning  the  Government  of  Oliver 
Promwell. 


38 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  vm. 


1G51.] 


ADMIRAL  BLAKE'S  CHARACTER. 


39 


1 ' 


y 


un wittily  and  im  gracefully  merry,  with  our  sufferings  ;  he 
loved  to  say  and  do  senseless  and  fantastical  things,  only  to 
show  his  power  of  doing  or  saying  anything.  It  would 
ill-befit  mine,  or  any  civil  mouth,  to  repeat  those  words 
which  he  spoke  concerning  the  most  sacred  of  our  English 
laws — the  Petition  of  Eight  and  Magna  Charta.  To-day 
you  should  see  him  ranting  so  wildly,  that  nobody  durst 
come  near  him ;  the  morrow  flinging  of  cushions  and 
playing  at  snowballs  with  his  servants,"  or  making  his 
soldiers  throw  burning  coals  into  one  another's  boots. 
"These  things,  it  may  be  said"  (observes  LordMacaulay), 
"  are  trifles.  They  are  so ;  but  they  are  indications,  not  to 
be  mistaken,  of  a  nature  to  which  the  sight  of  human 
suffering  and  human  degradation  is  an  agreeable  excite- 
ment." If  it  is  asked  how  this  observation  can  apply  to 
Cromwell,  who  has  been  described  as  "  naturally  compas- 
sionate towards  objects  in  distress  to  an  effeminate  degree," 
I  can  only  answer,  that  either  his  extraordinary  success 
had  corrupted  him,  or  that  his  nature  was  made  up  of 
many  and  opposite  elements,  some  good  and  some  bad ; 
and  that  at  one  time  of  his  life  the  good,  at  another  the 
bad,  obtained  the  mastery. 

After  eight  years' •  residence  at  Oxford,  Eobert  Blake 
returned  to  Brid^^ater,  having,  in  consequence  of  his 
failing  to  obtain  a  fellowship,  abandoned  his  favourite  idea 
of  a  college  life.  In  the  following  year  his  father  died, 
leaving  his  property  encumbered  with  debts.  When  the 
debts  were  all  paid,  the  family  property  did  not  exceed 
£200  a  year,^  equivalent  to  about  £700  per  annum  at  the 
present  time.  Blake  managed  this  property  with  prudence, 
as  weU  as  liberality ;  for,  besides  devoting  himself  to  the 


/ 


*  Dixon's  Robert  Blako,  p.  20. 


care  of  his  mother,  who  survived  her  husband  thirteen 
years,    he    educated    and    enabled   to    make   their    way 
into  the  world  the  whole  of  his  father's  numerous  family. 
But  he  showed  no  desire  for  riches ;  for  though  he  left 
his  paternal  estate  unimpaired,  it  is  said  that,  notwith- 
standing the  great  sums  that  passed  through  his  hands, 
he  did  not  leave  £500  behind  him  of  his  own  acquiring. 
During  those  dark  years  of  England's  history-,  when 
'   Charles  I.   endeavoured  to  govern  without  Parliaments, 
and  tyranny,  both  civil  and  religious,  reigned  triumphant, 
the  years  of  his  early  manhood,  from  about  twenty-five  to 
forty,  Blake  lived  quietly  on  his  paternal  estate,  with  the 
character  of  a  blunt  bold  man,  of  a  ready  humour,  and  a 
singularly  fearless  temper— straightforward,  upright,  and 
honest  in  an  unusual  degree.     Hfs  manners  were  marked 
by  a  fearless  bluntness  and  openness,  accompanied  with  a 
certain  grave  humour,  which  sometimes  took  the  form  of 
bitter  sarcasm  against  the  vices  of  those  in  power.      This 
temper  is  described  by  Clarendon  as  "  a  melancholic  and 
sullen  nature,  a  moroseness,  and   a  freedom  in  inveigh- 
ing against  the  license  of  the  time  and  the  power  of  the 
Court."    "  They  who  knew  him  inwardly,"  adds  Clarendon, 
"  discovered  that  he  had  an  anti-monarchical  spirit,  when 
few  men  thought  the  Government  in  any  danger."     But 
Blake  was  a  man  of  "deeds,  not  of  words  ;  and  it  was  pro- 
bable enough  that  he  would  take  the  first  favourable  oppor- 
tunity of  doing  aU  he  could  to  destroy  a  form  of  monarchical 
government  that  was  fertile  only  in  vices,  and  in  the  pro- 
duction of  such  loathsome  popinjays  as  the  Somersets  and 
Buckinghams  of  the  Fii'st  Stuart,  and  such  savage  yet  im- 
becile tyrants  as  the  Lauds  and  Straffords  of  the  Second. 
Accordingly,  when  the  civil  war  broke  out,  Blake— who  had 
been  returned  as  member  for  Bridgewater  in  the  short 


>iB|j».f^.:r--*;,r'  "•'* 


40 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[CUAP.  VIII. 


I 


I 


Parliament  of  April  1640,  but  was  not  re-elected  in  the  Long* 
ParliaineifTiliat  met  on  tlie  'Srd  of  Jsloveuiber  of  the  same 
year — wrrs^one  of  "the  lif sTiii'^e'KeHr  ATEKongh  Pei^ys 
and  t^rther  WTiterslbolishly  tatlfe  aBout  his  "  passive  courage^ 
in  his  famous  defence  of  Lyme  and  Taunton/  iJlgLfee  showed 
the  same  military  qualities  at  the  very  outset  of  his  career 
that  he  did  in  his  last  battle,  his  wonderful  victory  of 
Santa  Cruz.  He  united,  indeed,  the  indomitable  courage 
of  the  bulldog  to  the  highest  strategical  genius.  While, 
as  James  Mill  has  said  of  Clive,  "resolute  and  daring, 
fear  never  turned  him  aside  from  his  purposes,  or  deprived 
him  of  the  most  collected  exertion  of  his  mind  in  the 
greatest  emergencies ; '"  he  at  the  same  time  acted  from 
first  to  last  on  the  principle  which,  says  a  great  authority 
on  such  a  j)oint.  Lord  Dundonald,  in  one  of  his  notes  on 
Blake's  most  celebrated  actions,  "  I  have  never  found  to 
fail — that  the  more  impracticable  a  task  appears,  the 
more  easily  it  may  be  achieved,  under  judicious  manage- 
ment," a  principle  judged  by  which  "  the  attack  on  Santa 
Cruz  was  founded  on  a  correct  estimate  of  the  probable 
result."^ 

Mr.  Dixon  has,  with  most  praiseworthy  industry,  given 
a  minute  and  most  interesting  narrative  of  Blake's  famous 
defence  of  Lyme,  from  a  MS.  account  of  the  Siege  of  Lyme, 
belorigihy;^to  George  Eoberts,  Esq.,  of  that  town ;  and 
from  various  authentic  sources,  he  has  furnished  the  details 
of  the  still  more  wonderful  defence  of  Taunton.  Li  the 
course  of  this  last'defence,  Blake  sent  an  answer  to  a  sum- 
mons to  surrender  which  is  very  characteristic  both  of  his  in- 
vincible resolution  and  of  his  peculiar  humour.    After  being 

'  Mill's  History  of  British  India,  ^  Prcfiico  to  the  new  edition  of  Mr. 
vol.  iii.  p.  370,  3rd  edition,  London,  Hepworth  Dixon's  Life  of  Eobert 
1826.  Blake,  pp.  xi.,  xii.     London,  1858. 


t 


\ 


1651.]  BLAKE'S  DEFENCE  OF  LYME  AND  TAUNTON.  4l 

repeatedly  defeated  in  their  assaults,  the  besiegers  sent  to 
invite  the  garrison  to  smTender  to  the  King,  rather  than 
die  the  lingering  death  of  hunger.  Blake's  answer  to  this 
request  was,  that  he  had  not  yet  eaten  his  boots,  and  that 
he  should  not  dream  of  giving  up  the  contest  while  he  had 
so  excellent  a  dinner  to  fall  back  upon.  ^ 

In  the  siege  of  Bristol,  the  foi-t  of  Prior's  Hill  had  been 
entrusted  by  Fiennes  to  Blake,  then  only  a  captain.    Of  this 
place  Blake  had  made  so  resolute  and  obstinate  a  defence, 
that  Eupert,  hearing  that  the  commander  at  Prior's  Hill 
refused  to  admit  the  articles  of  surrender— for  which  the 
governor  (Fiennes)  was  tried  by  a  court-martial  for  cowar- 
dice, and  sentenced  to  death,  though  his  life  was  spared  by 
Essex— threatened  to  hang  him.     In  describing  the  subse- 
quent siege  of  Lyme,  Mr.  Dixon  says :  "How  often  would  the 
thought  occur  to  him  (Maurice),  If  Kupei-t  had  only  hung 
that  Captain  Blake  at  Bristol !     In  London  the  press  was 
filled  with  the  wonders  of  this  remarkable  defence,  and 
Eoundhead  liters  used  it  as  a  set-off  against  their  omi 
prolonged  failui-es  at  Lathom  House.     Yet  the  Cavaliers 
fought  before  the   breastworks  at   Lyme   with  the  most 
resolute  gaUantry,  and  some  of  the  best  blood  in  the  West 
of  England  flowed  into  those  shallow  trenches.    After  the 
siege  was  raised,  and  the  Royalists  had  time  to  count  up 
and  compare  their  losses,  they  found,  to  their  surprise  and 
horror,  that  more  men  of  gentle   blood  had  died  under 
Blake's  fire  at  Lyme,  than  had  fallen  in  all  the  sieges  and 
skirmishes  in  the  western  counties  since  the  opening  of 

the  war."^ 

There  is  a  story  respecting  the  death  of  Blake's  brother 
Samuel— who  of  all  his  brothers  resembled  him  most  in 
the  fearlessness  of  his  nature,  and  to  whose  son  Robert, 

>  Dixon's  Eobert  Blake,  p.  57,  cites  "  Lyme  MS." 


I 


/ 


i 


1 

1 


42 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIII. 


I60LJ 


CROMWELL  AND  BLAKE. 


43 


afterwards  one  of  his  most  gallant  sea-captains,  the  Ad- 
miral bequeathed  the  gold-chain  bestowed  on  him  by  the 
Parliament  ^ — which  is  very  characteristic  both  of  Blake 
and  his  time.  Samuel,  hearing  at  a  small  village  alehouse 
at  Pawlett,  some  four  miles  down  the  river  from  Bridge- 
water,  that  a  captain  of  array  and  one  of  his  followers  were 
crossing  the  river  to  beat  up  recruits  for  the  King's  service, 
instead  of  carrying  the  intelligence  to  his  brother,  who  was 
his  commanding- officer,  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  after 
the  two  officers.  When  he  came  up  with  them  a  quarrel  en- 
sued, and  he  was  killed.  "  When  the  news  came  to  Bridge- 
water,"  says  a  writer  who  lived  in  Blake's  family,  "  the 
officers  of  the  regiment  were  seen  to  cabal  together  in 
little  companies,  fiye  or  six  at  a  place,  and  talk  of  it  very 
seriously — none  of  them  being  forward  to  tell  Colonel  Blake 
what  they  were  talking  about.  At  last  he  asked  one  of 
them  very  earnestly,  and  the  gentleman  replied,  with  some 
emotion,  'Your  brother  Sam  is  hilled!'  explaining  how  it 
came  to  pass.  The  Colonel,  having  heard  him  out,  said, 
'  Sam  had  no  business  there  ; '  and,  as  if  he  took  no  further 
notice  of  it,  turned  from  the  Comliill  or  marketplace  into 
the  Swan  Inn,  of  chief  note  in  that  town,  and,  shutting 
himself  in  a  room,  gave  way  to  the  calls  of  nature  and 
brotherly  love,  saying,  '  Died  Abner  as  a  fool  dieth! '  "^ 

The  difference  between  the  ultimate  positions  of  Cromwell 
and  Blake — the  one  Lieutenant- General  of  the  Army,  Lord- 
Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  Lord-General  and  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  Army,  and  at  last  Lord  Protector ;  the  other 
only  Colonel,  then  Admiral  and  "  General  at  Sea," — must 

'  Office-copy  of  Blake's  Will,  March  and  Admiral  of  the  Fleets  and  Naral 

13,    I600,   cited   in    Dixon's    Kobert  Forces   of   England,"   written    by     a 

Blake,  p.  52.  gentleman  who  was  bred  in  his  family, 

^  "The  History  and  Life  of  Robert  cited  in  Dixon's  Robert  Blake,  p.  51, 

Blake,  Esq.,  of  Bridgewater,  General  London,  1852. 


not  be  accepted  as  anything  like  a  true  measure  of  the 
difference  between  the  abilities  of  the  two  men.    Cromwell, 
though  not  an  orator  or  even  a  passably  good   speaker, 
was  from-^rst  to  last  eminently  a  Parliamentary  man — in 
other  words,  a  man   of   great   Parliamentary   influence. 
Blake  had  been  returned  for  the  borough  of  Bridgewater  in 
the  short  Parliament  of  April  1640,  but  he  was  not  re- 
elected in  the  Long  Parliament.    In  1645,  however,  he  was 
elected  as  one  of  the  burgesses  for  Taunton,  in  the  place 
of  Sir  William  Portman,  disabled  for  deserting  fhe  service 
of  the  House: ""^ On  tills  occasion  Blake  took  the  oaths  and 
his  seat  at  the  same  time  with  Ludlow.     "  When  I  came 
to  the  House  of  Commons,"  says  Ludlow,  "  I  met  with 
Colonel  Eobert  Blake,  attending  to  be  admitted,   being 
chosen  for  Taunton ;  where  having  taken  the  usual  oaths, 
we  went  into  the  House  together,  which  I  chose  to  do,  as- 
suring myself,  he  having  been  faithful  and  active  in  the 
public  service  abroad,  that  we  should  be  as  unanimous  in 
the  carrying  it  on  within  those  doors."  ^ 

Blake  continued  to  reside  at  Taunton,  which  he  had  so 
bravely  defended,  and  of  which  he  had  been  appointed 
Governor,  and  made  no  attempt  to  obtain  Parliamentary 
influence  for  personal  advancement.  The  small  Parliamen- 
tary influence  of  Blake  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that 
when,  in  November  1651,  after  having  performed  great 
services,  he  wns-first  elected  a  member  of  the  Council 
of  State,  he  had  only  42  votes;  while,  on  the  same  oc- 
casion, Cromwell  had  118,  Whitelock  113,  St.  John  108, 
Yane  104,  and  one  "  John  Gurdon,  Esq."  (whose  name  is 
otherwise  unknown  to  history),  had  103.     Blake  had  the 

»  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  i.  p.  170  as  opposed  to  "within  those  doors," 
(2nd  edition,  London,  1721).  The  word  Blake  at  that  time  not  having  served 
"abroad"  only  means  outof  the  Hoiiso,     out  of  England. 


44 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VIII. 


I60LI 


CROMWELL  AND  THE  STUARTS. 


45 


I 


\ 


lowest  number  of  votes  that  year  of  any,  except  Henry 
Martin,  wlio  had  41.^  In  the  following  year,  while  Blake 
was  not  re-elected,  Major-General  Harrison  is  the  last 
name  on  the  list,  with  only  39  votes. ^  Harrison  would 
not  appear  to  have  been,  any  more  than  Blake,  popular 
with  the  honourable  E-ump.  They  were  both  bold  blunt 
men,  likely  enough  to  rough  the  sleek  hides  of  the  men 
of  the  Eump,  which  Cromwell  knew  how  to  smooth  down 
till  his  time  came. 

It  is  but  one  more  version  of  the  old  story — a  story 
which  is  as  true  now  as  it  was  from  the  beginning  of  time, 
and  as  it  will  be  to  the  end.  The  career  of  Cromwell 
is  one  which  has  been  trodden  times  out  of  number, 
when  the  highest  prizes  of  human  ambition  are  in  troubled 
times  placed  within  the  reach  of  genius  and  valour.  The 
career  of  Blake  is  a  less  common  career ;  but  it  is  also  a 
career  less  dazzling  to  the  multitude,  who  are  naturally 
dazzled  by  the  spectacle  of  a  man  raising  himself  to  su- 
preme power.  Blake  was  u  Puritan  as  well  as  Cromwell ; 
but  I  do  not  think  that  Blake  could  have  quieted  his  con- 
science, had  he  been  rapacious,  by  quoting  such  texts  as  : 
"  He  shall  be  called  Mahershalal-hash-baz,  because  he 
maketh  haste  to  the  spoil."  And  Cromwell  might  truly  be 
called  Mahershalal-hash-baz,  if  making  haste  to  the  spoil 
entitled  a  man  to  that  appellation.  But  though,  in  the 
eyes  of  those  who  worship  the  powers  of  good  and  evil 
alike,  the  genius  and  valour  of  Cromwell  have  cast  aU 
other  men  into  the  shade,  there  are  still  some — and  in  the 
course  of  time  there  will  be  more — able  to  appreciate  the 
genius  and  valour,  joined  to  the  contempt  for  wealth  and 
all  the  objects  of  vulgar  ambition,  of  the  great  Admiral, 

»  Commons'  Journals,  Monday,  Nov.  24,  165L 
2  3id.  Wednesday,  Nov.  24,  1652. 


who  has  left  to  after-ages  a  truly  heroic  memory  and  a 
stainless  name. 

So   far   from   admitting  Cromwell's   plea  for  crushing 
English  liberty — I  mean  constitutionally  regulated  liberty 
— that  he  was  forced  to  take  upon  himself  the  office  of  a 
high-constable  to  preserve  the  peace  among  the  several 
parties  in  the  nation,  though  he  professed  to  approve  the 
government  of  a  single  person  as  little  as  any,*  it  is,  to  aU 
who  steadily  examine  the  facts,  a  mere  sophistry,  or  rather 
a  palpable  untruth.     The  Council  of  State  acted  the  part 
of  htgp^lTstable  better  tharrhe-clid.     The  Council  of 
State,  indeecrf^ould  not  coriiniahd   armies  as  Cromwell 
could,  much  less  could  it  command  navies  as  Blake  com- 
manded them ;  but  Blake  did  not  make  that  a  reason  for 
setting  up  as  a  king  on  his  own  account,  and  throwing 
England  back  two  centuries  in  her  progress  towards  good 
government.      When  we  look  calmly  at  what  the  Stuarts 
and  Cromwell  did,  or  attempted  to  do,  we  are  forced  to  the 
conclusion  that  there  is  less  excuse  to  be  made  for  Crom- 
well than  for  the  Stuarts.      Any  man  who  sets  his  own 
or  his  family's  aggrandisement  above  truth,  justice,  and 
honour,  must  be  pronounced  to  be  a  man  with  a  bad  heart. 
But  if  such  a  man's  brains  are  still  worse  than  his  heart, 
there  is  more  excuse  for  him  than  if,  while  his  heart  is  bad, 
his  brains  are  good.  Consequently,  the  plea  cannot  be  set  up 
for  Cromwell  which  may  be  set  up  for  the  Stuarts — that 
they  may  be  "  pardoned  their  bad  hearts  for  their  worse 
brains."    The  really  greatest  and  most  formidable  enemies 
of  mankind  have  been  those  whose  fierce  and  rapacious 
selfishness  has  been  accompanied  by  ability  and  courage 
of  a  high  order — of  an  order  much  above  the  average,  not 

'  Biog.  Brit.,  Art.  "  Harrington  ;  "     to  his  edition  of  Hamngton's  Works, 
Toland's   Life  of  Hariington,  prefixed     p.  xix. 


46 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIIL 


by  the   folly   and    pusillanimity  which   so   emphatically 

marked  the  Stuarts  for  ten   generations.     Harvey  —  the 

discoverer  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  of  whom  his 

friend  Hobbes  says,  in  his  book  "De  Corpore,"  that  he  is  the 

only  man,  perhaps,  that  ever  lived  to  see  his  own  doctrine 

I    established  in  his  lifetime — was  wont  to  say  that  man  was 

1    but  a  great  mischievous  baboon,'  an  opinion  not  unlikely 

f    to  be  formed  by  a  thinking  man  whose  knowledge  of  man- 

i     kind  comprehended  a  somewhat  minute  acquaintance  with 

the  Court  of  the  Stuarts. 

In  the  preceding  volimie  of  this  History  ^  I  have  shown 
that  the  Council  of  State,  on  their  appointment,  directed 
their  first  attention  to  the  affairs  of  the  Navy.  Such  atten- 
tion was  particularly  called  for,  both  by  the  importance  of 
the  navy  to  the  ultimate  success  of  the  cause  of  the  Parlia- 
ment, and  by  its  condition  at  that  time.  Had  the 
Eoyalists  become  masters  of  the  navy,  it  would  not  only 
have  been  employed  in  maintaining  a  constant  communi- 
cation with  foreign  States ;  but  the  strength  thence  accru- 
ing to  the  royal  cause  would  have  affected  the  conduct 
of  foreign  Powers,  and  strengthened  and  excited  into 
activity  their  natural  inclination  to  support  the  cause 
of  despotism  against  that  of  constitutional  liberty.  In 
point  of  fact,  if  the  Royalists  had  been  masters  of  the  navy, 
the  distinction  between  England  and  Hungary,  or  between 
England  and  any  other  unhappy  country  which  has  no 
physical  barrier  against  the  surrounding  despots,  would 
have  been  destroyed ;  and  the  Parliamentary  armies,  after 
defeating  the  forces  of  their  native  tyrants,  would  have 
had  to  fight  the  armies  of  the  tyrants  of  France,  Spain, 
and  Germany.      When   Lord  Macaulay   says  that,  if  a 


*  Aubrey's  Lives,  vol.  ii.  p.  38L 


Page  i9  et  seq. 


1661.1 


IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  NAVY. 


47 


French  or  Spanish  army  had  invaded  England,  he  has  no 
doubt  that  it  would  have  been  cut  to  pieces  on  the  first 
day  on  which  it  came  face  to  face  with  the  soldiers  of 
Preston  and  Dunbar,  with  Colonel  Fight-the-good-fight 
and  Captain  Smite-them-hip-and-thigh,  he  seems  to  forget 
that  though  neither  France,  Spain,  nor  Germany  could  pro- 
duce soldiers  equal  to  those  of  Dunbar  and  Naseby,  the 
genius  of  Conde  or  of  Turenne  might  have  given  at  least 
a  chance  to  armies  composed  of  inferior  military  materials. 
But,  be  that  as  it  may,  what  has  been  said  shows  the  vast 
importance  of  the  navy  in  preventing  all  foreign  inter- 
ference in  the  quarrel  between  the  English  and  their  Kings 
—an  interference  which  might  have  led  to  most  disastrous 
consequences,  as  regarded  the  independence,  the  freedom, 
and  honour  of  England  as  a  nation.     I  think  there  cannot 
be  a  doubt  that  it  was  his  conviction  on  this  point  that  led 
Blake— when  the  messenger  reached  his  fleet,  then  lying 
off  Aberdeen,  mth  the  news  that  Cromwell  had  turned  out 
the  Parliament  by  force,  and  when  some  of  his  captains 
pressed  him  to  declare  against  the  usurper^^to  say,  "  It  is 
not  the  business  of  a  seaman  to  mind  State  affairs,  but  to 
hinder  foreigners  from  fooling  us."     That  Blake's  private 
opinion  was'"oire"^oroiily  of  disapprobation  but  of  disap- 
pointment  is   certain   from   all  that   is   recorded   of  his 
opinions  and  his  actions.     Little  more  than  a  year  before, 
too,  he  is  reported  to  have  said  openly,  that  monarchy  was 
a  kind  of  government  the  world  was  weary  of ;  that  it  was 
past  in  England,  going  in  France,  and  in  ten  years  would 
be  gone  in  Spain.  ^     This  prophecy  of  Blake  is  but  one 

»  "  That  you  may  see  how  brave  and  monarchy  is  a  kind  of  government  the 

open-dealing  men  your  friends  of  the  world  is  weary  of ;  that  it  is  past  in 

new  Commonwealth  are,  Blake,  at  his  England,  going    in  France,  and  that 

late  being  at  Cadiz,  said  openly,  that  it  must  gi't  out  of  Spain  with  moro 


48 


COMMONWEALTH   OF   ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIII. 


more  proof,  added  to  thousands,  of  the  little  that  can  be 
safely  predicted  respecting  political  affairs,  and  of  the 
truth  of  the  remark  of  David  Hume,  that  the  world  is  yet 
too  young  to  have  a  political  philosophy.  But  Blake — 
though,  like  the  rest  of  the  human  race,  he  might  miss  .the 
mark  very  widely  when  he  attempted  to  carry  his  foresight 
forward  for  years — saw,  like  Cromwell  and  all  the  men  of 
his  kind,  with  the  unerring  instinct  of  genius,  what  was 
best  to  be  done  at  the  moment,  for  the  hour,  and  for  the 
day  that  was  passing  over  him.  He  thus  saw  that  if  he 
declared  against  Cromwell,  the  issue  of  the  conflict  be- 
tween him  and  Cromwell  would  be  doubtful,  while  the 
gain  to  the  enemies  of  both  would  be  certain.  And  he 
saw  also  that  if  the  question  was  of  necessity  between  a 
single  tyrant  like  Cromwell,  and  a  siagle  tyrant  like  Stuart, 
the  former  was  infinitely  to  be  preferred  to  the  latter. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  Blake  should  make  the  mistake 
he  did  when  he  said  that  monarchy  was  a  kind  of  govern- 
ment the  world  was  weary  of — that  it  was  gone  in  Eng- 
land, going  in  France,  and  in  ten  years  would  be  gone  in 
Spain.  For  Blake  had  seen  events  which  might  well  make 
him  think  that  a  great  change  had  taken  place  in  the 
ideas  that  had  prevailed  in  Europe  for  the  last  two  centu- 
ries or,  at  least,  for  the  last  century  and  a  half.  He 
could  remember  the  time  in  England  when  the  very  door- 
keeper of  the  House  of  Lords  dared  to  shut  the  door  of 
that  House  in  the  face  of  a  Member  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, with  the  insolent  words,  "  Goodman  burgess,  you 
come  not  here."  He  had  also  seen  "  Goodman  burcress  " 
in  a  very  different  charact^.     "  Goodman  burgess  "  had 

gravity,  but  in  ten  years  it  would  be     Madrid,  Fob.  9,  16pi1.  {Clarendon  Slate 
(lotormincd  tliero   likewise." — Sir  Ed-     Papers,  vol.  iii.  p.  27.) 
ward   Hyde    to    Secretary    Nicholas, 


1651.]        BLAKE  OPPOSED  TO  THE  KING'S  EXECUTION.  49 

formed  and  brought  up  the  cuirassiers  who  turned  the 
battle  on  Marston  Moor.  "  Goodman  burgess "  had  led 
the  charge  at  ISTaseby.  "  Goodman  burgess  "  had  stormed 
and  reduced  to  a  heap  of  ruins  many  a  feudal  fortress 
that  had  baffled  all  besiegers,  and  had  successfully  de- 
fended places  which  were  not  fortresses,  and  where 
nothing  seemed  defensible  but  his  own  unconquerable 
will.  Further,  "  Goodman  burgess  "  had  defeated  the 
fleets  of  many  kings  and  of  one  powerful  republic,  and  had 
gone  forth  over  the  ocean,  from  the  Pentland  Frith  to  the 
Straits  of  Gibraltar,  conquering  and  to  conquer.  "  Good- 
man burgess  "  had  sat  in  that  old  Hall  in  judgment  on 
the  captive  heir  of  a  hundred  kings;  and  "Goodman 
burgess  "  liad  done  the  great  execution  that  was  to  be  a 
warning  to  all  time.  But  though  that  execution  was  to  be 
a  salutary  warning  to  affcer-ages — for  without  the  inefface- 
able memory  of  that  terrible  deed,  so  fearlessly' done  in  the 
face  of  heaven  and  earth,  assuredly  James  H.  and  some 
other  royal  delinquents  would  not  have  been  so  easily  got 
rid  of  as  they  were — its  immediate  effect  was  not  favour- 
able  to  the  cause  of  those  who  did  it. 

But  Blake,  though  he  was  not  aware  'of  all  the  conse- 
quences of  the  King's  trial  and  execution,  was  not  in  any 
degree  a  party  to  those  proceedings.  He  wished  to  see  the 
Kino"  deposed  and  banished.  And  when  he  found  the  army 
fanatics,  of  whom  Cromwell — whether  he  really,  at  the 
bottom  of  his  heart,  desired  the  execution  of  the  King  or 
not,  and  that  we  can  never  know — was  the  chief  leader, 
determined  on  the  King's  trial  and  execution,  he  loudly 
expressed  his  disapprobation  of  their  proceedings.^  Not 
that  he  entertained  the  most  remote  idea  of  the  expediency, 

»  Dixon's  Robert  Blake,  p.  Ill,  and  the  authorities  there  cited. 
VOL.  II.  ^ 


I 


50 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIII. 


I 


under  any  circumstances,  of  the  restoration  to  power  of  a 
man  who  had  proved  himself  so  faithless,  and  so  utterly 
unfit  to  govern ;  but  like  Vane,  Alg-emon  Sydney,  and 
others  of  the  more  farseeing  statesmen  of  that  time,  he 
j  considered  the  King's  trial  and  execution  as  a  grievous 
political  blunder.  The  sentimentalities  of  the  question  of 
the  Eng's  execution  may  be  despatched  in  the  words  of 
Casca,  in  Shakspeare's  Julius  Ccesar:  "Three  or  four 
wenches,  where  I  stood,  cried,  Alas,  good  soul !  and  forgave 
him  with  all  their  hearts:  if  Csesar  had  stabbed  their 
mothers,  they  would  have  done  no  less." 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war  between  the  King  and 
the  Parliament,  the  bulk  of  the  army,  as  well  as  of  the 
navj^  had  been  Presbyterian.     In  the  army  the  Presbyte- 
rian element  had  diminished,  and  the  Independent  element 
had  very  much  increased— indeed,  to  such  an  extent,  that 
at  the  time  of  the  King's  death  the  army  might  be  con- 
sidered as  almost  entirely  composed  of  Independents,  both 
as  regarded  the  soldiers  and  officers  ;  though  Fairfax,  the 
\  Lord-General,  was  a  Presbyterian,  to  be  succeeded,  how- 
ever, at  ihe  beginning  of  the  campaign  in   Scotland,  in 
1650,  by  Cromwell,  an   Independent.     In  the  navy  the 
Presbyterian  element  remained  much  longer  "Wan  in  the 
army,  so  that,  soon  after  the  seizure  of  the  King's  person 
byllie  army,  a  disposition  to  mutiny  showed  itself  in  the 
navy  in  the  Downs—  a  disposition  fomented  by  the  Eoyalist 
intriguers  of  Kent ;  and  rose  to  such  a  height,  that  a  por- 
tion  of  the   fleet,    consisting   of  eleven   ships,    cari-ying 
altogether  291  guns  and  1,260  men,  revolted  from  the  Par- 
liament, and,  under  the  command  of  Vice- Admiral  Batten, 
sailed  for  the  coast  of  Holland.      On  the  12th  of  June, 
1647,  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  the  Lord  High  Admiral,  had 
written  a  letter  to  Batten,  which  shows  that  at  that  time 


1651.] 


KEVOLT  OF  A  PART  OF  THE  FLEET. 


51 


considerable  doubts  were  entertained  respecting  the  fleet's 
fidelity  to  the  Parliament.  Batten,  however,  instead  of  (as 
the.  Lord  High  Admiral's  letter  directed  him  to  do)  "  im- 
proving all  means  to  continue  the  mariners  in  a  condition 
of  obedience  and  service  to  the  Parliament  who  have 
intrusted  them,"  ^  betrayed  the  trust  committed  to  him 
by  the  Parliament;  and  fomenting,  instead  of  allaying, 
the  mutinous  spirit  in  the  fleet,  finally,  in  Jinie  1648, 
informed  his  partisans  of  his  resolution  to  declare  for 
King  Charles,  and  then,  with  eleven  ships,  stood  over  for 
the  coast  of  Holland,  to  coMtdt  with  the  Prince  of  Wales. 


■■;■»  »<<^«»*'W'»f  «-■■■■  *^-*»  J 


'V**mt^iff^ 


The  Pfihce  received  him  with  open  arms,  and  conferred 
upon  hini  the  ignominy  of  knighthood,  which,  in  all  cases 
at  the  best  no  honour  under  the  Stuarts,  was  in  this  case 
a  double  disgrace,  as  serving  to  affix  on  the  man's  name  to 
all  time  the  brand  of  his  treachery.     Batten,  indeed,  pub- 
lished in  his  defence  a  declaration,  "  for  satisfaction  of  all 
honest    seamen   and     others  whom  it  may  concern,"   in 
which  he  complains  of   illtreatment  by  the  Parliament. 
But  there  is  a  somewhat  short  and  simple  test  of  the  value 
of  this  complaint  of  Captain    Batten,    furnished  by  his 
own  ''  Declaration :  "  for  among  those  whom  he  places  in 
the  same  category  with  himself,  as  having  been  ill-requited 
by  the  Parliament  for  their  great  services,  he  specifies  Colonel 
Blake.^  Kow  Batten,  when  he  professed  to  be  a  public  servant, 
aggrieved  and  ill-requited  to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  en- 
titled to  revolt  from  those  who  gave  him  his  commission, 


*  The  Earl  of  Warwick  to  Captain  the    "  Declaration    of    Sir     "William 

Batten,    from    the    Committee,    June  Batten,  late  Vice-Admiral  for  the  Par- 

12,  1647,  in    Granville    Penn's    Me-  liament,"  from  a  copy  in  the  British 

morials  of  Admiral  Sir  William  Penn,  Museum,   "  printed  at  London  in  the 

vol.  i.  pp.  247,  248.  year    1648."— See   Memorials  of  Ad- 

2  Granville   Penn,    vol.    i.   p.    268.  miral    Sir   William   Fain,  vol.  i.  pp. 

Mr.  Granville  Penn  has  printed  in  full  266-270. 

K2 


^2  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIII. 

and  to  go  over  to  their  enemies,  was  in  the  command  of  a 
fleet,  and  therefore  could  not  have  been  so  much  ill-requited 
for  his  former  services  as  Blake  at  that  time  might  seem 
to  be ;  for  Blake  had  then  no  such  command  as  Batten, 
and  Blake's  defences  of  Lyme  and  Taunton  Avere,  at  least, 
equivalent  to  anything  ever  done  by  Batten.     But  Blake 
was  not  one  of  those  men  who,  when  their  own  estimate 
of  their   services   is   not  adopted   to  the  letter  by  their 
Government  or  country,  fancy  that  they  are  justified  in 
going  over  to  the  enemy,  by  way  of  redressing  their  real 
or  imaginary  grievances.    According  to  such  a  principle  of 
action,  no  Government  could  ever  depend  on  its  naval  or 
military  commanders;  for  I  believe  it  may  be  said  that 
there  is  no  Government  that  can  escape,  or  at  least  that  has 
yet  escaped,  the  imputed  fault  of  occasionally  overlooking, 
or  at    least    inadequately    appreciating,    great    services. 
There  is  certainly,  if  not  more  excuse  for,  a  greater  tendency 
in  men  to  act  as  Batten  acted  in  civil  wars  than  on  other 
occasions.     The  revolt  of  those  ships,  however,  probably 
proved  in  the  end  beneficial  to  the  Parliament;  for  it  set 
them  to  remodel  the  whole  system  of  their  navy,  as  they 
had   before   done   that  of  their  army,  and  produced  the 
wonderful  achievements  of  Blake,  and  an  altogether  new 
epoch  in  the  history  of  English  naval  afiairs. 

About  the  time  of  this  defection  of  a  part  of  the  fleet 
of  the  Parliament,  a  conference  was  held  in  King  Street, 
Westminster,  between  those  called,  says  Ludlow,  "the 
grandees  of  the  House  and  Army,  and  the  Commonwealth's 
ifle«T'^ii  which  the  grandees,  of  whom  Lieutenant-General 
Cromwell  was  the  hea^rkept  themselves  in  the  clouds,  and 
would  not  declare  their  judgments  either  for  a  monarchical, 
aristocratical,  or  democratical  government—maintaining 
that  any  of  these  might  be  good  in  themselves,  or  for  us. 


1651.]       THE  COMMONWEALTH'S  MEN  AND  MONARCHY. 


53 


according  as  Providence  should  direct  us.     The  Common- 
wealth's men,"  continues  Ludlow,  "  declared  that  monarchy 
was  neither  good  in  itself  nor  for  us.     That  it  was  not 
desirable  in  itself,  they  urged  from  the  8th  chapter  and 
8th  verse  of  the  First  Book  of  Samuel,  where  the  rejecting 
of  the  Judges  and  the  choice  of  a  King  was  charged  upon 
the  Israelites,  by  God  himself,  as  a  rejection  of  Him ;  and 
from  another  passage  in  the  same  Book,  where  Samuel  de- 
clares it  to  be  great  wickedness,  with  divers  more  texts  of 
Scripture  to  the  same  effect.    And  that  it  was  no  way  con- 
ducing to  the  interest  of  this  nation,  was  endeavoured  to 
be  proved  by  the  infinite  mischiefs  and  oppressions  we  had 
suffered  under  it,  and  by  it ;  that,  indeed,  our  ancestors  had 
consented  to  be  governed  by  a  single  person,  but  with  this 
proviso,  that  he  should  govern  according  to  the  direction 
of  the  law,  which  he  always  bound  himself  by  oath  to 
perform ;  that  the  King  had  broken  this  oath,  and  thereby 
dissolved   our   allegiance   ....  Notwithstanding   what 
was  said,  Lieutenant-General  Cromwell,  not  for  want  of 
conviction,  but  in  hopes  of  making  a  better  bargain  with 
another  party,  professed  himself  unresolved ;  and  having 
learned  what  he  could  of  the  j)rinciples  and  inclinations 
of  those  present  at  the  conference,  took  up  a  cushion  and 
flung  it  at  my  head,  and  then  ran  down  the  stairs ;  but  I 
overtook  him  with  another,  which  made  him  hasten  down 
faster  than  he  desired.     The  next  day,  passing  by  me  in 
the  House,  he  told  me  he  was  convinced  of  the  desirable- 
ness of  what  was  proposed,  but  not  of  the  feasibleness  of 
it ;  thereby,  as  I  suppose,  designing  to  encourage  me  to 
hope  that  he  was  inclined  to  join  with  us,  though  unwil- 
ling to  publish  his  opinion,  lest  the  grandees  should  be  in- 
formed of  it — to  whom,  I  presume,  he  professed  himself  to 
be  of  another  judgment." 


54  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIIL 

Some  time  after  Cromwell  began  again  to  court  tlie 
Commonwealth  party,  and  Ludlow  says  :  "  I  took  the  free- 
dom to  tell  him  that  he  knew  how  to  cajole  and  give  them 
good  words  when  he  had  occasion  to  make  use  of  them ; 
whereat,  breaking  out  into  a  rage,  he  said  they  were  a 
proud  sort  of  people,  and  only  considerable  in  their  own 
conceits."  ^  Some  modem  writers  have  adopted  this  view 
of  Cromwell's  respecting  the  Commonwealth  party. 
Whether  they  and  Cromwell  are  right  or  not,  let  the 
world  judge,  when  the  evidence  necessary  for  a  fair  judg- 
ment is  placed  before  it. 

So  large  a  portion  of  their  fleet  having  gone  over  to 
their  enemies  some  six  months  before  the  Council  of  State 
began  their  work,  in  Febmary  164f ,  ihej  had  good  grounds 
for  making  the  setting  forth  an  efficient  navy  the  first 
business  to  which  they  should  direct  their  attention. 
And  in  doing  so  they  applied  the  same  principles  to  the 
reconstruction  of  their  navy  which  the  Parliament  had 
before  applied  to  the  reconstruction  of  their  army.  That 
reconstruction  of  their  army  the  Parliament  had  deno- 
minated the  "  New  Model,"  a  term  which  the  royalist 
smaU-wits  transformed  into  the  "  New  Noddle,"  but  soon 
discovered  to  their  cost  that  the  joke  was  one  of  those 
witticisms  which  are  said  to  produce  a  laugh  on  the  wrong 
side  of  the  mouth.  Miracles  alone,  as  Mr.  Motley  has 
most  ably  shown  in  his  "  History  of  the  United  Nether- 
lands,^^^  had  saved  England  from  perdition  in  the  year 
1588— miracles,  and  not  the  administrative  talentlisplayed 
by  the  much-lauded  Queen  Elizabeth  ahd  her  ministers. 
But  it  is  not  safe  to  trust  to  miracles  for  the  safety  of  a 
Government  or  of  a  nation.     And  there  is  instruction  in 

'  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  i.  pp.  238-241,  2nd  edition,  London   1721 
2  Motley's  History  of  the  United  Netherlands,  vol.  ii.  pp.  527,528.  * 


1651.]  COUNCIL  OF  STATE  AND  QUEEN  ELIZABETH'S  COUNCIL.    55 


the  comparison  of  the  Council  of  State  of  the  Long  Parlia- 
ment with  the  Council  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  The  Council 
of  State  went  about  their  work  in  a  very  different  fashion 
from  that  of  Queen  Elizab^eth — scolding,  swearing  at, 
and  browbeating  her  friends,  and  duped  by  her  enemies  ; 
or  of  her  Lord  Treasurer,  Burghley,  "  puzzled  himself  and 
still  more  puzzling  to  others."  ^  and  "  turning  comj^licated 
paragraphs,  shaking  his  head,  and  waving  his  wand  across 
the  water,  as  if,  by  such  expedients,  the  storm  about  to 
burst  over  England  could  be  dispersed."  ^ 

It  would  appear  that  the  Government  of  the  Common- 
wealth had,  like  that  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  found  a  de- 
ficiency of  powder.  The  following  minutes  show  the  want, 
and  their  exertions  to  supply  it : — "  That  it  be  reported  to 
the  House  that  the  Council  upon  the  despatch  of  pro- 
visions for  Ireland  finds  a  great  want  of  powder."  The 
Council  recommend  that  the  manufacture  of  petre  (salt- 
petre) be  forthwith  set  on  foot  in  England.^  And  another 
minute  orders, "  That  a  letter  be  written  to  Mr.  Peimoger, 
to  deal  with  the  East  India  Company  for  their  proportion 
of  saltpetre  which  is  now  come  in  by  the  East  India 
fleet  from  those  parts."* 

The  "New  Model"  was,  in  fact,  merely  the  application  to 
the  armies  and  fleets  of  a  State  of  the  same  principle  which 
all  men  of  common  sense  employ  in  the  conduct  of  their 
ordinary  business.  The  year  1649  was  not  a  time  when 
any  Government,  unless  brained  like  the  oligarchy  com- 
posed of  Stephano,  Triiiculo,  and  Caliban,  would  have 
thought  of  advancing  men  with  family  interest  over  the 
heads  of  men  who  had  nothing  to  recommend  them  but 

»  Motley's   History    of    the  United  9tli    July,    1649,     MS.   State   Paper 

Netherlands,  vol.  i.  p.  88.       .  Office. 

2  md.  vol.  ii.  p.  299.  *  Ibid,  lltli  September,  1G49. 

'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 


/ 


Ji 


S6  COMMONWEALTH   OF   ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIH. 

their  skm  and  courage.  But  the  Government  of  which  the 
Council  of  State  was  the  executive  was  brained  very  dif- 
ferently, not  only  from  the  three  worthies  above  mentioned, 
but  from  the  English  Governments  which  went  before  and 
came  after  them— Governments  that  gave  the  command  of 
armies  to  such  men  as  Leicester  and  Buckingham,  and 
commissions  to  such  men  as  Ensign  Northerton  and  the 
captain  in  Hamilton's  Bawn. 

There  is  nothing  that  more  strikingly  shows  the  con- 
dition of  England  under  the  Tudors  than  Queen  Elizabeth's 
habitual  treatment  of  her  soldiers  and  seamen.     She  does 
not  treat  them  half  or   a   quarter    so   well  as  a  man  of 
average  humanity  treats  his  horse  or  his  dog.     "They 
perish  for  want  of  victual  and  clothing  in  great  numbers."* 
And  such  was  the  carelessness  of  the  much-lauded  Gov- 
ernment of  Queen  Elizabeth,  that  after  the  defeat  of  the 
Spanish    Armada,    the    English    sailors    were   dying    by 
hundreds,    and    even    thousands,    of    ship-fever,   in   the 
latter  days  of  August  1588.     They  rotted  in  their  ships,  or 
died  in  the  streets  of  the  naval  ports,  because  there  were 
no  hospitals  to  receive  them.  ^ 

How  different  from  the  condition  of  the  troops  of  the 
Commonwealth  was  that  of  Queen  Elizabeth's,  "  shoeless, 
shivering,  starving  vagabonds  "^  will  appear  from  what  fol- 
lows. One  of  the  first  things  to  which  the  Council  of  State 
directed  the  most  minute  attention  was  the  quality  and 
quantity  of  the  food  supplied  to  the  seamen  on  board  their 

>  Leicester  to  Burghley,  15th  March,  ley  (vol.  ii.  p.  524). 

1586,  MS.  State  Paper  Office,  cited  in  3  Motley's   History   of    the   United 

Motley's   United    Netherland,    vol.  i.  Netherlands,  vol.  i.  p.  438.— The  abun- 

p.  448,  note.  ^^ant  evidence  of  the  miserable  condi- 

2  Lord   Howard   to   tlie  Queen ;    to  tion  in  which  Queen  Elizabeth  was  not 

Walsingham ;  and  to  the  Privy  Council,  ashamed  to  keep  her  troops  quoted  by 

2'2nd  August  to  1st  September,  1588.  Mr.  Motley,  furnishes  a  striking  but 

MSS.  State  Paper  Office,  cited  by  Mot-  most  painful  picture. 


1^ 


V 


1651.] 


J 


RECX)^rSTRUCT10N  OF  THE  NAVY. 


57 


ships.  They  found  that  the  food  was  bad  in  quality,  often 
unfit  to  be  eaten,  and  deficient  in  quantity.  Those  persons 
who,  like  the  prize-agents  who  keep  the  soldiers  and 
sailors'  prize-money  for  a  series  of  years  in  order  to  make 
fortunes  by  the  interest  of  it,  supplied  the  provisions  for 
the  navy  had  no  objections  to  starve  or  poison  the  sea- 
men, provided  they  made  fortunes  by  the  proceeding.  The 
result  of  the  indefatigable  exertions  of  Sir  Henry  Yane 
and  his  colleagues  on  the  Committee  of  the  Admiralty,^ 
aided  by  such  an  admiral  as  Blake — who,  like  his  cotem- 
porar}^  Turenne  to  his  soldiers,  was  a  father  to  his  seamen 
— was  similar  to  that  produced  some  years  before  by  the 
"  New  Model "  of  the  army  on  the  food  as  well  as  the  dis- 
cipline of  the  soldiers. 

I  have  stated  in  the  preceding  volume^  that  on  the 
20th  of  February,  164f ,  the  Council  of  State  ordered  "  that 
it  be  reported  to  the  House  as  the  opinion  of  the  Council 
that  the  ordinance  of  Parliament  constituting  the  Earl  of 
Warwick  Lord  High  Admiral  be  repealed;"  that  on  the 
same  day  it  was  resolved  by  the  House,  "  that  the  House 
doth  agree  with  the  Council  of  State  as  to  the  repeal  of 
the  ordinance  constituting  the  Earl  of  Warwick  Lord 
High  Admiral;"  and  that,  on  the  26th  of  the  same 
month,  the  Council  of  State  ordered,  "That  the  names 
of  the  Commissioners  who  are  appointed  td~CDminand  at 
sea  shall  be  ranked  in  this  order,  viz.— Colonel  Popham, 
Colonel  Blake,  and  Colonel  Deane."  Tlie  commission  "  to 
Colonel  Edward  PophamT^  Colonel  Robert  Blake,  and 
Colonel  Eichard  Deane,  nominated  and  appointed  by  this 

'  There  are  numerous  minutes  evinc-  on  Friday  night  (see   Vol.  I.  p.  51). 

ing  the  most  anxious  care  of  the  sea-  Others   will   be   given  in  subsequent 

men's  food.     Some  of  these  have  been  pages  of  this  volume.    (See  Chapter 

already  given  as  to  the  observation  of  XII.) 

Lent,  as  likewise  the  half  allowance  "^  Vol.  I.  pp.  49,  50. 


) 


f 


58  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIIL 

present  Parliament  to  be  Commissioners  for  the  immediate 
ordering  and  commanding  of  the  fleet  now  at  sea,  and 
which  shall  be  set  forth  for  the  year  ensuing,  1649,"  bears 
date  "Februaiy  27,  164f ;"   and  empowers  the  said  Com- 
missioners, or  any  two  of  them,  "  to  hold  and  execute  the 
place  of  Admiral  and  General  of  the  said  fleet,  and  to  give 
commissions,  with  the  seal  of  the  anchor,  unto  the  Vice- 
Admiral  and  Eear-Admiralof  the  said  fleet,  the  Admiral  of 
the  Irish  seas,  and  all  other  ofiicers  of  the  said  fleet ;  and 
further  to  appoint  and  empower  any  one  of  themselves  to 
command-in-chief  the   said   fleet,  or   any  part  thereof." 
The  powers  of  the  commission  are  to  continue  to  the  first 
day  of  March,  le^i      The  multifarious  business   of  the 
Council  of  State  obliged  them  to  have  different  seals  for 
their  various    functions.      Accordingly    this   ccmimission 
thus  ends—"  And  for  the  present,  this  shall  be  your  war- 
rant.   Given  under  the  Admiralty  seal  of  this  said  Council 
of  State,  this  27th  day  of  February,  164^. 

"  Signed  in  the  name  and  by  order  of  the  Council  of 
State  appointed  by  authority  of  Parliament, 

"  Denbigh, 

"  Preses  pro  tempore."^ 

On  the  22nd  of  the  same  month  of  February,  164?-,  the 
Council  of  State  ordered,  "  That  the  ships  at  sea  in'  the 
service  of  the  State  shall  bear  the  red  cross  in  a  white 
flag  ;2  and  that  the  engravings  upon  the  stern  of  the  ships 

'  "That  the  Commission  engrossed  but  on  the  10th  of  March  next,  they 

and  brought  in  for  the  three  Commis-  made   an    order   "that    Mr.  Serjeant 

sioners  to  command  the  fleet  at  sea,  be  Bradshaw  shall  be  President  of  this 

signed  by  the   Karl   of  Denbigh,   as  Council."— See  Vol.  I.  p.  38. 
being    Preses  pro  tempore."  —  Order        2  A  proclamation  of  Charles  I     in 

Book  of  the  CouncU   of  State,   27th  1634,  prohibits  any  but  King's  ships 

February,     164|,     MS.    State    Paper  from  carrying  the  Union  flag  in  the 

Office.     The  Council  at  tliis  time  ap-  maintop,  or  elsewhere— that  is,  Saint 

pointed  a  President  at  each  meeting ;  George's   cross   and    Saint    Andrew's 


1651.] 


THE  COMMONWEALTH  FLAG. 


59 


shall  be  the  arms  of  England  and  Ireland  in  two  es- 
cutcheons, as  is  used  in  the  seals."  ^  And  on  the  5th  of 
March  the  Council  of  State  ordered,  "  That  the  flag  that  is 
to  be  borne  by  the  Admiral,  Yice-Admiral,  E/Car- Admiral, 
be  that  now  presented  with  the  arms  of  England  and 
Ireland  in  two  several  escutcheons,  in  a  red  flag,  within  a 
compartment:  (or)."^  This  ensign  of  the  red  flag  borne 
by  the  Admirals  of  the  Government  called  the  "  Common- 
wealth of  England"  was  for  the  next  seven  years  to  be  as 
widely  known  and  as  victorious  as  the  famous  red  flag, 
which  was  displayed  on  a  spear  from  the  top  of  the  Prae- 
torium,  the  tent  of  the  Roman  general,  as  the  signal  to 
prepare  for  battle.  It  was  fi]^t  displayed  against  an  ad- 
versary whose  career  bears  a  resemblance  to  that  of  Blake, 
in  so  far  as  he  had  fought  with  sonie  distinction  on  land 
before  he  fought  at  sea.  In  other  respects,  this  man  dif- 
fered from  Blake,  both  in  his  character  and  his  exploits,  as 

widely  as  it  is  possible  for  one  human  being  lo  differ  from 
another.  —^  ..^,«--.,.,,,»^ 

If  high  birth  and  great  bodily  strength  and    activity 


cross  joined  together ;  and  orders  the 
English  suly'ects  to  carry  the  red  cross 
commonly  called  Saint  George's  cross, 
and  the  Scotch  subjects  to  carry  the 
white  cross,  commonly  called  Saint 
Andrew's  cross. 

>  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  22nd  February,  164|,  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 

2  Ibid,  die  Lund.  5th  March,  et 
Meridie,  164|.— Mr.  Granville  Penn, 
who  iii.his  valuable  memorials  of  his 
ancestor.  Sir  WiUiam'Penn,  gives  a 
few  extracts  from  the  Order  Book  of 
the  Council  of  State,  gives  the  first  of 
the  orders  transcribed  above,  which 
was  for  all  the  State  ships  except  the 
Admiral's,  Vice-Admiral's,  and  Rear- 


Admiral's  ;    but  he   does  not  seem  to 
have  been   aware  of  the  existence  of 
the  second  order,  which  was  only  for 
the  Admiral's,  Vice- Admiral's,  and  Rear- 
Admiral's.     It   appears   further,  from 
the  List  of  the  Commonwealth's  fleet 
at  sea  in  1653  (London :  printed  by 
M.  Simmons,  and  sold  at  his  house  in 
Aldersgate   Street ;    and   by   Thomas 
Jenner,  at  the  south  entrance  of  the 
Royal  Exchange,  1653;  and  reprinted 
in  Mr.  Granville  Penn's  Memorials  of 
Sir  William  Penn,  vol.  i.  p.  491),  that 
the  first  squadron  of  the  fleet  carried 
the  arms  of  the  Commonwealth   em- 
broidered in  gold  on  a  red  flag ;  the 
second  squadron  on  a  white  flag;  the 
third  squadron  on  a  blue  fljig. 


] 


I 


60  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIIL 

could  make  a  great  man,  Prince  Eupert  would  have  been 
a  great  man.     But  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  go  beyond  the 
periwigged  face  of  this  cavalier  hero  to  see  that  he  was 
not  a  great  man;  for  it  is  a  face  which  has  little  or  nothing 
to  distinguish  it  from  those  of  the  "  round-faced  peers,  as 
like  each  other  as  eggs  to  eggs,  who  look  out  from  the 
middle  of  the  periwigs  of  Kneller."     No  one  can  look  on 
the  face  of  Cromwell-marked  though  it  Be,  as  Macaulay 
has  eloquently  and  truly  said,  "  with  all  the  blemishes 
which  had  been  put  on  it  by  time,  by  war,  by  sleepless 
nights,  by  anxiety,  perhaps  by  remorse  "—without  seeing 
"  valour,  policy,  authority,  and  public  care  written  in  all  its 
princely  lines.'^   Yes,  the  lines  in  this  man's  face-this  man, 
by  birth-Biita  private  gentleman,  by  occupation  a  brewer- 
were  princely,  were  grand'  and  commanding ;  while  those  of 
thi^son  of  an  English  princess  and  a  German  potentate 
whose  pedigree  the  heralds  might,  perhaps,  attempt  to  carry 
back  to  Charlemagne  or  Attila,  were  as  commonplace  as 
those  of  any  of  Kneller's  round-faced  periwigged  peers. 
Even  in  this  age  of  heroes,  "  when  every  year  and  month 
brings  forth  a  new  one,"  it  needs  something  more  than 
cruelty  and  rapacity,  though  backed  by  bodily  strength  and 
activity,  to  make  a  hero  of  whom  "one  would  care  to  vaunt." 
And  in  that  troubled  time  there  was  no  room  for  heraldic 
heroes  and  heraldic  princes,  however  long  and  fine  might  be 
their  hair,  their  pedigrees,  or  their  periwigs.     Necessity 
at  such  times  is  sure  to  find  out  the  men  who  are  princely 
by  nature,  whether  or  not  they  are  so  by  birth  :  and  then, 
when  the  hollow  image 

Is  found  a  hollow  image  and  no  more, 
The  power  returns  into  the  mighty  hands 
Of  Nature,  of  the  spirit  giant-born. 


1651.] 


PRINCE  RUPERT. 


61 


^^  •  Sir  William  Napier  repeatedly  expresses  himself  as  much  struck  with  the 
grand  tace,    as  he  calls  it,  of  Soult,  the  greatest  of  Napoleon's  Marshals. 


By  one  of  those  strange  capri(^^«  of  fortune  by  which 
retribution  is  so  often  escaped  upon  earth,  this  German 
adventurer  had  always  escaped  from  those  fields  of  battle 
on  which  the  vengeance  of  an  outraged  nation  had  taught 
the  Stuart  tyrant,  and  his  French  "Wife,  ^nd  his  German 
nephews,  that  Englishmen  were  not  to  be  oppressed  with 
impunity,  like  French  and  German  serfs.  Long  before  he 
fled  from  Naseby,  with  Cromwell's  horse-hoofs  thundering 
close  behind  him,  Rupert  had  ehdeavourecl  to*  secure  some 
part  of  the  phiMeY  {wliTcE,'^  and  tlie  power  of  plundering 
the  Engfeh  people  for  ever  afber,  was  alT  He  %\ight  for) 
by  freighting  one  or  two  vessels  with  it.  But  these 
ships  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Parliament.  After  the  fall 
of  Bristol — which  Eupert,  after  a  defence  forming  a  strong 
contrasT^  BIa¥e^s  3efence  of  Lyme  and  Taunton,  surren- 
dered to  the  army  of  the  Parliament — the  Kiiig  signified 
his  pleasure  to  the  Lords  of  the  Cotmcil,  that  they  should 
require  Prince  Pupert  to  deliver  his  commissionTnto  their 
hands.  He  likewise  wrote  a  letter  to  Eupert,  dated 
"  Hereford,  September,  1645,"  in  which  he  says  :  "  I  must 
remember  you  of  your  letter  of  the  12th  of  August, 
whereby  you  assured  me  that,  if  no  mutiny  happened, 
you  would  keep  Bristol  for  four  months.  Did  you  keep  it 
four  days?  Was  there  anything  like  a  mutiny?  More 
questions  might  be  asked;  but  now,  I  confess,  to  little 
purpose  :  my  conclusion  is,  to  desire  you  to  seek  your  sub- 
sistence, until  it  shall  please  God  to  determine  of  my 
condition,  somewhere  beyond  the  seas — to  which  end  I 
send  you  herewith  a  pass."  Eupert  w^ent  first  to  Holland, 
then  to  France,  where,  in  July  1646,  he  was  made  Mare- 
chal-du-camp,  and  had  a  regiment  of  foot,  a  troop  of 
horse,  and  the  command  of  all  the  English  in  France.* 

'  Eupert  MS.  in  Warburton,iii.  237.     translated  Field-Marshal.    But  Field- 
Marechal-du-c  imp  has  bometimes  been     Marshal  is  a  much  higher  rank,  though 


1 


f 

J 


^99 


62 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VIII. 

It  is  probable  tliat  Eupert's  arrogance  made  him  as  dis- 
agreeable to  his  own  party  as   his  cruelty   and  rapacity 
rendered  him  hateful   to  his  enemies.      Clarendon    says 
he  had  the  niisfortune_^  be  no  better  beloy&iKby  the 
King's  party  than  hT^^iTBy  the -parHameiTr' ~Ashe  had 
^     before  fled  femi  <)romwell,  lie  wa^now  to  haye  to  fly  before 
another  Parliamentary  officer,  as  terrible  by  sea  as  Crom- 
weU  was  by  land.     For  when  the  seamen  of  that  part  of 
the  fleet  which  had  reyolted  from  the  Parliament  mutinied 
agamst  Batten,  who  had  brought  them  over  to  Prince 
Charles,  Eupert  obtained  the  command,  though  some  of 
the  chief  seamen  refused  to  "  saU  under  Eupert,  a  foreign 
prmce._^'    And  the  same  eotgmpof'ary"  document  ("From 
the  Hague,  2nd  November,  1648  ")  adds  :— "  The  seamen 
desert  daily ;  the   chief  that   stay   are   very   debauched 
which  produces  duels  every  day." '   It  is  evident  that  ships 
manned  by  such  seamen  would  be  fit  enough  to  become 
pirates;  and  pirates  they  became.     It  is-ateo  remarkable 
that,  tten^  we  hear  enough' of  their  depredations  upon 
merchant-ships,  not  sufficiently  armed  to  offer  any  eflfective 
resistance,  we  do  not  hear  of  a  single  instance  of  their  attack- 
ing any  ship  of  war-at  least  any  ship  of  such  strength  as  to 
make  anything  like  a  good  and  equal  fight.    This  is,  indeed 
the  nature  of  pirates  and  robbers  generaUy,  who,  though 
they  may,  when  forced  to  it,  fight  as  men  fight  with  the  hal- 
ter about  their  necks,  have  reaUy  little  or  nothing  at  all  of 
that  high  and  adventurous  courage  which  has  been  falsely 
ascribed  to  them  by  those  modem  writers,  who  have  done 
their  utmost  to  corrupt  public  morals,  by  making,  or  at      ' 

whenT„renne.in  his  twentj-third  year,  lent  to  the  German  term  Field-Mar- 

obtamed  the  appointment  of  Mamhal-  ehal,  is  Marshal  of  France                         ' 

du-camp   that  appointment  was  then  ■  Proceedings    in    Parliament    f.-. 

the  next  m  rank  to  that  of  Mar&hal.  Granville  Penl,  .ol  i  p  W 

do-France.    The  French  term,  eqaiva-  ^' 


IGJl.]        CRUELTY  AND  EAPACITY  OF  PRINCE  EUPERT. 


63 


least  attempting  to  make,  heroes  of  tyrants,  robbers,  and 
villains  of  every  description,  small  and  great. 

Though  there  may  be  very  much  doubt  about  the  hero- 
ism of  this  German  adventurer,  there  is  very  little  about 
his  rapacity  and  cruelty.  The  cotemporary  narratives  of 
the  events  of  Ihis^EInglish  Civil  War  abound  with  instances 
of  the  outrages  perpetrated  by  him,  upon  the  persons, 
property,  and  dwellings  of  the  English  people.  Admiral 
Penn,  in  his  Journal,  relates  several  cases  that  place 
his  tynrimoTtS"antd  cruel  nature  in  a  strong  light.  He 
says,  under  date"24tlr"'jTiiy  ICSl,  Hiat  there  came  on 
board  one  of  liis  ships,  "  to  serve  the  State,  four  of 
Eupert's  men  (but  pressed  by  him  since  the  revolt),  who 
ventured  their  lives  in  attempting  their  escape  from  him 
at  Toulon."  ^  And  the  Admiral  tells  a  story  of  Rupert's 
cruelty,  so  atrocious,  that,  as  Mr.  Granville  Penn  remarks 
in  a  note,  it  is  to  be  v^ished  that  Rup^rt^s  reputation  were 
such  as  to  give  the  lie  to  this  dreadful  statement,  which  I 
would  not  venture  to  give  in  any  words  but  Admiral  Penn's 
own  :  "  30th  October,  1651. — About  noon  Captain  Jordan 
came  aboard,  and  informed  me  of  a  Genoese  he  stopped 
two  nights  since,  who  came  from  the  island  Terceira  .... 
The  lieutenant  of  the  said  ship,  who  was  brother  to  the 
slain  captain  "  [killed  by  a  shot  from  Captain  Jordan's 
ship] ,  "  with  others  of  the  ship's  company,  gave  us  intelli- 
gence of  Rupert's  being,  about  six  weeks  since,  at  Terceira ; 
and  how  cruelly  he  murdered  the  gunner  of  this  ship, 
being  an  Englishman,  and  refusing  to  serve  him.  He 
commanded  him  from  the  town  of  Terceii^a  aboard  the 
Reformation,  wherein  he  is  Admiral;  and,  having  him 
aboard,  commanded  his  ears  to  be  cut  off;  which  being 
done,  he  caused  his  arms  to  be  bound  together,  and  flung 

'  Admiral  Penn's  Journal,  July  24,  I60I,  in  Grancilk  Penn,  vol.  i.  p.  353. 


( 


I 


I 


^^  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIII. 

him   overboard   into   the   sea,   where   the   poor   creature 
perished.     The  Lord  forgive  this  bloody  wretch,  and  con- 
vert  him,   if  he  belongeth  unto ^ him;    otherwise,  if  His 
Holiness  please,  suddenly  destroy  him !  '"     So  prays  the 
Admiral,  a  prayerful  man  even  for  that  time.     If  Eupert 
had  ventured  his  person  in  Drogheda  or  Wexford,  or  if 
Blake  had  ever  fairly  fallen  in  with  him,  his  life  would  not 
have  been  worth  much.     But  his  powers  of  escaping  pur- 
suit,  both   by  land   and   sea,  appear   to   have  been   very 
extraordinary.     At  this  very  time  Penn  was  cruising  in 
search  of  him,  after  he  had  escaped  from  Blake,  who  had 
captured  or  destroyed  all  his  pirate  squadron— the  whole 
of  the  revolted  fleet,  with  the  exception  of  the  Beforma- 
lion  and  the  Swallow,  the  two  ships  in  which  Eupert  and 
his  brother  Maurice  sailed,  and  the  Marmaduhe,  a  ship 
they  had  recently  taken.     Clarendon  mentions,  as  a  proof 
of  Eupert's  bodily  strength,  as  well  as  "  notable  vigour," 
that  in  one  of  the  mutinies  which  he  suppressed,  "  he  had 
been  compelled  to  throw  two  or  three  seamen  overboard 
by  the  strength  of  his  own  arm." 

During  the  whole  of  the  year  1649,  Eupert,  with  his 
fleet  of  revolted  ships,  carried  on  a  war  of  piracy  against 
the  merchant-ships  of  all  nations.  The  Dutch  sufiered 
from  his  depredations  no  less  than  the  English.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Eupert  MSS.  (published  by  Mr.  Elliot  Warburton) 
the  Court  of  the  exiled  Prince  Charles  subsisted  on  these 
robberies.  This,  however,  is  denied  by  Clarendon,  who, 
though  neither  his  nor  Eupert's  testimony  can  be  accepted 
as  very  conclusive,  is  at  least  as  trustworthy  a  witness  as 
Eupert,  and  who  says:  "  Sure  when  it  is  known  that  Prince 
Eupert,  instead  of  ever  giving  to  the  King  one  penny 
of  those  millions  which  he  had  taken,  demanded  a  great 

»  Admiral  Penn's  Journal,  30th  Oct.,  1651,  in  Granville  Penn,  vol.  i.  p.  380. 


1649.]        RUPERT  ESCAPES  FROM  KINSALE  HARBOUR. 


65 


debt  from  the  King;  that  he  received  £14,000  since  his 
being  in  France,  and  took  no  more  notice  of  it  to  the  King 
then  if  he  were  not  concerned ;  and  that  he  went  away 
discontented,  because  the  King  would  not  approve  of  all 
he  did,  or  desired  to  do,  it  cannot  be  wondered  that  the 
King  did  not  importune  him  to  stay."  ^  But  whether  he 
gave  one  penny  to  the  King  or  not,  it  is  certain  he  took 
many  pennies  from  the  English,  who  had  then  a  Govern- 
ment which  at  least  had  this  virtue — that  it  was  one  which 
would  not  suffer  its  subjects  to  be  robbed  or  maltreated  in 
any  way  by  any  but  itself.  There  are  many  minutes  in  the 
"Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,"  during  the  year  1649, 
relating  to  the  depredations  committed  by  Prince  Eupert 
on  English  ships.  The  town  and  castle  of  Kinsale  being 
in  the  hands  of  the  Irish  rebels,  Eupei*t  found  the  harbour 
of  Kinsale  a  convenient  place  for  refuge,  as  well  as  for  dis- 
posing of  some  of  his  prizes ;  though  the  greater  part  were 
probably  sold  inPrench,  Dutch,  and  other  continental  ports.^ 

But  Blake,  with  his  division  of  the  Parliamentary  fleet, 
shut  up  the  pirate  and  his  fleet  in  Kinsale  Harbour,  and 
established  a  strict  blockade;  while  Cromwell,  by  his 
storm  of  Drogheda  and  Wexford,  showed  that  Ireland 
was  not,  at  that  particular  time,  a  very  safe  abode  for  any 
whom  the  Parliament  of  England  designated  pirates  or 
rebels. 

Under  these  circumstances,  towards  the  end  of  October, 
Eupert,  with  his  usual  good  fortune  in  running  away  from 
formidable  enemies,  contrived  to  make  his  escape,  with  a 

'  Clarendon  State  Papers,  26th  June,  of  the  injuries  offered  unto  the  English 

1654.  nation   by   the   French,  in    suffering 

^  "  That  a  letter  be  written  to  Sir  prizes  to  be  brought  into  and  sold  in 

George  Ayscue,  now  in  the  Downs,  to  Dunquerque." — Order    Book    of    the 

inclose   unto  him  the  case  stated  by  Council    of    State,    29th    September, 

Dr.  AValker  (of  the  Admiralty  Court)  1649,  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 

VOL.  II.  F 


\ 


/ 


66 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIII. 


I 
] 


considerable  part  of  liis  pirate  fleet;  Blake -as  the  winter 
and  the  strong  north-east  winds  set  in,  and  as  it  was  an 
extremely  dangerous  lee-shore,  and  entirely  without  safe 
anchorage — being  forced  to  ride  out  at  a  greater  distance 
from  the  mouth  of  the  harbour.  ^ 

It  appears  from  an  original  letter^  (which  has  never  beei^ 
printed)  among  the  Tanner  MSS.  in  the  Bodleian,  from 
Blake  to  Cromwell,  that  in  the  beginning  of  ISTovember, 
Blake  was  in  Cork  llav"en.  This  letter  is  dated  "  Cork 
Haven,  November  5,  1649,"  and  thus  commences: 
"  Eight  Honourable, — By  God's  good  providence  on  Satur- 
day last,  in  the  morning,  we  came  safe  into  Cork  Haven, 
notwithstanding  we  were  shot  at  divers  times  from  a  fort, 
at  the  entering  of  the  harbour,  held  by  the  Irish."  The 
writer  then  goes  on  to  state  that  he  finds,  by  the  expressions 
of  several  officers,  "  now  aboard  with  me,  and  by  the  rela- 
tion of  two  other  officers  who  were  yesterday  in  Cork," 
that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  cordial  and  unanimous  resolu- 
tion among  them,  with  a  firm  and  sincere  affection,  as  far 
as  I  can  judge,  to  the  English  interest  and  army."     It 


'  Even  in  the  preceding  June,  as 
appears  from  a  letter  to  the  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  "  From 
aboard  the  Trucmph  in  Milford  Haven, 
June  18,  1648,"  and  signed  "  Eobert 
Blake,  Ric.  Deane,"  the  weather  had 
driven  the  blockading  fleet  to  take  re- 
fuge in  Milford  Haven.  "We  have 
now,"  the  letter  says,  "  been  13  days 
absent  from  Kinsale,  from  whence  we 
were  forced  by  extremity  of  weather, 
and  driven  hither  where  we  now  are 
with  8  ships.  We  shall,  God  willing, 
with  the  first  opportunity,  endeavour 
to  get  to  Kinsale  Bay  again,  and  pur- 
sue our  former  resolution,  if  we  shall 
find  them  there,  or  otherwise  follow 


them  whithersoever  they  shall  go." — 
See  the  letter  in  Dixon's  Robert  Blake, 
new  edition,  pp.  104,  105,  London, 
1858. 

2  I  am  indebted  for  a  copy  of  this 
letter  to  the  kindness  of  Mr.  F.  K. 
Lenthall,  Recorder  of  Woodstock,  .a 
lineal  descendant  of  the  Speaker  of  the 
Long  Parliament.  Mr.  Lenthall  him- 
self copied  the  letter  from  the  original 
in  the  Tanner  MSS.  in  the  Bodleian. 
I  am  also  indebted  to  the  same  gentle- 
.man  for  a  most  graphic  account  of 
Cromwell's  dissolution  of  his  last  Par- 
liament, which  he  also  copied  from  an 
original  letter  among  the  Tanner  MSS. 


j^^tjjtmMtiMitiimism^ 


IGiO.] 


LETTER  OF  BLAKE  TO  CROMWELL. 


Q7 


would  be  extremely  interesting,  as  well  as  imi^ortant,  to 
know  Blake's  real  opinion  of  Cromwell,  about  three  years 
or  a  little  more  after  this  point  of  time,  though  such 
opinion  could  hardly  be  expected  to  be  found  in  a  letter 
from  Blake  to  Cromwell  himself.     But  when  we  consider 
what  an  unusually  frank,  fearless,  and  plainspoken  man 
Blake  was,  and  that,  in  an  official  letter  to  his  Commander- 
in-Chief,  he  was  under  no  necessity  to  pay  him  compliments, 
it  may,  I  think,   be  fairly  inferred,   from  the    following 
sentences  in  this  letter,  that  at  this  time  Blake  placed  full 
and  hearty  confidence  both  in  Cromwell's  ability  and  his 
fidelity  to  the  Parliament.     "  I  look  upon  it,"  the  letter 
continues,  "  as  an  extraordinary  and  very  seasonable  mercy 
of  God,  in  stirring  up  and  uniting  so  many  resolute  spirits 
to  a  work  of  so  great  consequence,  and  which,  by  God's 
further  blessing  and  your  management,  may  be  a  means  of 
reducing,  in  a  short  time,  the  greatest  part  of  Munster. 
The  gentlemen  that  were  chief  actors  in  this  business  had 
j)enned  certain  propositions,  to  be  tendered  to  your  Excel- 
lency, in  behalf  of  themselves  and  others ;  but  they  are 
willing  to  decline  that  way,  and  to  put  themselves  upon 
your  goodness,  of  which  I  have  made  bold  to  assure  them 
that   they    shall   receive    more    satisfaction   than  if  they 
should  insist  upon  any  conditions,  they  professing  them- 
selves all  resolved  to  live  and  die  in  defence  of  the  Parlia- 
ment   and    army    of    England,    under    your    command. 
To-morrow,  God  willing,  I  intend  to  go  to  Cork,  to  do  my  best 
to  confirm  (if  need  be)  the  resolutions  of  the  soldiers  and 
townsmen,  they  being  now  upon  their  duty,  and  expecting 
every  day  some  relief  from  your  Excellency.     I  purj)ose 
to  stay  here  till  then,  and  till  some  other  ships  of  fire^ 
come  hither,  and  then  I  wait  on  your  Excellency.     In  the 

•  Fire-ships. 
f2 


/ 


\ 


/ 


6S 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VIIL 


meantime,  having  nothing  to  add  but  mj  hearty  prayers 
Tinto  God  for  you  and  your  army  and  undertakings,  I 
remain,  your  Excellency's  most  affectionate  and  humble 
servant, 

Egbert  Blake."  ^ 

On  the  20th  of  November,  1649,  Kinsale  surrendered  to 
Blake.2  ----~~----^ 

Enpert  directed  his  course  southward,  and  his  move- 
ments appear  now  to  have  attracted  more  of  the  attention 
of  the  Council  of  State  than  they  did  before.  On  the  1st 
of  December  1649,  the  day  following  that  on  which 
the  Coimcil  received  Blake's  letters  concerning  the  sur- 
render of  Kinsale,  they  directed  a  letter  to  be  written  to 
Colonel  Popham,  the  like  to  Colonel  Blake  and  Colonel 
Deane,  "  to  inclose  unto  them  the  informations  which  are 
sent  hither  concerning  the  spoils  which  are  made  by  Prince 
Eupert  about  the  Straits  [of  Gibraltar] ,  and  to  desire  them 
to  hold  a  serious  consultation  thereupon,  and  to  consider 
in  what  way  some  prevention  may  be  given  unto  him,  and 
to  return  their  opinions  therein  to  the  Council."  ^  On  the 
3rd  of  December,  the  Council  of  State  directed  "  a  letter 
to  be  written  to  the  Generals  at  sea,  to  give  them  the  state 
of  the  winter  fleet,  and  to  desire  them  to  think  of  taking 
a  squadron  out  of  the  winter  guard  to  go  to  seek  out 
Eupert's  fleet;  and,  in  such  ships  as  shall  need  it,  to  desire 
them  to  increase  their  number  of  men,  not  exceeding  the 
proportion  of  the  winter  guard."  * 


'  This  letter  is  endorsed  in  Crom- 
well's hand,  "  Coll.  Blacke's  letter  to  " 
("me"  erased  and  substituted)  "the 
Ld.-Lnt.  of  Ireland." 

=  "That  the  letter  from  Colonel 
Blake  of  the  20th  November,  concern- 
ing the  rendition  of  Kingsale,  be  re- 


ported to  the  House ;  and  Sir  Henry 
Vane  is  desired  to  make  this  report." — 
Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
30th  November,  1649,  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

'  Bid.  1st  December,  1649. 

*  Ibid.  3rd  December,  1649. 


1649.J 


BLAKE  SENT  IN  PURSUIT  OF  RUPERT. 


69 


On  the  following  day,  the  4th  of  December  1649,  the 
Council  of  State  made  an  order,  "  That  Colonel  Blake 
shall  be  the  person  who  shall  be  appointed  to  command 
the  squadron  which  is  to  go  towards  Cales  [Cadiz]  to  seek 
out  Prince  Eupert."  ^  And  on  the  same  day  they  ordered, 
"That  a  letter  be  written  to  Colonel  Blake,  to  let  him 
know  that  this  Council  hath  pitched  upon  him  as  the 
person  whom  they  intend  to  send  against  Prince  Eupert ; 
to  let  him  know  that  he  is  to  reside  at  Plymouth  until  all 
things  shall  be  read}^  for  his  setting  forth ;  and  in  the 
meantime  the  Irish  squadron  may  do  service  in  the  station 
to  which  they  are  appointed."  ^  On  the  same  day  they 
ordered  a  letter  to  be  written  to  Colonel  Popham,  to  let 
him  know  that  they  had  pitched  upon  Colonel  Blake  to 
command  the  squadron  which  is  to  go  against  Prince 
Eupert;  and  in  this  letter,  as  well  as  in  that  to  Blake, 
they  say,  "  which  the  Council  hath  done  to  prevent  the 
delays  which  may  be  occasioned  by  appointing  a 
consultation."  In  this  letter  to  Popham  they  also  say, 
"  That  this  Council  leaves  it  to  him  and  the  rest  of  the 
Generals  at  sea,  to  appoint  such  number  of  ships,  and  of 
such  quality  as  they  shall  think  fit,  to  go  forth  in  the 
squadron ;  that  the  Committee  of  the  Admiralty  will  take 
care  for  the  providing  of  all  supplies  which  may  be  neces- 
sary for  the  expedition,  and  will  likewise  advise  with  such 
as  are  traders  to  the  Straits  for  their  judgment  in  the 
business."  ^ 

On  the  same  day  the  Council  made  an  order,  "  That  it 
be  referred  to  the  Committee  of  the  Admiralty,  to  advise 
with  some  merchants,  traders  to  the  Straits,  to  know  of 

>  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  ^  Ibid. 
4th  December,  1649,  MS.  State  Paper  «  Ibid. 
Office. 


M 


70 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VIII. 


1649.] 


INCREASE  OF  TIIE  NAVY. 


71 


them  their  opinions  concerning  the  sending  of  a  fleet 
against  Prince  Eupert,  now  about  the  Straits,  who  are  to 
report  to  the  Council  what  thej  shall  receive  from  the  said 
merchants  concerning  this  affair."  ^ 

On  the  8th  of  December  the  Council  of  State  made  the 
foUowing  orders  :  "  That  £14,000  be  lent  to  the  Committee 
of  the  JSTavj  out  of  the  money  laid  aside  for  the  use  of  the 
emergent  affairs  of  this  Commonwealth,  to  be  made  use  of 
by  them  for  the  setting  out  of  the  squadron  which  is  to  go 
against  Prince  Eupert."  "  That  some  part  of  the  summer 
fleet  may  be  sent  as  a  reserve  after  this  squadron  that  is 
now  to  go  out."  2 

The  Council  of  State  were,  as  I  have  before  observed, 
manifestly  anxious  for  peace  with  foreign  States,  though 
when  attacked  or  insulted  they  showed  themselves  not 
unprepared  for  war.  On  the  13th  of  December  they 
determined  that  two  persons  should  be  sent  into  Spain 
(one  as  agent,  the  other  as  counsel  or  consul),  "  to  keep 
a  good  correspondence  between  the  two  nations."  ^ 

On  the  31st  of  December,  1649,  the  Council  ordered  a 
letter  to  be  written  to  the  Committee  of  the  Navy,  to 
acquaint  them  with  the  former  vote  (appointing  Blake 
Admiral  of  the  fleet  against  Eupert),  and  to  enclose  unto 
them  the  vote  of  the  Council,  whereby  Captain  Moulton  is 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  4th  December,  1649,  MS. 
State  Paper  Office.— On  the  28th  of 
December,  1649,  a  petition  was  pre- 
sented to  the  Council  of  State  from  the 
Company  trading  into  Turkey,  repre- 
senting the  great  losses  they  have  sus- 
tained by  piracies,  and  craving  redress 
therein.  {Bid.  28th  December,  1649.) 
On  the  same  day  (the  28th  December, 


1649),  there  is  a  warrant  to  Mr.  Wil- 
loughby  to  transport  into  foreign  parts 
forty  couple  of  English  hounds.  On 
the  5th  of  February,  16^^,  there  is  an 
order  of  the  Council  of  State,  "That 
the  Lord  Ambassador  of  Spain  shall 
have  liberty  to  ship  20  horses,  of  which 
12  are  coach  and  the  rest  saddle  horses." 

2  Ibid.  8th  December,  1649. 

'  Ibid.  13th  December,  1649. 


made  Vice-Admiral  to  the  fleet  now  to  go  to  the  south, 
and  likewise  to  enclose  unto  them  the  opinion  of  the 
Masters  of  the  Trinity  House  concerning  the  sending  of 
the  fleet  to  the  South."  * 

On  the  5th  of  January,  IG^f,  the  Council  of  State 
sent  formal  notice  to  the  Spanish  Ambassador  ''yet  re- 
maining in  England,"  that  "  because  they  find  that  the 
trade  between  the  two  nations  is  like  to  be  very  much 
disturbed  by  the  means  of  the  revolted  ships  commanded 
by  Prince  Eupert,  who,  with  others  their  adherents,  have 
betaken  themselves  to  piracy,  they  [the  Council  of  State] 
have  thought  fit  to  appoint  a  considerable  fleet  to  go  into 
those  seas  in  pursuit  of  the  said  revolters  and  pirates,  who 
they  hear  are  now  at  Lisbon,  but  do  presume  will  have  no 
maintenance   nor   protection  from  any  that  are  allies  to 

this  State."  ^ 

On  the  7th  of  January,  16|f,  the  Council  of  State 
made  the  following  important  minute  relating  to  the  in- 
crease of  the  navy :  "  That  it  be  reported  to  the  Parlia- 
ment that  the  Council  is  of  opinion  that  it  is  necessary 
that  some  more  ships  should  be  built  for  the  service  and 
safety  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  that  it  may  at  this  time 
be  more  conveniently  done  in  regard  of  the  great  stores  of 
timber  that  is  now  cut  down."  There  are  three  orders  of 
the  following  day,  the  8th  of  January,  which,  though  not 
relating  to  naval  affairs,  I  venture  to  transcribe :  "  That 
£100  be  paid  to  Mr.  Thomas  Waring,  for  a  book  contain- 
ing several  examinations  of  the  bloody  massacry  {sic)  in 
Ireland."    "  That  Mr.  Milton  do  confer  with  some  printers 

»  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State  for  Sir  Oliver  Fleming,  Knt.,  to 
State,  31st  December,  1649,  MS.  St^te  the  Spanish  Ambassador  yet  remain- 
Paper  Office.  ^^g  ^^  England."— 7Z/2W.  5t]i  Januar)-, 

2  "Instructions  from  the  Council  of  16|§. 


-"W.  '!,i!imiliigP.J!iWjmi[U|pB 


^2  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIIL 

or  Stationers,  concerning  the  speedy  printing  of  this  book." 
"  That  Mr.  Milton  do  prepare  something  in  answer  to  the 
Book  of  Salmatius  {sic),  and  when  he  hath  done  it,  brino- 
it  to  the  Council."  »  "^ 

The   following   order    of  the  12th   of  January,  16|f, 
confirms  what  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  volume  re^ 
specting  the  pressing  of  seamen  :  "  That  it  be  referred  to 
the  Committee    of  the  Admiralty  to  give  order  for  the 
victualling  of  the  ships  that  are  to  go  southward,  for  six 
months  from  the  20th  of  January  instant ;  that  thej  also 
give  orders  to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy  toprm  150 
men,  and  send  them  down  to  Portsmouth  for  the  service  of 
the  fleet  now  going  south."    On  the  same  day  they  ordered, 
"  That  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  of  the  Ordnance  to 
contract  with  Mr.  Browne,  the  gunfounder,  for  ordnance  for 
the  winter  fleet  of  the  next  year."  ^ 

On  the  16th  of  January,  the  Council  of  State  ordered  a 
letter  to  be  written  to  the  Committee  of  the  Navy,  "  That 
in  regard  Colonel  Blake  is  to  go  General  of  the  fleet  that 
is  to  go  to  the  southward,  to  desire  them  that  order  be 
presently  given  for  the  pay  of  his  last  year's  salary,  that  he 
may  be  thereby  the  better  fitted  for  this  service."     On  the 
same  day  they  also  ordered  "  an  instruction  to  be  prepared 
for  Colonel  Blake,  to  send  for  the  merchants  of  this  nation 
who  are  in  such  places  abroad  as  he  shall  have  occasion  to 
apply  himself  imto  with  his  fleet,  and  to  tender  unto  them 
the  engagement ;  and  to  let  them  know  that  as  this  State 
gives  protection  unto  them  in  their  trade,  so  this  State 
expects  that  they  should  be  faithful  unto  them,  and  that 
they  should  not  own  or  apply  themselves  unto  any  persons 

>  Order  Book  of  the  Council   of  State,  7th  and  8th  January    16^5    MS 
State  Paper  Office.  .  im.  12th  January,  16||.  ^" 


1649.] 


INSTRUCTIONS  TO  BLAKE. 


78 


whomsoever   who    come    as    ambassadors    from   Charles 
Stuart,  and  have  no  character  from  this  State."  ^ 

On  the  17th  of  January,  16f^,  the  Council  of  State 
sent  Blake  his  instructions.  "  You  shall,"  say  the  instruc- 
tions, "  if  you  find  yourself  strong  enough,  not  spare  the 
revolters,  but  fight  with  them,  and  by  God's  assistance 
prosecute  their  destruction  ;  and  in  case  any  foreign  ships 
shall  thereupon  assist  the  said  revolters,  or  fight  against 
you,  you  likewise  shall  fight  against  them,  and  destroy  or 
surprise  them  as  God  shall  enable  you ;  but  so  that  after 
the  fight  ended,  in  case  you  happen  to  take  any  foreigners, 
there  be  not  made  any  slaughter  of  them  in  cold  blood, 
but  that  they  be  kept  and  used  civilly  as  prisoners  of  war. 
And  in  case  that  you  find  occasion,  by  reason  of  any  un- 
expected assistance  given  to  the  said  revolters,  or  any 
power  of  ships  set  forth  by  any  for  the  surprising  of  our 
merchant-ships  or  prejudicing  of  this  Commonwealth,  that 
then  and  in  such  case  you  shall  be  and  are  hereby  enabled, 
according  as  the  Lords  Admirals  of  England  in  such  cases 
formerly  were,  to  call  unto  your  assistance,  and  embargo, 
arrest,  and  make  use  of  any  English  merchants' ^  ships  to 
join  with  you,  to  fight  or  make  defence  for  the  safeguard 
and  benefit  of  this  Commonwealth.  And  they  are  hereby 
enjoined  to  yield  obedience.      Furthermore,  if  the  said 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  16th  January,  16|§,  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 

2  As  I  have  before  shown,  the  mer- 
chant-ships were,  at  that  time,  all 
more  or  less  armed.  See  note  at  p.  107 
of  the  preceding  volume,  where  it  is 
shown  that  even  colliers'  ships  of  160 
tons  carried  as  many  as  eight  guns. 
Consequently,     merchant-ships     were 


easily  made  available  as  ships  of  war, 
and  were  frequently  bought  for  the  use 
of  the  State,  of  which  the  following 
minute  furnishes  an  example:  "That 
the  opinion  brought  in  from  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Admiralty,  concerning 
the  buying  of  the  merchant  frigate 
for  the  use  of  the  State,  at  the  rate 
of  £2750,  be  approved  oiy—Ibid. 
9  th  January,  IByf. 


^^  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIII. 

revolted  fleet,  or  any  of  them,  should  happen  to  be  sold  by 
their  Commander-in-Chief,  or  any  of  their  captains,  or  other 
persons  whatsoever,  to  any  foreign  Prince  or  State,  or  any 
of  their  subjects,  or  stayed  there  under  any  colour  or  pre- 
tence, you  are  not  for  all  that  to  forbear  to  seize,  burn, 
destroy,  or  surprise  them  wheresoever  you  can  do  it ;  and 
to  signify  to  them  that  these  ships  are  part  of  the  navy 
of  England,  and  the  Parliament's  own  ships,   and  were 
treacherously  carried  away  by  those  perfidious  revolters, 
who  have  no  property  in  them  nor  power  to  sell  them ;  and 
that  your  commission  from  the  Parliament  enjoins  you  to 
demand  them  wherever  they  be,  and  to  seize  upon  them 
and  send  them  home.    And  whereas  the  dominion  of  these 
seas  hath  anciently  and  time  out  of  mind  undoubtedly 
belonged  to  this  nation,  and  the  ships  of  all  other  nations, 
in  acknowledgment  to  that  dominion,  have  used  to  take 
down  their  flags  upon  sight  of  the  Admiral  of  England,  and 
not  to  bear  it  in  his  presence,  you  are — as  much  as  in  you 
lieth,  and  as  you  find  yourself  and  the  fleet  of  strength 
and   ability — to  do  your  endeavour  to  preserve  the  said 
dominion  of  the  sea,  and  to  cause  the  ships  of  all  other 
nations  to  strike  their  flags  and  not  to  bear  them  up  in 
your  presence ;  and  to  compel  such  as  are  refractory  therein, 
by  seizing  their  ships,  and  sending  them  in  to  be  punished 
according  to  the  law  of  the  sea,  unless  they  submit  and 
yield  such  obedience  as  you  shall  approve  of:  yet  we  would 
not  that  you  should,  in  this  expedition,  engage  the  fleet  in 
any  peril  or  hazard  for  that  particular.     There  are  special 
letters  of  credence  delivered  to  you,  to  make  use  of  as  you 
may  have  occasion."     For  the  use  of  the  fleet  there  were 
provided  £3,000  in  Spanish  money— pieces  of  eight,  bought 
at  4s.  lOd,  per  piece,  and  £1,000  in  English  money.    There 


1649.] 


INSTRUCTIONS  TO  ASCHAM,  &c. 


75 


were   also   letters   of  credit  in  Spain,  Italy,  &c.,  to  the 
amount  of  £10,000.1 

On  the  23rd  of  January,  the  Council  of  State  gave  "  In- 
structions for  Anthony  Ascham,  Esq.,  Agent  from  the  Com- 
monwealth of  England  to  the  King  of  Spain,"  by  which 
Ascham  is  directed  "  to  signify  to  the  King  of  Spain  that 
the  Parliament  of  England  hath  received  information  that 
there  are  arrived  at  the  Court  of  Spain  the  Lord  Cotting- 
ton  and  Mr.  Edward  Hyde,  calling  themselves  ambassadors 
from  the  late  King's  eldest  son,  pretending  himself  King 
of  Great  Britain,  who  have  presumed  to  write  to  the  mer- 
chants of  the  Commonwealth  residing  in  Spain,  requiring 
them  to  acknowledge  them,  the  said  Cottington  and  Hyde, 
as  public  ministers  of  the  said  Pretender."    Ascham  is,  by 
his  instructions,  further  directed  "  to  desire  the  said  King 
of  Spain,  that  if  any  ships  or  goods  belonging  to  the  people 
of  this  Commonwealth  shall  be  brought  into  any  of  the 
ports,  by  Eupert  or  any  other  pirate,  that  they  may  be  put 
in  safe  custody,  and  without  breaking  bulk  be  delivered  to 
the  owners  thereof."^ 

On  the  same  day  instructions,  to  the  same  purport,  were 
given  to  Charles  Vane,  Esq.,  ''  Agent  from  the  Common- 
wealth of  England  to  the  King  of  Portugal."  ^ 

On  the  24th  of  January,  a  letter  was  ordered  to  be  written 
to  Colonel  Popham  and  Colonel  Blake,  "  to  give  them  what 
information  the  Council  hath  received  of  the  preparation 
of  frigates  by  the  enemies  in  Dunkirk  for  the  infesting 
of  the  seas" ;  and  Colonel  Popham  is  therefore  desired  to 
have  an  eye  to  those  seas,  "  when  that  squadron  is  gone 


»  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  17th  January,  16||,  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 


2  Ibid.  23rd  January,  16|2. 

3  Ibid,  same  day. 


*^^  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIIL 

southward  which  is  now  to  go  forth  with  Colonel  Blake."  » 
On  the  following  day,  the  25th,  an  order  is  made,  "  That 
the  General  of  the  fleet  (Blake)  shall  land  Mr.  Ascham  in 
such  port  of  Spain  as  shall  be  thought  most  convenient  for 
his  journey  to  Madrid."  ^    :N'ext  day  (26th  of  January),  it  is 
ordered  "  that  a  messenger  be  sent  down  to  Gravesend,  to 
hasten  away  the  ships  that  are  to  go  to  the  southward."  ^ 
It  would  appear,  however,  that  Blake's  fleet  had  not  sailed 
by  the  8th  of  February ;  for  on  that  day  Blake  is  directed 
to  give  Mr.  Ascham  accommodation  suitable  to  his  quality, 
and,  in  case  he  shall  not  be  received  as  ambassador,  to  re- 
ceive him  on  board  again."* 

On  Saturday,  the  16th  of  February,  16|f,  an  order 
was  made,  "  That  all  whose  names  are  in  the  new  Act  for  a 
Council  of  State  for  the  year  to  come  be  desired  to  be  here 
on  Monday  in  the  afternoon,  for  the  putting  in  execution 
of  the  powers  given  them  by  the  new  Act ;  and  that  all 
orders  concerning  Standing  Committees  formerly  made  be 
written  out,  with  the  persons  that  are  of  those  committees." 
Of  these  Standing  Committees,  the  principal  were — 

"  Admiralty, 

"  Ordnance, 

"  Ireland, 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  24th  January,  16|f,  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 

Ihid.  25th  January,  16f§. 

'Ifjid.  26th  January,  16|§. 

*  Ihid.  8th  February,  16|§.— It  would 
seem  from  the  following  order  that 
some  members  of  the  Council  of  State 
were  not  members  of  the  Parliament : 
"  That  notice  be  given  to  all  the  mem- 
bers of  this  Council  who  are  not  of  the 
Parliament,  that  the  corpse  of  the  late 
Earl  of  Pembroke  is  to  be  carried  out  of 


town  on  Wednesday  next,  to  the  end 
that  they  may  accompany  it  two  or  three 
miles  onwards  the  way,  the  Parliament 
having  ordered  that  all  their  members 
do  accompany  the  corpse  out  of  town." 
—Ibid.  4th    February,  16|§.     On  the 
same  day  the  Council  made  an  order, 
"That  a  coach  with  seven  horses  shall 
be  bought  for  the  service  of  the  State, 
for    the    receiving    of    Agents    from' 
abroad,  and  likewise  liveries  for  six 
footmen,  and  a  coachman  and  a  posti- 
lion, &c"~I?jid. 


1G49.]     OEDEPvS  FOU  REGULATING  COUNCIL'S  PROCEEDINGS.     /  7 

"  Private  Examinations, 
"  Foreign  Negotiations."  ^ 

On  Monday  the  18th  of  February,  16^^,  the  Council 
reappointed  Mr.  Serjeant  Bradshaw  President  of  the  Coun- 
cil, with  the  like  provisions  as  in  the  preceding  year.'' 
They  then  voted  the  reappointment  of  Mr.  Milton,  Mr. 
Frost  [father  and  son],  and  all  the  clerks  employed  the 
preceding  year,  at  the  same  salaries.^ 

On  the  23rd  of  February,  the  minutes  contain  the 
following  rather  important  construction  of  the  Council's 
oath  of  secrecy  :  "  That  any  of  the  Council  shall  have 
liberty  to  reveal  whatsoever  is  debated,  resolved,  or  spoken 
of,  if  they  be  not  forbidden  to  reveal  by  the  major  part  of 
those  present  at  the  said  debates,  resolutions,  and 
speeches."  * 

On  the  27th  of  February  the  Council  of  State  proceeded 
to  make  "  Orders  for  regulating  the  Proceedings  of  the 
Council ;  "  some  of  which  I  will  transcribe,  that  the  reader 
may  be  better  enabled  to  form  an  opinion  of  the  character 
given  them  by  Bishop  Warburton — "  a  set  of  the  greatest 
geniuses  for  government  the  world  ever  saw  embarked 
together  in  one  common  cause  ": — 

"  That  after  the  reading  of  the  letters  "  [which  included 
the  letters  received  that  morning  or  since  the  last  meeting 
of  the  Council,  and  those  ordered  at  the  last  meeting  to  be 


^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  die  Saturni,  16th  February, 
16if,  MS.  State  Paper  Office.  On 
the  1st  of  February,  the  Council 
made  an  order,  "That  Mr.  Serjeant 
do  speak  unto  Colonel  Goffe  for  the 
furnishing  of  20  men  every  afternoon, 
well  and  full  armed,  to  be  placed  in 
the  chamber  commonly  called  the 
Guard  Chamber,  there  to  attend  until 


the  rising  of  the  Council."  "Lamps 
to  be  set  up  in  the  galleries  about 
Whitehall  for  making  the  passage  con- 
venient for  the  members  of  the 
Council." — 3id.  1st  February,  16|§. 

2  Vol.  i.  p.  38. 

'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
die  Lunae,  18th  February,  16f2,  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 

*  Ibid.  23rd  February  16|§. 


78 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[ClIAP.  VIII. 


written  by  the  secretaries] ,  "  if  there  he  nothing  of  present 
danger  that  must  he  instantly  despatched,  then  all  the  Com- 
mittees of  the  Council  that  have  any  business  stand 
referred  to  them  shall  make  their  report  thereof  to  the 
Council." 

"  That  the  letters  sent  to  the  Council  be  opened  at  the 
place  of  the  Council's  sitting,  in  the  presence  of  three  at 
the  least  of  the  Council,  and  then  be  delivered  to  the 
Secretary." 

"  That  if  letters  shall  arrive  when  the  Council  is  not 
sitting  that  are  known  or  supposed  to  be  of  importance, 
and  to  require  a  more  speedy  despatch  than  to  attend  the 
ordinary  meeting  of  the  Council,  the  President  and  any 
two  of  the  Council  shall  have  power  to  open  them,  and,  if 
necessary,  to  give  order  for  the  present  summoning  of  the 
Council,  to  take  it  into  consideration  and  make  a  despatch." 

"  That  whatever  is  propounded,  seconded,  and  thirded, 
be  put  to  the  question,  if  none  of  the  members  of  the 
Council  speak  against  it." 

"  That  when  a  business  is  resolved  by  the  question,  the 
Secretary  shall  enter  the  said  votes  into  the  books,  and 
nothing  of  any  dehate  or  argument  shall  he  entered,  but  only 
the  results  thereof  declared  in  the  said  votes." 

"  That  when  there  shall  be  but  nine  members  of  the 
Council,  none  of  them  shall  depart  the  Council  Chamber 
without  leave,  during  the  time  appointed  for  sitting  of  the 
Council."  ^ 

Although  at  other  times  the  Council,  as  has  been  stated 
in  the  preceding  volume,  had  morning  sittings  (namely, 
at  7  or  sometimes  8  in  the  morning),  as  well  as 
afternoon  sittings,  at  this  time  the  order  was,  "  That  the 
Council  shall  sit  every  day,  except  Lord's-days"  [as  we  shall 

"  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  27tli  Feb.  16*^,  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


1649.] 


COMMITTEE  OF  THE  NAVY. 


79 


see  they  sat  on  Lord's-days  when  the  business  was  urgent, 
as  during  the  maich  of  the  Scots  into  England  before  the 
Battle  of  Worcester,  and  during  the  Dutch  war] ,  "at  3 
in  the  afternoon,  and  shall  not  sit  after  6  when  the  House 
sits,  unless  for  business  that  cannot  bear  delay  till  next 
day."  ' 

On  the  2nd  of  March  the  Council  of  State  made  the 
following  orders  : — 

"  That  the  paper  now  sent  from  the  Parliament,  contain- 
ing the  increase  of  wages  to  the  seamen,  be  sent  to  the 
Committee  of  the  Navy." 

"  That  the  Council  doth  declare  that  in  the  framing  of 
the  new  Militia  they  will  have  no  such  officer  as  a  Lieute- 
nant-Colonel of  Horse ;  and  that  commissions  granted  to 
any  to  be  Lieutenant-Colonels  of  Horse  be  revoked,  and 
commissions  for  Majors  given  in  lieu  of  them." 

"That  the  whole  Council,  or  any  five  of  them,  be 
appointed  a  Committee  for  Trade  and  Plantations." 

"  That  Sir  Henry  Yane,  Colonel  Wauton,  Mr.  Challoner,^ 
Colonel  Popham,  Colonel  Stapeley,  Colonel  Purefoy,  Earl  of 
Salisbury,  Mr.  Luke  Robinson,  or  any  three  of  them,  be 
appointed  a  Committee  to  carry  on  the  affairs  of  the 
Admiralty  and  Navy,  and  to  exercise  the  same  powers  as 
they  have  formerly  done."  ^ 

The  following  minute  of  the  25th  of  March  1650  shows 
the  stringency  of  their  _press  warrants :  "  Whereas  the 
Council  of  State  hath  contracted  with  Mr.  Pitt,  gunfounder, 

'  Order  Book  of  tha  Council  of  State,  Esq.)   Aubrey  says  :  "He    was  as  far 

27th  February,  16|^,  MS.  State  Paper  from  a  Puritan  as  the  east  from  the 

Office. — On  the  same  day  the  follow-  west.      He  was  of  the  natural  religion, 

ing  order  was  made:  "  That  when  any  and  of  Heniy  Martyn's  gang,  and  one 

M(;mbers  of  Parliament  shall  come  to  who  loved  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of 

the  Council,  there  shall  be  chairs  set  this  life." — Aultrcy's  Letters  and  Lives, 

for  them,  and  they  shall  be  desired  to  (2  vols.  London,  1813),  vol.  ii.  p.  282. 
sit  down."  ^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 

2  Of    Chalouer  (1  homas  Chaloner,  2nd  March  1 6f  g,  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


80 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIII. 


1650.] 


ADDITIONAL   INSTKCCTIONS  TO   BLAKE. 


81 


for  new  casting  of  some  ordnance  for  tlie  service  of  the 
State,  in  which  he  is  to  make  nse  of  Edward  Lane,  these 
are  therefore  to  will  and  require  you  not  to  press  the  said 
Edward  Lane,  servant  to  Mr.  Pitt,  for  any  other  service  of 
the  State  during  his  employment  in  the  said  service  of  the 
Commonwealth.— Given  25  Martii  1650."  The  warrant  is 
addressed  "  to  all  Constables,  Pressmasters,  and  all  others 
whom  it  may  concern."  ^ 

By  this  time  symptoms  of  the  Dutch  quarrel  began  to 
manifest  themselves.  A  Dutch  man-of-war  having  refused 
to  be  searched,  the  Council  of  State  ordered  that  efficient 
assistance  be  given  to  the  searchers  to  do  their  office.^ 
By  this  time  also  the  Council  began  to  be  fully  aware  that 
they  would  have  to  encounter  more  enemies  than  the 
Dutch  and  the  German  pirate  Eupert.  In  their  instruc- 
tions of  the  30th  of  March  1650,  "  for  Eichard  Bradshaw, 
Esq.,  Eesident  from  the  Commonwealth  of  England 
with  the  Senate  of  Hamburg,"  they  direct  him  to 
inform  himself,  and  give  them  notice,  "  what  designs  are 
on  foot  and  what  transactions  are  made  in  Germany, 
Poland,  Sweden,  and  Denmark;"  and  in  regard  to  the 
Senate  of  Hamburg  their  instructions  run  thus— "You 
shall  demand  of  them,  in  the  name  of  the  Commonwealth 
of  England,  that  justice  may  be  done  upon  those  offenders 
that  assaulted  and  attempted  to  assassinate  the  minister 
of  the  company  of  English  merchants  resident  there ;  and 
also  upon  those  pirates  who  took  away  the  deputy  of  that 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
25th  March,  1650,  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

2  Ibid.  28th  March  1650.— The  fol- 
lowing minute  has  reference  also  to  the 
same  subject:  "That  the  Company 
trading  to  the  East  Indies  do  take 
care  that,  as  soon  as  the  ship's  com- 


pany shall  come  to  this  town  which 
brings  the  tidings  of  the  injury  offered 
to  their  trade  by  the  Dutch,  they  put 
the  thing  into  a  way  of  proof  and  at- 
testation in  the  Admiralty,  to  the  end 
that  complaint  may  be  made  thereof 
to  the  States."— i(^i^.  6th  May,  1650. 


company  and  some  other  merchants — against  whom  there 
hath  been  no  proceeding  for  those  crimes."  ^  On  the  22nd 
of  March  they  ordered  a  letter  to  be  written  to  Mr.  Strick- 
land, to  inform  himself  what  English,  especially  persons 
of  quality,  are  with  the  Scots'  king  at  Breda. ^ 

On  the  12th  of  April  the  Council  made  an  order,  "  That 
Colonel  Popham  be  desired  to  go  forthwith  to  Portugal, 
with  a  fleet  to  consist  of  eight  ships."  ^  On  the  20th  of 
April  the  Council  despatched  "  additional  instructions  to 
Colonel  Eobert  Blake,  appointed  General  of  the  first  fleet 
that  is  gone  to  the  southward."  In  these  "  additional 
instructions,"  the  Council  state  their  case  with  a  force 
and  clearness  which  form  such  a  remarkable  contrast  with 
some  of  the  other  writings  of  him  who  drew  them  (for  I 
believe  them  to  have  been  drawn  by  Sir  Henry  Vane),  that 
they  may  serve  as  an  instructive  elucidation  of  the  remark 
of  Lord  Macaulay,  that  while  any  time  might  have  pro- 
duced George  Pox  and  James  Naylor,  to  that  time  alone 
belonged  the  frantic  delusions  of  such  a  statesman  as  Vane, 
and  the  hysterical  tears  of  such  a  soldier  as  Cromwell : — 

"  You  shall  remonstrate  forthwith  to  the  King  of  Portu- 
gal, that  those  ships  now  in  his  ports,  de  facto  commanded 
by  Prince  Eupert,  are  of  a  nature  not  capable  of  neutrality  ; 
for  that  they  were  part  of  the  Navy  of  England,  in  the  real 
and  actual  possession  of  the  Parliament,  armed,  equipped, 
and  furnished  by  them  in  their  own  ports ;  the  mariners 
being  also  their  own  servants,  hired  by  them,  and  placed 
in  those  ships  in  the  immediate  service  of  the  Parliament, 
from  which  service,  and  from  their  duty,  the  said  mariners 
have  perfidiously  apostatised  and  made  defection ;  and  as 


•  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  30th  March  1650,  MS.  State  Pa- 
per Office. 

VOL.  II.  G 


«  Ihid.  22nd   March,  16i§. 
»  Ihid,  12th  April  1650. 


^''m 


82 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VIII. 


fugitives  and  renegades  have  run  away  with  the  said  ships, 
and  in  the  same  as  pirates  and  sea-robbers  they  have 
made  depredations,  and  by  adding  to  their  number  the 
ships  by  them  taken  were  growing  to  a  strength  like  to 
prove  dangerous,  to  the  interruption  if  not  the  destruction 
of  all  trade  and  commerce.  That  they  are  such  fugitives 
and  renegades  as  have  not  place  in  the  world  which  they 
can  pretend  to  be  their  own,  nor  have  any  port  of  their  own 
whither  to  carry  their  prizes,  and  where  to  make  show  of 
any  form  of  justice;  but  whatever  they  can  by  rapine  take, 
from  any  whomsoever,  like  so  many  thieves  and  pirates, 
they  truck  the  same  away,  when  they  can  get  admittance 
for  that  thievish  trade.  And  being,  as  they  are,  hostes 
humani  generis,  they  may  neither  use  the  law  of  nations, 
nor  are  capable  of  protection  from  any  prince. 

"  You  shall  signify  the  strict  charge  laid  upon  you  by 
the  Commonwealth  of  England  to  surprise  ^  or  destroy 
those  revolted  ships  wherever  you  can  find  them. 

"  If  the  King  of  Portugal  shall  refuse  or  neglect  to  do 
you  right  in  the  premisses,  then,  for  default  of  justice  from 
him  therein,  you  shall  seize,  arrest,  surprise,  or  destroy 
in  the  way  of  justice,  all  such  ships,  either  merchant  or 
other,  belonging  to  the  King  of  Portugal  or  any  of  his  sub- 
jects, and  secure  the  same  and  all  the  goods  therein,  and 
all  the  writings,  in  the  same  manner  and  form  as  by  the 
instruction  given  you  concerning  the  French,  to  be  kept 
till  the  Parliament  shall  resolve  what  further  directions 
they  will  give  concerning  them."  ^ 

The     "  Instructions    for    Colonel    Edward     Popham, 

>  It  will  be  observed  that  the  word  to  fall  upon  unexpectedly," 

•'surprise"  is,  in  these  and  the  other  2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 

instructions  to  the  same  effect,  used  in  20th  April    1650,    MS.    State     Paper 

its  primary  sense — "  to  take  unawares,  Ofl&ce. 


1650.] 


INSTRUCTIONS  TO  POPHAM. 


83 


appointed  to  command  the  second  fleet  ordered  to  go  to  the 
southward,"  dated  "  Whitehall,  April  25, 1650,"  are  for  the 
most  part  the  same  as  those  before  given  to  Blake.  It  will, 
therefore,  only  be  necessary  to  give  the  following  portions 
of  them,  which  are,  in  fact,  to  be  instructions  for  Blake  as 
well  as  Popham  : — 

"  Whereas  all  particulars  cannot  be  foreseen,  nor  posi- 
tive instructions  for  each  emergent  so  beforehand  given, 
but  that  many  things  must  be  left  to  your  prudence  and 
discreet  management,  as  occurrences  may  arise  upon  the 
place,  or  from  time  to  time  fall  out ;  you  are,  therefore, 
upon  all  such  accident,  or  any  occasion  that  may  happen, 
to  use  your  best  circumspection,  and,  advising  with  your 
Council  of  War,  to  order  and  dispose  of  the  said  fleet,  and 
the  ships  under  your  command,  as  may  be  most  advanta- 
geous for  the  public,  and  for  obtaining  the  ends  for  which 
this  fleet  was  set  forth — making  it  your  special  care,  in  dis- 
charge of  that  great  trust  committed  unto  you,  that  the  Com- 
momvealth  receive  no  detriment,  ^ 

"You  are,  upon  your  coming  into  the  Bay  of  Weires,^  or 
any  other  place  where  you  shall  meet  with  Colonel  Blake,  to 
show  him  these  your  instructions,  who  is  hereby  authorised 
and  required  to  put  the  same  in  execution  jointly  with 
you,  if  you  shall  continue  together,  or  severally  and  by 
himself  if  you  find  it  for  the  service  to  divide  yourselves, 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  25th  April  1650,  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. — It  is  not  unworthy  of 
notice  that  these  last  words  are  a 
translation  of  the  words  by  which, 
in  critical  times,  the  power  of  the  Ro- 
man Consuls  was  made  unlimited  by 
the  decree  of  the  Senate,—"  Videant 
consules  ne  quid  respublicadetrimonti 
capiat." 


2  Oeiras.  It  is  spelt  "OejTas"  in 
the  "Wellington  Despatches  (vol.  viii.  p. 
228).  The  Council  of  State  dealt  with 
Spanish  or  Portuguese  names  somewhat 
as  Charles  James  Fox  did,  who,  says 
Lord  Brougham,  "  preferred  Cales  and 
Groyne  to  Cadiz  and  Corunna." — Hifi- 
torical  Sketches  of  Statesyncn  of  the  Time 
of  George  III.,  third  series,  p.  203, 
London,  1843. 


G  2 


84 


COMMONWnEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VIII. 


as  well  as  if  tlie  same  had  been  directed  particularly  to 
himself."  ^ 

On  the  29th  of  April  the  Council  gave  an  additional  private 
instruction  to  Blake  and  Popham,  to  the  effect  that  if  they 
should  find  they  were  like  to  come  to  a  breach  with  the 
King  of  Portugal,  by  any  acts  they  should  be  necessitated 
to  put  in  execution  in  pursuance  of  their  instructions,  they 
should  first  send  for  Mr.  Yane,  the  Eesident  there,  to  come 
on  board,  and  show  him  their  instructions,  and  declare 
their  resolution,  that  he  may  give  order  for  securing  his 
papers,  and  that  his  person  may  be  in  safety  with  them, 
against  any  wrong  might  be  done  to  him,  or  advantage 
made  of  him  against  the  public  service.^ 

Kupert,  in  the  course  of  his  flight  from  Kinsale  to  Por- 
tugal, captured  four  ships,  which,  having  been  fitted  out  by 
him  as  men-of-war,  made  up  his  fleet  to  nine  vessels.     The 
goods  captured  in  these  four  ships  he  sold  to  the  Portu- 
guese merchants  for  £30,000.    "  These  prizes,"  says  Eupert, 
in  one  of  his  letters  to  Charles,  "  being  considerable,  and 
being  fearful  of  some  disaster,  having  near  three  hundred 
prizemen  aboard  us,  it  was  generally  thought  fit  to  secure 
and  sell  them  with  the  first  convenience,  to  do  which  no 
place  was  thought  more  convenient  nor  safe  than  Lisbon."  ^ 
Accordingly,  Eupert  sailed  into  the  Tagus,  and  John  of 
Braganza,  the  first  Portuguese  king  of  the  House  of  Bra- 
ganza,  who  had  been  placed  on  the  throne  of  Portugal  by 
the  nobility  in   1640,  undertook  to  protect  him  in  that 
river  against  all  his  enemies.     At  the  approach  of  spring, 
Eupert — having,  as  before  mentioned,  fitted  out  his  prizes  as 
men-of-war — dropped  down  the  river  to  Belleisle,  with  the 


»  Order    Book    of    the    Council   of         ^  //>zV/.  29tli  April  1650. 
State,  25th  April  1650,  MS.  State  Pa-         »  Fitzroy   MS.   in  VTarburton,    iii. 
per  Office.  295. 


1650.]        RUPERT'S   DEVICE  FOR  DESTROYING   BLAKE. 


85 


intention  of  renewing  his  piracies ;  but,  before  he  could  get 
clear  of  the  river,  Blake  with  his  fleet  of  five  ships  was  at 
its  mouth,  and  Rupert,  though  he  had  nine  ships  against 
Blake's  five,  anchored  under  the  guns  of  the  fort.  Blake, 
having  sent  an  officer  to  ask  the  King's  permission  to  at- 
tack the  revolted  ships  at  their  anchorage,  and  having  met 
with  a  refusal,  ajffected  not  to  comprehend  the  King's 
answer,  and  ordered  his  boats  to  cross  the  bar.  A  few 
shots  were  fired  at  them  from  Belim  Castle.  Blake  sent  a 
boat  to  enquire  the  reason  for  this  show  of  hostility  against 
a  friendly  Power,  there  being  no  war  at  that  time  between 
Portugal  and  England.  The  officer  in  command  replied 
that  he  had  received  no  orders  to  allow  Blake's  ships  to 
pass.  Blake  then  sent  a  remonstrance  to  the  King  of  Por- 
tugal, according  to  the  instructions  he  had  received  from 
the  Council  of  State,  that  the  ships  to  which  the  King 
of  Portugal  gave  protection  were  a  part  of  the  English  navy, 
which  had  revolted  from  the  Parliament  of  England  ;  that 
their  commanders  had  acted  as  pirates  and  sea-robbers, 
and,  by  adding  to  their  fleet  the  ships  they  captured,  were 
growing  into  a  power  likely  to  prove  dangerous  to  the  law- 
ful commerce  of  all  civilised  nations  ;  that  therefore  they 
were  unable  to  appeal  to  the  law  of  nations,  or  ask  the 
protection  of  any  prince  in  their  revolt  and  piracy,  without 
thereby  creating  a  cause  of  war  between  that  prince  and 
the  Commonwealth  of  England.^ 

Blake's  remonstrance,  strong  as  it  was,  produced  not 
more  effect  than  any  words,  however  strong,  usually  do  ; 
for  the  battle  which  the  Parliament  of  England  had  now 
to  maintain  against  the  world  was  to  be  fought  by  other 
weapons  than  the  arguments  even  of  such  a  statesman  as 

>  Rupert,  MS.  in  Warburton,  iii.  135-137,  London,  1852;  new  edition, 
300,  301;  Dixon's   Robert  Blake,  pp.     pp.  110-112,  London,  1858. 


86 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VIII. 


Vane.  In  the  meantime,  the  weather  growing  foul,  Blake 
entered  the  river  with  his  fleet,  and  anchored  in  Oejras 
Bay ;  but  weeks  passed  on,  and  he  could  obtain  no  satis- 
factory answer  from  the  King  of  Portugal.  During  this 
time  an  incident  occurred  which  exhibits  two  bad  features 
that  characterised  the  proceedings  of  the  Eoyalist  party — 
assassination  and  falsehood.  An  attempt  to  destroy  Blake, 
not  certainly  in  fair  fight,  was  defended  by  the  partisans 
of  the  German  robber  and  pirate  by  a  false  statement,  to 
the  effect  that  some  persons  from  the  English  fleet  went 
on  shore  at  Belleisle  to  attack  a  hunting-party,  including 
Eupert,  Maurice,  and  several  other  cavaliers  ;  the  fact 
being  that  the  men  were  sent  on  shore,  in  the  ordinary 
way,  to  obtain  fresh  water,  and  while  getting  it  were  as- 
sailed by  Eupert's  party,  who  killed  one  of  them,  wounded 
three  others,  and  made  five  prisoners.  Towards  the  evening 
of  the  same  day,  a  bombshell  placed  in  a  double-headed 
barrel,  with  a  lock  in  the  middle  so  contrived  that  on  being 
opened  it  would  give  fire  to  a  quick-match  and  cause  the 
whole  to  explode,  was  sent  by  Eupert  to  Blake's  flag-ship 
in  a  Portuguese  boat,  manned  by  two  negroes,  and  a  sailor 
dressed  as  a  Portuguese  tradesman,  who  was  instructed 
to  say  he  was  an  oil-merchant  come  with  a  present  for  the 
seamen.  When  these  men  arrived  with  their  boat  at  the 
ship's  stern,  they  found  the  ports  there  closed  ;  and  while 
they  were  rowing  round  to  the  transom-port,  some  of  the 
crew  recognised  the  pretended  Portuguese  tradesman  as 
one  of  Eupert's  men,  whom  they  had  frequently  met  on 
shore  at  Belleisle ;  and  he  was  immediately  arrested,  and 
this  honourable  Eoyalist  device  for  getting  rid  of  Blake 
discovered  and  baffled.^ 

Dixon's  Kobert    Blake,    p.    140;     Thurloe,  i.  145,   146.— In  the  "First 
Kupert  MS.  in  Warburton,  iii.  305;     Paper  of  Demands,  in  the  name  of  the 


1650.] 


BLAKE  ATTACKS  THE  BRAZIL   FLEET. 


87 


The  time  consumed  in  these  proceedings  against  Eupert 
shows  that  the  Parliament  of  England  was  not  yet  by  any 
means  strong  enough  at  sea  to  encounter  all  their  enemies  ; 
and  the  indefatigable  exertions  made  by  Sir  Henry  Vane 
and  the  Committee  of  the  Admiralty  to  build  new  ships  of 
war,  as  well  as  to  furnish  their  present  fleet  ^  with  all  need- 
ful provisions  and  materials  of  war,  form  one  of  the  most 
important  features  in  the  history  of  that  which  has  been 
truly  called  "  the  Sheet-anchor  of  the  British  Empire,"  the 
British  Navy.     If  the  navy  of  the  Parliament  of  England 
had  been  as  strong,  or  half  as  strong,  at  the  beginning  of 
Blake's  career  as  it  was  at  the  end  of  it — when  the  great 
Admiral,  "who  would  never  strike  to  any  other  enemy, 
struck  his  topmast  to  Death,"  soon  after  his  most  brilliant 
victory,  the  action  at  Santa  Cruz — Blake  would  have  made 
very  short  work  of  such  enemies  as  this  King  of  Portugal 
and  this  German  pirate  ;  but  the  Parliament  was  entering 
on  a  new  career  in  their  naval  wars,  and  it  was  natural 
enough  that  they  should  make  some  miscalculations  in  the 
adaptation  of  means  to  ends.     Accordingly  Blake,  even 
when  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  Popham's  squadron  of 
eight  ships,   still  only  continued  to  demand   permission 
to   take  vengeance  for  the  outrages  perpetrated   by  the 
German  pirate,  instead  of  proceeding  (as  he  did  afterwards 
in  the  case  of  the  Barbary  pii^ates)  at  once  to  destroy  him 


Parliament,  made  to  the  Public  Mi- 
nister of  the   King  of  Portugal,"  one 
article  is,  "  That  justice  be  done  upon 
those  that  murdered  our  men  in  Portu- 
gal, being  on  shore,   and  upon  those 
that    attempted    the    burning   of  the 
Admiral's     ships    in     the     river."  — 
Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  10th 
Feb.  1651,  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 
'  *'  That  the  Committee  of  the  Admi- 


ralty confer  with  Mr.  Vane "  [Mr. 
Charles  Vane,  the  brother  of  Sir 
Henry  Vane,  who  had  been  recalled 
from  Portugal  by  a  letter  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  State,  21st  June  1650,  MS.  State 
Paper  Office]  "  concerning  the  present 
condition  of  the  tleet  riding  at  the  bar 
of  Lisbon,  to  the  end  for  the  speedy 
supplying  of  them  with  such  things  as 
are  needful."— i6if7.  3rd  July  1650. 


I  f 


88 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VIII. 


1650.] 


TREATY  OF  PEACE  WITH  POETUGAL. 


89 


and  his  fleet.     Instead  of  granting  the  permission  de- 
manded by  Blake,  the  King  of  Portugal  put  some  of  the 
English  merchants  under  arrest.     Upon  this  Blake  seized 
the  whole  of  the  Brazil  fleet,  of  nine  sail,  coming  out  of  the 
river.     He  also  threatened  to  seize  the  American  fleets  on 
their  return,  if  the  revolters  were  not  immediately  com- 
pelled to  quit  the  Tagus.  A  squadron  of  thirteen  Portuguese 
men-of-war  was  then  equipped,  and  ordered  to  join  the  force 
under   Eupert.     But   it   is  remarkable  that   the  veteran 
admirals  of  Portugal  did  not  consider  it  prudent  to  attack 
the  English  fleet;  commanded  by  a  man  who  had  never 
held  a  naval  commission  till  about  a  year  before,  when 
he  was  fifty  years  of  age  ;  and  who,  in  spite  of  ihe  approach 
of  winter,  continued  to  cruise  at  the  river's  mouth,  where 
he  attacked  a  Brazil  fleet  of  twenty-three  sail  as  it  was 
about  to  enter  the  Tagus,  sank  the  Portuguese  flag-ship, 
destroyed    three    other   ships,    and   captured    the    Vice- 
Admiral   and    eleven    large    ships    laden   with  the  most 
precious  cargoes.     The  King  of  Portugal  now  began  to 
perceive  that  his  sympathy  for  the  cause  represented  by 
Prince  Rupert  was  too  expensive.      It   was   accordingly 
intimated  to   the    German  princes,   that   the    Crown   of 
Portugal  could  no  longer  protect  them  against  the  power 
of  the  Commonwealth  of    England.      Eupert   therefore, 
while  Blake  was  at  sea  in  search  of  the  dispersed  fleet 
of  Brazil,  dropped  down  the  river,  and  got  clear  away 
with  his  ships. 

The  King  of  Portugal  then  despatched  an  envoy  to 
London.  The  Council  of  State  insisted  upon  the  following 
conditions  : — the  immediate  restoration  of  ships  and  goods 
seized;  justice  upon  those  that  murdered  our  men  in 
Portugal  when  on  shore,  and  upon  those  that  attempted 
the  burning  of  the  Admiral's  ships  in  the  river ;  repayment 


of  the   charges   in  fitting  out  the  several  fleets  sent  to 
Portugal,  for  reducing  the  revolted  ships  protected  by  the 
King  of  Portugal ;  restitution  of,    or  reparation  for,  all 
English  goods  taken  by  Eupert  or  Maurice,  or  any  of  their 
ships,  and  brought  into  Portugal  and  disposed  of  there.' 
The  Portuguese  envoy,  venturing  to  dispute  some  dates  and 
details,  was  ordered  to  quit  the  country.     The  King  of 
Portugal   then    sent   a   nobleman   of    high   rank   as   his 
ambassador  to  the  Parliament  of  England.     But  delays 
again  arose,  and  it  was  not  till  January  1653  that  the 
treaty   of    peace    was   concluded   between   England   and 
Portugal.2      Towards  the  end  of  1652,  the  King  of  Por- 
tugal had  agreed  to  pay  £50,000  to  the  Commonwealth,  as 
appears  from  the  following  minute  of  24th  December  1652  : 
"  That  Sir  Oliver  Fleming  and  Mr.  Thurloe  do  receive 
from  the  Portugal  Ambassador  the  Bill  or  Bills  of  Ex- 
change, which  he  shall  give  for  the  payment  of  £20,000  at 
Lisbon,  part  of  the  £50,000  which  is  to  be  paid  in  whole 
by  the  King  of  Portugal  to  this  Commonwealth."  ^ 

Eupert   with   his   pirate  fleet,   after    leaving    Lisbon, 
passed  through  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar  and  entered  the 


»  «'  First  Paper  of  Demands,  in  the 
name  of  the  Parliament,  made  to  the 
Public  Minister  of  the  King  of  Portu- 
gal."—Orc/er  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  10th  Feb.  165f,  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

2  ♦'  At  the  close  of  the  dispute  with 
the  Court  of  Lisbon,  the  owners  of  the 
nine  ships  seized  and  detained  by  Blake 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Tagus  were  allowed 
to  present  a  statement  of  their  griev- 
ances to  the  Judges  of  the  Coui-t  of 
Admiralty,  Blake's  conduct  in  the 
matter  was  minutely  investigated; 
Admiral  Popham  was  called  on  to  give 
evidence  as  to  the  facts ;  and  after  a 


full  enquiry,  the  Judges  decided  that 
the   General-at-sea  had  acted  in  the 
spirit  of  his  instructions.      But  they 
acknowledged  the  private  losses  which 
the  owners  might  have  suffered  by  the 
forcible  detention  of  their  ships,  and 
decided  that  the   same   compensation 
should   be   awarded  to  them  for  the 
service,  as  in  cases  where  ships  had 
been    hired  by  the    State."— Dixon's 
Robert  Blake,  p.  U6,  cites  Judges  MS. 
Reports,  March  24,  State  Paper  Office. 
»  Order  Book   of    the   Council    of 
State,  Friday,  December  24,  1652,  MS, 
State  Paper  Office. 


90  COMMONWKiLTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  VIII. 

Mediterranean.      A  manuscript  memoir,    found    amonf, 
Kupert  s  papers,  thus  expresses  the  spirit  that  animated  him 
and  his  companions :  "  Misfortune  being  no  novelty  to  us 
we  plough  the  sea  for  a  subsistence;  and  being  destitute  of 
a  port,  we  take  the  confines  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea  for  our 
harbour :  poverty  and  despair  being  our  companions,  and 
revenge  our  guide."     Coasting  the  shores  of  Andalusia, 
they  foil  ,n  with  the  Malaga  fleet  during  a  dart  night 
and  captured  two  ships.     Rupert  then  stood  in  for  Malaga 
and  sent  forward  one  of  his  ships  (the  frigate  Henry),  with 
instructions   to  take  up  a  position  between  the  vessels 
lying  outside  the  port  and  the  mole,  so  that,  when  attacked 
in  the  night,  they  might  be  prevented  from  retreating  into 
the  harbour.      But  the  design  was  defeated  by  the  deser- 
tion  of   some   of   the  Henry^s   men,    who   informed  the 
Spaniards  of   the   intended  night-attack;   and  a  signal 
from  the  batteries  warning  the  ships  of  their  danger,  they 
stood  safely  in  while  it  was  yet  broad  day.   Eupert,  finding 
las  plan  defeated,  sailed  for  Velez-Malaga,  higher  up  the 
coast    where  some   English   merchant-ships   were   lying. 
The  Governor  of  Velez-Malaga,  on  hearing  of  the  appear- 
ance oi  Rupert  on  the  coast,  had  despatched  a  com-ier  to 
Madrid  for  mstruetions ;   but,  on   the   ground  that  this 
messenger  had  not  returned  when  Eupert  arrived,  he  refused 
to  mterfere,  and  six  English  ships  were  fired  and  burnt 
by  Rupert  under  the  guns  of  the  Spanish  batteries. 

Spam  was  now  destined  to  learn  that  a  change  had 
come  over  the  scene,  since  that  dark  time  in  England's 
annals  when  her  minister  Gondemar  had  declared  that 
there  were  no  men  in  England."  Blake  was  waiting  the 
arrival  of  a  supply  of  stores  sent  by  the  Council  of  State 
when  the  news  reached  him  of  this  act  of  hostility  com- 
mitted in  a  friendly  port.     He  at  once  turned  his  bows 


1650.] 


BLAKE  DESTROYS  RUPERT'S  FLEET. 


91 


towards  the  entrance  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  passed  the 
Straits  with  all  his  fleet^-the  first  English  Admiral  who 
had  sailed  in  those  seas  since  the  time  of  the  Crusades. 
When  he  reached  Malaga,  he  found  that  Eupert  had  left 
that  part  of  the  coast.     At  Capo  Palos,  near  Carthagena, 
the  revolted  ships   had  last  been  seen  in  a  tremendous 
squaU,  when  Eupert  and  his  brother  separated  from  the 
rest,  and  ran  out  to  sea.     The  other  revolted  ships  ran 
into  Carthagena  for  shelter  ;  and  when  the  weather  cleared, 
the  English  fleet  was   seen  riding  before   the   harbour. 
Blake  sent   a  messenger  to  inform  the  governor  of  the 
town  that  enemies  to  the  Commonwealth  of  England  had 
taken  refuge  in  that  port ;   that  he,  as  Admiral,  carried 
instructions  from  the  English  Council  of  State  to  pm'sue 
and  destroy  them ;  and  that,  the  two  nations  being  then  at 
peace,  he  hoped  to  be  aUowed  to  execute  his  orders  without 
interference.     The   Spaniard  sent  an  answer,  which  was 
tantamount  to  a  refusal  to  recognise  the  Parliament  as 
the  supreme  power  in  England.     Besides  this,  Anthony 
Ascham,  the  minister  sent  by  the  English  Parliament  to 
the  Court  of  Spain,  had  been  basely  assassinated  not  long 
before  at  Madrid,  by  some  of  the  servants  of  Hyde  and 
Cottington,  as  Dorislaus  had  been  assassinated  in  Holland 
by  some  servants  of  Montrose ;  and  the  Spanish  Government 
had,  like  the  Dutch,  taken  no  effective  steps  to  punish  the 
assassins.     Blake  therefore  lost  no  more  time  in  messages 
to   the    Spanish    governor,  but,  attacking   the   revolters, 
boarded  the  Boelnch,  set  fire  to  another  ship,  and  drove 
the  remainder  on  shore.     Their  guns,  stores,  and  ammuni- 
tion were  saved,  and  delivered  up  by  the  Spaniards  to  the 

1  This  was  in  1650.     Hume,  in  re-     fleet,  except  during  the  Crusades,  had 
lating  Blake's  entrance  into  the  Medi-     ever  before  sailed  in  those  seas. 
terranean  in  1654,  says  :  "No  English 


92 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Cuap.  VIH. 


Admirars  agent.  ^  The  whole  of  the  revolted  fleet  were 
now  captured  or  destroyed,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Reformation  and  the  Sivallow,  the  two  ships  in  which 
Eupert  and  Maurice  sailed,  and  the  Marmaduke,  a  ship 
they  had  recently  captm-ed. 

The  cotemporary  correspondence,  as  given  by  White- 
lock,  furnishes  characteristic  sketches  both  of  Eupert  and 
Blake:  "December  20, 1650.— Letters  that  Prince  Eupert 
came  to  Malaga  and  other  ports,  and  fired  and  sank  divers 
English  merchant-ships,  and  demanded  the  master  of  a 
London  ship,  saying  that  he  would  boil  him  in  pitch ;  but 
the  Governor  of  Malaga  refused  to  deliver  up  the  master  to 
him.'^2  But  the  avenger  of  blood  was  behind  him,  for  the 
next  entry  in  Whitelock  is  this:  "December  21.— Letters 
that  Blake  fell  upon  Prince  Eupert  in  Malaga  Eoad,^  sank 
two  or  three  of  his  ships,  ran  on  shore  and  exposed  to  ship- 
wreck the  rest  of  his  fleet ;  only  two  ships  escaped,  where- 
in it  is  conceived  Prince  Eupert  and  his  brother  Prince 
Maurice  were,  and  Blake  in  chase  of  them."'* 

There  is  something  strange  in  Eupert's  luck  in  escaping 
from  Cromwell  on  land,  and  from  Blake  at  sea.  How 
came  it  that  Eupert  always  managed  to  get  away  un- 
scathed—at Marston  Moor,  at  Naseby,  and  elsewhere, 
where  so  many  valiant  Eoyalists  went  down  before  the 
Parliamentary  cuirassiers  and  pikemen— and  that  noAv  his 
and  his  brother's  ships  alone  escaped?  Eupert  was  a 
"  tall  black  man,"  strong  of  body,  and  cruel  and  fierce  of 


•  Dixon's  Robert  Blake,  pp.  155- 
161  ;  Kupert  MS.  in  Warburton,  iii. 
313-318. 

2  Whitelock's  Memorials,  p.  485. 

'  There  is  a  minute  of  the  Council  of 
State  of  Friday,  13th  December  1650, 
"That  the  letter  from  Colonel  Blako 


of  the  30th  of  October  1650,  dated  from 
aboard  the  Leopard  in  Malaga  Road,  be 
reported  to  the  Parliament."— Or<^er 
Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  Friday, 
13th  December  1650,  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

*  Whitelock's  Memorials,  p.  485, 


1650.] 


RUPERT'S  LUCK  IN  ESCAPIXa. 


93 


heart.  His  bodily  strength  and,  perhaps,  superior  horse- 
manship may  have  enabled  him  to  escape  on  land,  without 
making  the  supposition  that  he  managed  to  get  the  credit 
of  being  a  dashing  cavalry  ofiicer  without  much  exposing 
his  own  person.  But  that  explanation  will  not  extend  to 
a  naval  fight :  and  the  two  ships,  in  which  he  and  his 
brother  were,  must  have  escaped  by  being  less  exposed  to 
the  enemy's  fire  than  the  rest  of  the  fleet.  Eupert  by 
this  time  knew  Blake  too  well  to  wait  for  his  onset. 
Blake's  height  of  5  feet  G  inches,  though  too  short  for  a 
Merton  felloAvship,  was  far  more  than  a  match  for  the  6 
feet  odd  of  the  "  fiery  Eupert,"  as  his  admirers  love  to 
call  him.  To  fight  Blake  was  a  very  diff'erent  thing 
from  cutting  off  a  defenceless  man's  ears,  or  boiling  him 

in  pitch. 

It  is  incorrect  to  infer  from  a  man's  good  horsemanship 
that  he  is  a  man  of  courage.  Good  horsemanship  depends 
on  the  conformation  and  disposition  of  the  muscles.  In 
some  persons  what  is  called  the  riding  muscle  (the  muscle 
on  the  inside  of  the  thigh)  is  not  only  undeveloped,  but 
incapable  of  strong  development ;  while  the  muscle  on  the 
outside  of  the  thigh,  on  which  walking  depends,  is  well 
developed.  To  call  a  man  who  rides  well  "  a  dauntless 
rider"  looks  like  brag  ;  though  it  may  be  quite  true  that  the 
man  is  a  fearless  rider.  But  the  "  fearlessness  "  is  only  the 
confidence  arising  from  the  feeling  that  the  muscular  power 
gives  a  security  unattended  with  risk ;  and  is  a  totally  dif- 
ferent thing  from  the  fearlessness  which  faces  death,  where 
no  strength  of  muscle  can  be  of  any  avail.  A  man  who 
exposes  himself  to  a  shower  of  shot,  as  Blake  constantly 
did,  shows  courage.  A  man  who,  trusting  to  his  thews 
and  sinews,  and  the  power  they  give  him  of  managing  his 
horse,  attacks  men  of  far  less  muscular  force,  and  worse- 


94 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VIII. 


mounted  than  himself,  merely  shows  the  confidence  a 
strong  animal  has  in  his  strength.  This  latter  quality- 
was  the  sort  of  courage  possessed  by  Prince  Eupert — very 
different  from  the  sort  of  courage  evinced  by  Blake,  and 
also  from  the  sort  of  courage  evinced  by  Harrison  and  by 
Cromwell.  The  courage  of  Harrison,  indeed,  was  of  that 
fiery  and  enthusiastic  nature,  which  made  him  have 
sowmehat  the  relation  to  Cromwell  that  Murat  bore  to 
Bonaparte.  Harrison's  fate,  too,  bears  some  resemblance 
to  that  of  Murat ;  so  that  it  may  be  said  of  Harrison,  as 
it  has  been  said  of  Murat : 

Was  that  haughty  crest  laid  low, 

By  a  slave's  dishonest  blow? 

Little  didst  thou  deem,  when  dashing 

On  thy  war-horse  through  the  ranks, 
Like  a  stream  which  burst  its  banks, 

While  helmets  cleft  and  sabres  clashing, 

Shone  and  shiver'd  fast  around  thee, 

Of  the  fate  at  last  which  found  thee. 

Indeed,  if  ever  man  in  his  warlike  enthusiasm  resembled 
the  war-horse  in  Job,  it  was  Harrison.  "  He  mocketh  at 
fear,  and  is  not  affrighted ;  neither  turneth  he  back  from 
the  sword.  He  saith  among  the  trumpets,  Ha  !  ha !  and 
he  smelleth  the  battle  afar  off,  the  thunder  of  the  captains, 
and  the  shouting."  The  very  first  time  that  Rupert 
came  into  conflict  with  Cromwell  and  Harrison,  namely  at 
Marston  Moor,  he  was  defeated  in  less  than  half  an  hour ; 
and  he  and  his  Life -Guards,  the  picked  men  of  the  Eoyalist 
cavalry,  were  driven  off  the  field  in  irretrievable  confusion 
and  headlong  flight. 

On  the  2nd  of  November,  1650,  the  Council  of  State  wrote 
a  letter  to  Blake,  informing  him  that  they  had  ordered 
Captain  William  Penn  (afterwards  Admiral  Sir  William 
Penn),  "  with  as  many  ships  as  could  befitted  out,  to  sail 


1660.]       PENN'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  PURSUIT   OF  RUPERT.  95 


southward,  both  for  the  prevention  of  Eupert,  as  much  as 
he  is  able  with  this  strength,  from  doing  further  mischief 
on  the  good  people  of  this  nation ;  and  for  the  surprisal  or 
destruction  of  as  many  of  the  Portugal's  fleet  as  he  can 
make  attempt  on,  in  their  return  homeward  from  Brazil." 
In  this  letter  the  Council  also  say  :  "  We  desire  that  you, 
with  the  rest  of  the  fleet,  will  repair  home  with  all  the 
speed  conveniently  you  may ;  that  we  may,  upon  conference 
with  you,  the  better  understand  the  state  of  affairs  in 
those  parts  where  you  are  and  have  been  ;  and  also  may 
give  timely  orders  for  fitting  out  those  ships  with  you, 
against  the  next  spring,  if  there  should  be  occasion  for 
their  service."  ^  On  the  25th  of  the  same  month,  Penn 
received  a  commission  to  command  the  Fairfax,  a  new 
frigate  of  50  guns  lately  built  at  Deptford,  and  also 
another  commission,  to  command-in-chief  a  squadron  of 
eight  ships  for  the  service  specified  above. 

Penn  sailed  on  the  30th  of  November  from  Spithead,  in 
the  Centurion,  On  the  17th  of  January  165^,  he  made  the 
island  of  St.  Michael,  in  the  Azores,  where,  on  the  22nd, 
he  was  joined  by  Lawson,  who  brought  him  out  the  Fair- 
fax.  After  cruising  for  some  weeks  between  the  Western 
Islands,  the  Eock  of  Lisbon,  and  Cadiz,  Penn  entered  the 
Mediterranean,  with  his  whole  fleet,  on  the  29th  of  March. 
Penn's  Journal  from  the  time  of  his  setting  Bail  £ca2ii.^pit- 
head;  on  4he  BOth  of  January  165^,  to  the  time  of  his 
return  to  England,  T3a--Mei-clr^5j;'^ari5e^  published  by 
Mr.  Granville  Penn  from  the  papers  inthe^^ssession  of 
his  family.  On  the  18th  of  March  there  is  this  entry: 
"  I  wefit  to  Pendennis  Castle ;  having  not  put  foot  on  land 
since  my  departure  from  this  place  outward-bound,  which 

>  The  Council  of  State  to  General    Blake,  Thurloe's  State  Papers,   vol.  ii. 
p.  93. 


I 


96 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VIII. 


165L] 


BLAKE  CAPTURES  FOUR  FRENCH  SHIPS. 


97 


r 


I 


p 


i 


was  in  last  December  was  twelve  montlis."  ^     And  on  the 
1st  of  April  there  is  this  entry :     "  About  4  afternoon, 
we  anchored  in  the  Downs,  (praised  be  the  name  of  our 
Heavenly  Father!)  where  I   met  with  the  Eight   Hon. 
General  Eobert  Blake."  ^    4Jiis-pttrsnit  of  Rupert,  however, 
was  mrsurnT^ssM.^''  Tliere  is  an  entry  m  Penn's  Journal, 
which  mentions  the  foundering  at  sea  of  two  of  Eupert's 
three  ships:  "26th  ISTovember,  1651. — I  received  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Hill  at  Cadiz,  in  which  he  informs  me  that  the  Re- 
formation and  the  Revenge,  formerly  called  the  Marmaduke, 
were  sunk  between  the  islands  St.  Michael  and  Terceira ; 
of  which  ships'  companies  none  were  saved  but  Prince 
Eupert  and   nine  more,  in  the  Reformation's  pinnace."  ^ 
It  would  seem  from  this  that  Prince  Eupert  considered 
it  the  dutj^  of  a  commander  to  be  not  the  last  but  the 
first  to  save  himself  when  his  ship  was  sinking.      This  is 
in  accordance  with  a  character  that  has  come  down  from 
those  times  linked,   if  not  with  one  virtue,  with  many 
crimes.     He  and  his  brother,  after  pursuing  their  piracies 
for  some  time  in  the  West  Indies,  parted  company  in  a 
storm.     Maurice  was  never  heard  of  again;  but  Eupert 
lived  to  enjoy  the  spectacle  of  th6"lf fitJMe^Tevenge  exe- 
cuted, by  command  of  his  royal  cousin,  on  the  remains  of 
his  conquerors  ;    and  of   the  great  nation,  wliicli  Blake 
had  rafsed  to  the  height  of  power  and  glory,  reduced  to 
the  lowest  depth  of  discomfiture  and  disgrace. 

On  the  11th  of  January,  165^,  the  Council  of  State 
ordered  "  that  Mf.TrosTHo  preptre^arTSttertrf-tKanks  to 
be  sent  To  Colonel  Blake,  in  pursuaiice'or  an  Order  of 


'%£.»3'iti«ae*«r^^^ ' 


•  Granville  Penn's  Memorials  of  Sir 
William  Penn,  vol.  i.  p.  393. 


2  im.  p.  394. 
'  Ibid.  p.  387. 


Parliament,  for  the  good  services  done  by  him  against 

Prince  Eupert.**  *- ———^^ — -^-—         ^ 

1  Eave.  already  mentioned  the  seizure  of  many  English 
merchant-ships  by  French  privateers,  and  the  issuing  by 
the  English  Admiralty  of  letters  of  marque  or  reprisals 
to  the  English  merchants.  Hitherto  the  English  admirals 
had  avoided  attacking  French  ships.  But  the  revolters 
having  been  protected  by  the  French  authorities  at  Toulon, 
Blake,  on  his  voyage  homeward,  captured  four  French 
prizes.  One  of  these  was  a  frigate  of  40  gmis,  re- 
specting the  capture  of  which  the  following  story  is  told. 
Blake  signalled  for  the  captain  of  the  French  frigate  to 
come  on  board  his  flag-ship,  which  the  Frenchman  did. 
The  Admiral  told  him  he  was  a  prisoner,  and  asked  him  to 
give  up  his  sword.  The  Frenchman  refused ;  upon  which 
Blake  told  him  he  might  go  back  to  his  ship,  and  fight  it 
out  as  long  as  he  was  able.  The  French  captain  thanked 
him,  returned  to  his  ship;  and,  after  two  hours'  hard  fight- 
ing, struck  his  flag,  and  being  brought  again  on  board 
Blake's  ship,  made  a  low  bow,  kissed  his  sword,  and  de- 
livered it  to  Blake.  A  somewlixit  similar  story  is  told  of 
Monk,  whose  character,  except  in  courage,  bore  little  re- 
semblance to  Blake's.  In  one  of  his  campaigns  in  Scot- 
land, Monk  having  arrived  one  day  at  the  house  of  a 
certain  Scotch  laird,  found  it  fit  for  the  reception  of  a 
small  garrison.  But  the  laird  refused  to  grant  Monk's 
request  to  that  effect.  "  Well,"  said  Monk,  "  I  will  not 
violate  hospitality,"  and  he  immediately  commanded  the 
ofiicers  who  accompanied  him  to  evacuate  the  house. 
"Now,"  said  he  to  the  laird,  "look  to  the  defence,  for 
we  are  about  to   attack."     The   laird,  however,  though 

>  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  11th  Jan.  165^,  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 
VOL.  II.  H 


1. 


98 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VIII. 


1651.]         ROYALIST   PIRATES  IN   THE   SCILLY   ISLES. 


99 


surrounded  by  a  great  number  of  his  friends  and  relations, 
thought  it  wise  to  make  terms,  and  consented  to  receive  a 
garrison,  on  condition  that  a  portion  of  his  house  should 
be  set  apart  for  his  own  use. 

Though  the  Parliament  of  England  had  now  got  rid  of 
the  two  German  pirates,  Eupert  and  Maurice,  they  had 
still  upon  their  hands  the  work  of  ridding  themselves  of  a 
strong  force  of  English  pirates,  who  from  the  Scilly  Isles 
and  Jersey  infested  the  English  Chamxet     Ruprt,  at  the 
commencemehF  of  liis  piraticat-Tareer,  had  fixed  on  that 
remarkable  group  of  small  rocky  islets  lying  off  the  Land's 
End  in  Cornwall,  known  as  the  Scilly  Isles, ^  as  a  convenient 
situation  for  the  establishment  of  one  or  more  strongholds 
for  the  reception  of  his  plunder.     Nature  and  art'  seemed 
to  have  combined  to  adapt  these  islands  for  such  a  pur- 
pose.    Intricate  channels  with  dangerous  sunken  rocks, 
and   the   frequent   occurrence   of    the  most  sudden   and 
violent  storms,  were  the  obstacles  opposed  by  nature  to  the 
approach  of  hostile  ships ;  and  the  art  of  man  had  erected 
block-houses    and  batteries,    connected  with  each   other 
by  lines  and  breastworks,  at  those  places  where  a  landing 
seemed  most  likely  to  be  attempted.    It  has  been  observed, 
by  those  who  have  kept  journals,  that  not  more  than  six 
days  of  perfect  calm  occur  in  the  course  of  the  year.     This 
violent  and  almost  constant  action  of  the  sea  renders  the 
opinion  not  improbable,  that  these  islands  have,  at  some 
period  antecedent  to  authentic  history,  been  separated  from 
the  mainland.    From  the  same  cause  the  islands,  though  for 
the  most  part  composed  of  granite,^  are  undergoing  a  gradual 

•  In  the  "Order  Book  of  the  Council  the  States-General  of  the  United  Pro- 
vinces, Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  2nd  April  1651,  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

^  A  Guide  to  Mount's  Bay  and  the 
Land's  EndTl^j  a  Pliysician  (Lr!  Paris): 


of  State  "  they  are  described  as  "  the 
islands  of  Scillyes  or  Sorlings,  ancient- 
ly a  part  of  the  territories  belonging 
to  the  Commonwealth  of  England." — 
Instructions  for  the  Ambassadors  with 


diminution.  At  present  there  are  more  than  140  islands, 
of  which  six  are  inhabited,  containing  altogether  a  popu- 
lation  of  about  ^,500.  T^Eelirea  of  the  islands  varies  from 
St.  Mary^s^TEe  largest,  about  1,500  acres,  to  less  than  one 
acre.  The  islands  form  a  compact  group,  rising  for  the 
most  part  abruptly,  with  rugged  sides,  from  the  deep  sea 
around  them.  In  the  channels  which  separate  the  islands 
the  depth  of  the  sea  is  much  less  ;  some  of  these  channels 
being  dry  at  low  water,  and  others  only  kneedeep.  The 
employments  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Scilly  Isles  are 
agriculture,  fishing,  making  kelp,  and  pilotage.* 

St.  Mary's,  the  most  important  island,  consists  of  two 
portions ;  the  smaller  of  which,  called  "  The  Hugh,"  is 
joined  to  the  other  part  by  a  low  sandy  isthmus,  on  which 
stands  "  Hugh  Town,"  the  principal  place  in  the  island. 
This  island  is  about  2^  miles  long,  IJ  mile  broad,  and 
about  8  miles  in  circumference.  The  Hugh  is  a  steep  hill 
rising  about  110  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  was 
then  fortified  by  lines,  having  a  circuit  of  more  than  a  mile, 
with  18  bastions  or  batteries,  and  enclosing  a  small  fort 
called  Star  Castle.  Tresco,  the  island  next  in  importance, 
is  inhabited  chiefly  by  pilots  and  fishermen.  Most  of  the 
houses  are  on  the  north-east  side,  near  the  beach^  opposite 
a  harbour  called  Old  Grinsey  Harbour ;  and  form  a  village 
called  Dolphin  Town,  which  may  perhaps  be  an  abbrevia- 
tion of  Godolphin  Town,  the  Godolphin  family  having 
been  long  the  lessees  of  the  islands.  A  stone  tower,  called 
Oliver  Cromwell's  Castle,  now  deserted,  coiffirifrSii^s"llie  har- 
bour of  New  Grinsey; ^rni  the  west  side  of  the  island ;  and 
near  it  are  the  ruins  of  a  fortress,  called  King  Charles's 

London,  1824. — The  granite  is,  accord-  '  A  View  of  the  Present  State  of 
ing  to  Dr.  Paris,  a  continuation  of  tlie  the  Scilly  Islands  ;  by  the  Kev.  George 
Devonian  range.  WootUey,  London,  1822. 

u  2 


100 


COMMONWEALTH   OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VIII 


Castle.  St.  Martin's,  nearly  2  miles  long  and  about  6 
miles  in  circumference,  is  chiefly  inhabited  by  pilots  and 
fishermen.  About  the  middle  of  the  17th  century,  tliis 
island  was  uninhabited,  but  there  are  indications  of  its 
having  been  peopled  at  an  earlier  period.  St.  Agnes  ^  is 
a  mile  in  length,  half  a  mile  in  breadth,  on  an  average, 
and  4|  miles  in  circumference.  St.  Agnes  is  very  irregu- 
lar in  outline,  and  is  surrounded  by  rocks.  Though  the 
soil  is  the  most  fertile,  and  now  the  best  cultivated,  in  the 
whole  group,  the  shore  is  rocky  and  almost  inaccessible, 
which  may  be  the  cause  of  its  having  apparently  at  that 
time  been  considered  the  most  important  of  the  islands 
after  St.  Mary's. 

In  these  islands  2,000  men  were  placed  as  a  garrison, 
and  with  them  was  a  considerable  number  of  Royalist 
gentry,  all  under  the  command  of  Sir  John  Grenville, 
designated  "  Governor  of  the  Islands  tjf  1§t7  STaf y*S  and 
St.  Agn^,  ln"Bcilly,^^on '^  ffie  behalf  6?  "^Sis  "Majesty."  ^ 
Before  Blake  drove  him  into  Kinsale,  Eupert  had  caiTied 
the  plunder  he  got  by  piracy  into  these  islands ;  and,  in  a 
letter  to  Sir  John  Grenville,  hi  April  1649,  he  says  he 
"  doubts  not  ere  long  to  see  Scilly  a  second  Venice. "  ^ 
This  shows  that  Eupert,  if  neither  a  great  commander 
nor  a  great  statesman,  possessed  at  least  a  bold  imagina- 
tion. In  March  1649  he  sent  to  Sir  John  Grenville,  from 
Ireland,  some  ships  laden  with  corn,  salt,  iron,  and  steel. 
And  in  April,  in  the  letter  to  Grenville  quoted  above,  he 
says :  "  You  will  receive,  if  these  ships  come  safe,  such 
provisions  as  we  can  spare  here,  and  also  some  men,  which 
I  was  fain  to  send  out  of  my  own  regiment.     They  are  all 

•  In  the  Articles  ofSurrender,  of  23rd  the  latter  is  styled  "  Governor  of  the 

May  1651,  cited  by  Mr.  Dixon  {Lifeof  Islands  of  St.  Mary's  and  St.  Agnes,  in 

Robert  Blake,  p.  169,  note),  between  Scilly,  on  the  behalf  of  His  Majesty." 
Admiral  Blake  and  Sir  John  Grenville, 


1651.] 


ROYALISTS  IN   THE  SCILLY  ISLES. 


101 


armed,  and  have  some  to  spare.  The  officers  have  for- 
merly served  his  Majesty.  You  may  trust  them.  I  doubt 
not  ere  long  to  see  Scilly  a  second  Venice.  It  will "Be'ttir 
our"  security  and  benefit ;  for  if  the  worst  come  to  the 
worst,  it  is  but  going  to  Scilly  with  this  fleet,  where,  after 
a  little  while,  we  may  get  the  King  a  good  subsistence ; 
and,  I  beheve,  we  shall  make  a  shiffc  to  live  in  spite  of  all 
factions."  ^  It  is  observable,  however,  that  between  April 
1649  and  the  end  of  1650,  Rupert  had  altered  his  opinion 
about  the  Scilly  Isles  as  a  place  of  security  and  benefit ;  for, 
after  his  utter  discomfitui'e  by  Blake,  he  did  not  return 
thither,  but  sailed  for  the  West  Indies. 

But,  though  Rupert  did  not  join  them  again,  the  Royalist 
pirates  in  the  Scilly  Isles  became  so  active  as  to  call  for 
the  particular  attention  of  the  Council  of  State  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  year  1651.  In  February  of  that  year  we 
meet  with  notices,  in  the  "  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,"  of  "  losses  by  pirates  upon  the  west  coast."  ^  On  the 
26th  of  March  following  the  Council  of  State  ordered  a 
letter  to  be  wiitten  to  Major-General  Desborowe,  to  let  him 
know  "  that  the  Council  is  informed  that  Sir  John  Green- 
vill,  Governor  of  Scillie,  doth,  contrary-  to  the  law  of  arms, 
detain  and  keep  in  strict  imprisonment  divers  ^rsons  who 
are  merchantmen  and  traders  ;  to  desire  him  to  seize  the 
persons  of  the  relations  of  the  said  Sir  John  Greenvill  in 
Cornwall,  and  to  keep  them  in  safe  custody  until  he  shall 
dismiss  the  said  merchantmen,  now  prisoners  with  him ; 
and  he  is  to  give  notice  thereof  to  Sir  John  Greenvill 
before  his  doing  of  it,  and  to  expect  [wait  for]  his  answer ; 
and  upon  his  writing  back,  to  certify  to  the  Council  what 
effect  it  hath  had  with  him,  and  to  desert  tlioroin^to  do 

>  Fitzroy  MS.  in  Warburton,  vol.  iii.         ^  Oi-der  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
pp.  289-295.  ISthFeb.  165^.  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


i 


102 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VIII. 


\ 


notliiiig  further  therein]  till  further  order  from  the  Coun- 
cil." » 

On  the  31st  of  March  1651  leave  is  given  by  the 
Council  of  State,  to  certain  petitioners,  to  buy  their  ship, 
taken  by  two  Jersey  men-of-war  ^ — that  is,  by  two  Royalist 
pirate-ships  having  their  stronghold  in  the  isle  of  Jersey, 
as  others  had  in  the  Scilly  Isles.  But  on  the  18th  of  the 
same  month  the  Council  of  State  ordered,  "  That  it  be  re- 
turned in  answer  to  the  petition  of  George  Dickens,  that 
this  Council  cannot  treat  with  Eupert  for  any  exchanges, 
but  the  Council  will  be  ready  to  grant  letters  of  reprisal.  "^ 

On  the  1st  of  April  1651,  the  Council  of  State  ordered, 
"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  Colonel  Blake,  to  inclose  him 
a  copy  of  the  Order  of  Parliament,  to  let  him  know  that 
the  Parliament  is  informed  that  Van  Tromp  [sic]  is  before 
Scilly,  and  hath  refused  to  give  an  account  of  his  being 
there  to  some  of  the  Commonwealth  ships  that  have 
demanded  an  account  of  him ;  to  desire  him  therefore  to 
repair  thither  with  the  ships  bound  for  the  Barbadoes,  and 
likewise  with  the  three  ships  under  his  command  appointed 
for  the  Irish  Seas  ;  ^  and  demand  of  him  the  cause  of  his 
being  there,  and  not  to  depart  from  thence  until  he  hath 
received  such  an  answer  as. may  be  for  the  honour  and 
interest  of  the  Commonwealth;  and  he  is  to  give  such 
orders  for  the  guard  of  the  Irish  coast  as  he  shall  think  fit, 
during  the  time  he  shall  be  detained  in  this  service."  ^ 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  26th  March  1651,  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 

'  Ibid.  31st  March  1651. 

3  Ibid.  18th  March  165^. 

*  On  the  15th  of  March  165?  an 
order  had  been  made  by  the  Council  of 
State,  "  That  Colonel  Blake  command 


the  squadron  designed  for  the  Irish 
Seas"— Ibid.  15th  March  165f.  On 
the  13th  of  February  last  £1,000  had 
been  ordered  to  Colonel  Blake  by  the 
Parliament.  (Ibid.)  The  warrant  for 
payment  of  this  sum  is  dated  IStJi 
March  165?. 

*  Ibid.  1st  April,  1651. 


1651.]        THE  SCILLY  ISLES  SURBENDEEED   TO  BLAKE.       103 


On  the  same  day  it  was  ordered,  "  That  a  letter  be 
written  to  Sir  George  Ayscue,  that  the  force  appointed  to  go 
with  Colonel  iJlake  io  Van  Tromp  must  be  made  up  with 
the  ships  under  his  command."  ^ 

The  complication  produced  by  the  piratical  proceedings 
of  Rupert  is  shown  by  the  instructions  given  by  the 
Council  of  State  to  Blake  on  this  occasion.  For  while 
Blake  is  directed,  by  these  instructions,  to  require  Tromp 
to  desist  from  any  attempt  prejudicial  to  the  honour  or 
interest  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  he  is  "to 
signify  to  the  said  Van  Tromp,  that  by  requiring  him  to 
desist  it  is  not  the  intention  of  this  Commonwealth  to 
protect  those  who  are  now  in  possession  of  Scilly  in  the 
wrongs  they  have  done  the  Dutch,  or  to  hinder  them  from 
righting  themselves  upon  them,  so  as  they  act  nothing  to 
the  prejudice  of  the  honour  or  interest  of  this  Common- 
wealth, but  shall  be  ready  to  give  them  all  assistance  therein, 
and  expect  the  like  from  them  in  what  you  are  there  to 
execute."  ^ 

A  satisfactory  account  of  Tromp's  fleet  having  beeu 
received  from  the  States-General  of  Holland,  Blake  pro- 
ceeded with  his  fleet  against  the  Scilly  Islands.  Having 
summoned  the  Governor,  Sir  Jolin  Grenville,  to  surrender 
the  islands  to  the  Parliament  of  England,  and  not  receiving 
a  satisfactory  answer,  he  ordered  800  men,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captain  Morris,  to  land  in  Tresco,  the  island,  as 
we  have  seen,  next  in  importance  to  St.  Mary's.  A  garrison 
of  nearly  a  thousand  men  were  posted  behind  a  line  of 
breastworks  to  oppose  them.  But  Blake's  troops  threw 
themselves  into  the  water,  waded  on  shore,  and,  as  soon 
as  they  were  formed,  attacked  the  entrenchments.     The 

'  Order   Book   of    the    Council    of        ^  Instructions   for    Colonel  Robert 
State,  1st  April  1651,  MS.  State  Paper     Blake.— Ibid. 
Office. 


104 


COMMONWiLiLTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VIII 


1651.] 


TACT  OF  THE  COUNCIL  OF  STATE. 


105 


Eojalisis  made  a  stout  resistance,  but  when  night  came  on 
they  withdrew  to  their  boats,  and  passed  over  to  St.  Mary's. 
At  daybreak  Blake  erected  a  battery  on  Tresco,  so  placed 
as  to  command  the  roadstead  of  St.  Mary's  ;  but  seeing  that 
his  battery  produced  little  effect  on  the  castle  and  fortifi- 
cations, he  brought  his  frigates  through  the  intricate  and 
dangerous   channels,  and  planted  them  in  the  roadstead 
under  the  castle  guns — a  feat  which  has  been  achieved  so 
often  since,  that,  as  Mr.  Dixon  justly  observes,  "  it  is  not 
easy  now  to  estimate  the  daring  which  it  then  implied. 
Up  to  that   day  it  had  been  considered   a  fundamental 
maxim  in  marine  warfare,  that  a  ship  could  not  attack  a 
castle  or  other  strong  fortification  with  any  hope  of  success. 
Blake  was  the  first  to  perceive  and  demonstrate  the  fallacy 
of  this  maxim ;  and  the  experiment,  afterwards  repeated 
by  him  in  the  more  brilliant  attacks  on  Porto  Farino  and 
Santa  Cruz,  was  first  tried  at  the  siege  of  St.  Mary's."  ^ 
Notwithstanding  a  furious  cannonade  from  the  castle,  the 
guns  of    the  frigates  having  made  a  practicable  breach, 
Blake  ordered  an  assault  to  be  made.     But  Grenville  then 
sent  to  beg  a  parley,  which  ended  in  an  engagement  on 
his  part  to  surrender  the  islands,  with  their  garrisons, 
stores,  arms,  ammunition,  standards,  and  all  other  imple- 
ments and  materials  of  war,  on  condition  that  the  lives  of 
the  ofiicers,  soldiers,  and  volunteers  should  be  spared.     The 
soldiers  and  sailors  were  allowed  to  enter  the  Parliament's 
service.     Sir  John  Grenville  and  the  Eoyalist  gentlemen 
taken  with  him  were  put  on  board  Sir  George  Ayscue's 
squadron,  and  carried  into  Plymouth  Sound.     The  ParKa- 
ment,  acting  in  the  lenieht'  spirit  of  Blake's  articles,  per- 
I  mitted  Grenville  to  enjoy  his  forfeited  family  estates  without 

'  Dixon's  Robert  Blake,  p.  168;  and  p.  138  of  the  new  edition. 


I  -  i 


molestation.^  Under  date  9th  August  1651,  there  is  the 
following  entry  in  the  rough  draft  of  the  Order  Book  of  the 
Council  of  State — "  Mem. :  Colonel  Blake  to  leave  two  ships 
about  Scilly." 

There  is  a  minute  of  the  Comicil  of  State  of  the  22nd 
March  of  this  year,  relating  to  a  ship  taken  by  Sir  George 
Ayscue,  which  I  will  transcribe,  as  throwing  light  on  the 
nature  and  effect  of  the  Government  of  England  at  that 
time  :  "  That  a  letter  be  written  to  Sir  George  Ayscue,  to 
let  him  know  that  the  Council,  since  the  receipt  of  his 
letter,  have  had  notice  that  there  is  more  money  in  the 
ship  Lemmon  than  is  expressed  in  his  letter ;  to  desire  him 
to  make  an  effectual  search  in  the  ship,  and  to  compare 
the  bills  of  exchange  with  the  inventory  taken  of  the  goods, 
and  to  give  an  account  to  the  Council."^  The  tact  of  the 
statesmen  who  formed  the  Council  of  State  is  manifest  in 
the  careful  wording  of  this  minute,  which,  it  will  be 
observed,  does  not  contain  the  slightest  insinuation  of 
any  mtention  (which  it  may  be  hoped  did  not  exist)  on  the 
part  of  Sir  George  Ayscue  to  appropriate  to  himself  a  part 
of  the  money  referred  to  without  the  knowledge  of  the 
Council,  but  yet  adopts  an  effectual  course  for  securing 
an  exact  account  of  the  money.  One  decided  advantage 
of  a  Government  like  this  Council  of  State,  was  its  capa- 
bility of  appreciating  the  pure  honesty  and  honour  of  a 
man  like  Blake,  who  would  have  received  no  credit,  but  on 
the  contrary  discredit,  for  his  honesty  from  any  of  the 
Stuarts ;  would  have  been  set  down  as  an  "  impracticable 
fool "  (that  is  the  favourite  phrase),  not  only  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  Charles  I.  and  Charles  II.,  but  by  many  a  Govern- 
ment since.    This  result  was,  I  apprehend,  produced,  in  part 

>  Dixon's  Robert  Blake,  pp.  16C-1 09,     March    22,    165^,     MS.    State    Paper 
and  the  authorities  there  cited.  Office. 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 


■ 
I 


i 


106 


.COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  VIU. 


at  least,  by  tlie  large  number  of  persons  composing  the 
Council  of  State.  For  though  that  Council,  like  other 
Councils,  doubtless  contained  several  unscrupulous  men,  it 
also  had  its  own  public  opinion,  which  would  be  in  favour 
of  such  a  man  as  Blake;  whereas  if  a  man  cheated  or 
robbed  the  public,  and  gave  half  of  his  plunder  to  the 
Stuart,  the  Stuart  approved  of  the  proceeding.^  But  such 
a  proceeding  was  dijG&cult  or  impracticable  with  a  Council 
of  State  consisting  of  41  members,  of  whom  as  many  as 
38  (as  appears  by  the  MS.  minutes)  were  sometimes 
present  together. 


'  The  Lord  Cottington,  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer,  to  the  Lord  Deputy 
of  Ireland,  January  27,  1635  :  "When 
William  Raylton  first  told  me  of  your 
Lordship's  intention  touching  Mount- 
norris's  place  for  Sir  Adam  Loftus,  and 
the  distribution  of  monies  for  the 
effecting  thereof  I  fell  upon  the  right 
way,  which  was  to  give  the  money  to 
him  that  really  could  do  the  bicsiness, 


which  was  the  King  hiinself;  and  this 
hath  so  far  prevailed,  as  by  this  post 
your  Lordship  will  receive  His  Ma- 
jesty's letter  to  that  effect ;  so  as  there 
you  have  your  business  done  without 
noise :  and  now  it  rests  that  the  money 
be  speedily  paid,  and  made  over  hither 
with  all  expedition." — Strafford's  Let- 
ters and  Despatches,  vol.  i.  p.  511. 


•»] 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

The  fate  of  Dorislaus  and  of  Ascham  showed  that  the 
post  of  embassador  from  the  English  Parliament  to  foreign 
Powers  wsbsli  post^^oTmbre  danger  than  honour.  For  a 
death  like  that  of  Dorislaus  and  Ascham  was  worse  than  a 
soldier's  death  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  was  unattended 
by  the  circumstances  that  tcTa  victorious  soldier  may  take 
from  death  all  its  bitterness.  Notwithstanding,  however, 
the  sad  fate  of  Dorislaus,  the  Parliament  of  England  re- 
solved to  send  another'^envoy  to  the  States  of  Holland  ;  for, 
as  has  been  said,  they  were  desirous  not  only  of  friendly 
relations  but  of  close  alliance  with  the  Dutch  Eepublic, 
which  in  its  form  of  government  they  considered  as  bearing 
a  close  resemblance  to  that  form  of  government  which 
they  had  established  in  England,  and  according  to  which 
they  had  styled  themselves  "  The  Parliament  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  England."  They  had  accordingly 
appointed  Walter  Strickland,  one  of  their  members,  as  their 
agent  to  the  United  Provmces. 

On  the  21st  of  June  1650,  the  Council  of  State  had 
recalled  Walter  Strickland,  by  the  following  order,  which 
explains  the  reason  of  his  recall :  "  That  a  letter  be  >vritten 
to  Mr.  Strickland,  to  recall  him  from  his  residence  with 
the  States-General,  the  State  being  very  sensible  of  the 
slight  put  upon  them  by  not  receiving  of  him."* 

'   Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  June  21,  IGoO,  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


\ 


108 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IX. 


The  Council  of  State  did  not,  however,  yet  give  up  the 
hope  of  peace  instead  of  war  with  the  Dutch ;  and  they 
resolved  to  make  another  attempt,  and  to  send  this  time 
two  ambassadors,  instead  of  one  agent  or  envoy.  Accord- 
ingly, on  the  22nd  of  January  1G50,  they  made  the  following 
orders :  "  That  such  persons  as  shall  be  sent  from  this 
Commonwealth  to  the  present  Assembly  of  the  United 
Provinces  be  sent  in  the  quality  of  Ambassadors.  That  the 
number  of  persons  who  are  to  go  as  Ambassadors  shall  be 
two — Walter  Strickland,  Esquire,  and  the  Lord  Chief 
Justice  St.  John."^  St.  John  presented  a  petition  to  the 
House,  praying  to  be  excused  from  this  embassy.  But, 
uj)on  a  division,  it  was  resolved,  by  42  against  29,  that  he 
should  go.'^ 

The  opinion  of  the  Council  of  State  as  to  the  importance 
of  the  mission  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  of  their  ap- 
pointing Lord  Chief  Justice  St.  John  one  of  the  ambas- 
sadors. John  Thurloe,  whose  patron  through  life  St.  John 
had  been — and  WEosoon  after,  on  the  death  of  Walter  Frost 
the  elder,  became  Secretary  of  the  Council  of  State,  and 
subsequently  the  secretary  of  Cromwell — accompanied  St. 
John  and  Strickland  as  their  secretary. 

Oliver  St.  John,  a  barrister  of  Lincoln's  Lin,  had  argued 
the  case  of  ship-money  in  the  Exchequer  Chamber  as  one 
of  Hampden's  counsel.  This  would  naturally  bring  him 
into  frequent  communication  with  Hampden.  With 
Cromwell  he  was  connected  by  family  ties  (having  manied 
a  cousin  of  Cromwell)  as  well  as  by  political  and  religious 
opinions.^    It  is  not  improbable  that  St.  John  was  indebted 


*  Order  Book  of    the    Council    of  well  to  Lincoln's  Inn  bears,  after  the 

State,  Jan.  22,  165^,  MS.  State  Paper  names  of  the   sureties,   "  Ki.  Graves 

Office.  John  Thurloe,"  the  words  "Admissus 

2  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  p.  1362.  pr.  01.  St.  John." --Admission  Book  of 

^  The  admission  of  Kicliard  Crom-  Lincoln's  Inn. 


1G51.]        ST.   JOHN  AND  STRICKLAND   AMBASSADORS. 


109 


for  his  introduction  to  professional  business  to  the 
powerful  interest  of  the  Earl  of  Bedford,  whose  great 
landed  possessions  would  give  him  much  influence  with 
attorneys,  and  "  to  whom,"  says  Clarendon,  "  St.  John  was 
allied  (being  a  natural  son  of  the  House  of  Bolingbroke), 
and  by  him  brought  into  all  matters  where  himself  was  to 
be  concerned."  *  St.  John,  like  Hampden  and  Cromwell, 
was  a  man  whose  power  in  the  Parliament  was  not  to  be 
measured  by  his  power  as  a  Parliamentary  speaker.  At 
the  first  opening  of  the  Long  Parliament,  Pym  appeared 
to  be  far  the  most  powerful  man  in  the  House  of  Commons ; 
but  he  was,  observes  Clarendon,  "  much  governed  in  private 
designing  by  Mr.  Hampden  and  Mr.  St  John."  ^  Clarendon 
describes  St.  John  as  "  a  man  reserved,  and  of  a  dark 
and  clouded  countenance ;  very  proud,  and  conversing 
with  very  few,  and  those  men  of  his  own  humour  and 
inclinations."  ^ 

To  St.  John,  as  Solicitor- General,  had  fallen  the  duty 
of  carrying  up  to  the  Lords  the  Bill  of  Attainder  against 
the  Earl  of  Strafford,  and  there  is  one  passage,  in 
particular,  in  his  speech  on  that  occasion  which  has  been 
often  quoted  and  much  criticised  :  "  My  Lords,"  he  said, 
"  he  that  would  not  have  had  others  to  have  a  laAv,  why 
should  he  have  any  himself?  Why  should  not  that  be 
done  to  him  that  himself  would  have  done  to  others? 
It  is  true  we  give  law  to  hares  and  deer,  because  they  be 
beasts  of  chase  :  it  was  never  accounted  either  cruelty  or 
foul  play  to  knock  foxes  and  wolves  on  the  head  as  they 
can  be  found,  because  these  be  beasts  of  prey.  The 
warrener  sets  traps  for  polecats  and  other  vermin,  for 
preservation  of  the  warren."  ^ 

^  Clarendon's  Hist.   vol.  i.  pp.  324,         ^  Pnd.  vol.  i.  p.  246. 
325.  *  Rushworth,  vol.  viii.  p.  703. 

2  Ihid.  vol.  iv.  p.  437. 


110 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IX. 


Notwithstanding  the  censure  which  has  been  bestowed 
on  this  argument  of  St.  John,  while  the  argument  of  Pym 
has  escaped  such  censure,  it  will  be  observed  that  St.  John 
really  argues  the  case  as  a  statesman,  and  Pym  as  an 
orator,  but  neither  as  a  statesman  nor  a  lawyer.  As  all  the 
laws  against  treason  in  England  had  down  to  that  time 
been  made  to  protect  the  King  and  not  the  subject,^  it 
was  not  to  be  expected  that  the  English  law  of  treason 
should  contain  any  power  to  punish  an  aggressor  who  strove, 
as  Strafford  unquestionably  had  done,  to  make  the  English 
king  absolute  and  Englishmen  slaves.  Consequently, 
when  P}Tn  says  that  "  nothing  can  be  more  equal  than 
that  he  should  perish  by  the  justice  of  that  law,  which  he 
would  have  subverted ; "  that  "  there  are  marks  enough  to 
trace  this  law  to  the  very  original  of  this  kingdom ;"  and 
that  "  if  it  hath  not  been  put  in  execution  for  240 
years,  it  was  not  for  want  of  law,"  ^  he  speaks  rhetori- 
cally, and  assumes  the  existence  of  a  law  which  did  not 
exist :  whereas  St.  John  put  the  case  upon  its  true  basis — 


'  Hobbes — who,  though  the  slave  of 
fear,  was  not,  like  most  men,  the  slave 
of  words — saw  this  with  his  usual  clear- 
ness. "  And  for  those  men,"  he  says, 
"  who  had  skill  in  the  laws,  it  was  no 
great  sign  of  understanding,  not  to 
perceive  that  the  laws  of  the  land  were 
made  by  the  King  to  oblige  his  sub- 
jects to  peace  and  justice,  and  not  to 
oblige  himself  that  made  them." — Behe- 
moth, part  iii.  pp.  254,  255,  London, 
1862.  The  constitutional  timidity  of 
Hobbes,  which  in  his  Latin  autobio- 
graphy he  at  once  admits  and  accounts 
for — he  was  born  April  5,  1588, 
Atque  metum   tantum   concepit  tunc 

mea  mater, 
lit  pareret  gemiuos,  meque  metumquc 

si  mill, — 


explains  much  of  his  aversion  to  all  re- 
sistance to  constituted  authority.  His 
timidity  made  him  shrink  from  and 
even  abhor  the  very  idea  of  resistance  ; 
for  resistance  implied  war,  and  in 
Hobbes's  mind  war  implied  all  that  was 
most  detestable — "  no  arts,  no  letters, 
no  society,  and,  which  is  worst  of  all, 
continual  fear  and  danger  of  violent 
death." — Leviathan, -pavt  i.e.  13.  But 
with  all  Hobbes's  intellectual  power, 
this  defect  in  his  organisation  would 
have  reduced  his  countrymen  to  the 
condition  of  Hindus.  Luckily,  England 
produced  in  that  age  organisations  very 
different  from  his. 

2  Rushworth,  vol.  viii.  pp.  G69,  670. 


1651.] 


CHARACTER   OF   OLIVER   ST.   JOHN. 


Ill 


that  he  whose  proved  purpose  had  been  to  reduce  Enirlish- 
men  to  the  condition  of  serfs,  who  should  have  no  law  but 
the  will  of  an  absolute  king,  should  be  destroyed  as  a  public 
enemy,  or  a  dangerous  and  noxious  beast  of  prey. 

It  will  be  perceived,  then,  that  when  the  Council  of  State 
of  "  The  Parliament  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England  " 
of  1651  resolved  to  send  Oliver  St.  John  as  their  ambas- 
sador to  the  States  of  the  Netherlands,  they  made  a  very 
different  selection  from  that  made  by  Queen  Elizabeth  (who 
has  obtained  much  credit  for  her  choice  of  ministers  at 
home  and  abroad),  when,  in  1588,  she  despatched  as  her 
envoys  to  the  Netherlands  two  doctors  of  law—"  very  slow 
old  gentlemen,"  one  of  whom  valued  himself  above  all 
things  upon  his  Latinity,  and  the  other  was  "  a  formalist 
and  a  pedant,  fall  of  precedents  and  declamatory  common- 
places which  he  mistook  for  eloquence,"  ^— to  be  duped  and 
laughed  at  by  Alexander  Famese.  "  A  very  slow  old  gentle- 
man, this  Doctor  Dale,"  wrote  Parma  to  Philip  II. ;  "  he 
was  here  in  the  time  of  Madam  my  mother,  and  has  also 
been  ambassador  at  Vienna."  2    "  If  Valentine  Dale,"  says 
Mr.  Motley,  "  were  a  slow  old  gentleman,  he  was  keen, 
caustic,  and  rapid  as  compared  to  Daniel  Eogers,"^  the  other 
egregious  doctor  selected  for  that  difficult  work  by  the 
wisdom  of  Elizabeth.      It  is  enough  to  read  the  account, 
so  ably  given  by  Mr.  Motley,  of  the  conferences  between 
those  men  and  Farnese,  to  enable  us  to  see  the  full  force 
of    Blake's   remark  about  preventing   "  foreigners   from 
fooling  us." 

Whatever  else  might  turn  up  out  of  the  mission  to  their 
High  Mightinesses  the  States  of  the  Netherlands  of  Oliver 
St.  John,  it  may  be  pretty  safely  concluded  that  that  dark 


'  Motley's   History   of  the  United 
Netherlands,  vol.  ii.  pp.  373-375. 


*  Ibid.  p.  373. 
»  Ibid,  p  374. 


112 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IX. 


165L] 


THE  ENGLLSH  AMBASSADOHS   INSULTED. 


\ 


i 


\ 


and  subtle  spirit— the  familiar  (though  how  far  the  confi- 
dant we  know  not,  and  can  never  know)  of  a  darker,  a  more 
powerful,  and  more  subtle  spirit— would  not  be  "  fooled  " 
by  them,  as  Queen  Elizabeth's  envoys  had  been  fooled  by 
Alexander  Famese. 

To  prevent  such  another  outrage  as  had  been  perpetrated 
upon  the  unfortunate  DoTTslaus^  forty  gentlemen  were  ap- 
pointed to  attend  the  ambassadors  St.  John  and  Strick- 
land,  at  once  for  their  security  and  honour ;  "  ten  thou- 
sand pounds,"  adds  Ludlow,  "  being  delivered  to  the  Lord 
Ambassadors'  steward,  for  the  expense  of  the  embassy."^ 
In  the  sum  here  mentioned  Ludlow,  however,  is  in  error,  as 
appears  from  the  following  minute  of  the  Council  of  State, 
under  date  30th  January  165| :— "  That  £3,000,  besides  the 
£1,000  already  paid,  be  furnished  to  the  ambassadors  to 
Holland."^ 

But  though  the  forty  gentlemen  appointed  as  a  guard  to 
the  ambassadors  of  the  English  Commonwealth  proved 
sufficient  to  protect  them  from  actual  assassination— which 
was  still  the  grand  weapon  of  the  ^ccessofr in  Europe,  in 
the  T7th  century,  of  those  who,  in  the  16th  century,  had 
assassinated  De  Coligny  and  WiUiam  the  Silent,  making 
Louisa  de  Coligny  an  orphan  and  twice  a  widow — they 
were  not  sufficient  to  protect  them  from  repeated  affronts 
and  insults,  and  from  repeated  attempts  at  assassination, 

I  by  the  Eoyalists.  Thus,  Mr.  Strickland's  coachman  and 
another^Cf Ills  servants  were  attacked  by  six  cavaliers  at 
their  master's  own  door ;  the  former  of  whom  received  a 

I   cut  upon  his  head,  and  the  latter  lost  his  sword  in  the  fray. 

'  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  i.  p.  344,     State,  Jan.  30,  165?,  MS.  State  Taper 
2ncl  edition,  London,  1721.  Office. 

'^  Order    Book   of  the    Council    of 


} 


I 


113 


The  threats  of  the  Eoyalists  ran  so  high  that  the  Ambassa- 
dors' domestics  were  obliged  to  keep  constant  watch  by 
turn.     A  design   was  formed  to  assassinate  Lord  Chief 
Justice  St.  John,  -ftsd-aai  attempt  was  madt^  >o  break  into 
his    chamber.     Prince    Edward,  "one  'of   the  '"Queen   of 
Bohentia*s  sons,  and  a  brother  of  the  pirates  Ilupert  and 
Maurice,  walking  in  the  Park  at  the  Hague^ith  his  sister, 
and  meeting  the  ambassadors  in  their  coach,  called  out  to 
them,  "  O  you  rogues,  you  dogs  !  "  with  many  other  simi- 
lar expressions.     Tliere  is  another  story  of  a  soi-t  of  ren- 
counter in  the  Park  at  the-Strgrmp^efween  the  Duke  of 
York  and  Chief  Justice  St.  John,  told^by  a  "French  writer, 
who  gives  it  on  the  Authority  "of  a  gentlemarT  resident  in 
Holland,  when  the  affair  happened.      St.  Tolin,  taking  a 
walk  in  the  Park  at  the  Hague,  met  the  Duke  of  Tdtlt,  also 
walking,  and  was  grossly  insulted  by  hifri^^so 'grossly  that, 
says  the  writer  who  relates  the  story,  ^'  in  all  probability, 
the  dispute  would  not  have  ended  without  bloodshed,  had 
not  the  company  upon  the  walk  interfered  and  jparted 
them."i  -         -  ^^-^        - 

And  truly  the  dispute  did  not  end  without  bloodshed. 
It  might  seem  a  small  matter  to  a  weak-minded  and  petu- 
lant boy  (the  Duke  of  York  was  at  this  time  about  18), 
who,  when  he  attained  all  the  manhood  he  ever  had,  was 
only  remarkable  for  the  hardness  of  his  heart  and  the 
softne^of  his  brains,^  to  insult  the  Ambassador  of  the 
Goveninieht  which  was  to  Ihake  England  famous  and 
terrible  over  the  world ;  but  for  the  insults  of  such  re2)re- 

*  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  p.   164,    and  and     Baroness    of    Darlinjirton,    was 

the  authorities  there  cited.  accustomed    to   wonder   wliat    James 

^  According     to     Horace    Walpole  chose  his  mistresses  for.    "We  were 

{Reminiscences),  Catherine  Sedley,  one  none  of  us  handsome,"  said  she ;  "^and 

of    James    the     Second's     mistresses  if  we  had  wit,  he  had  not  wit  enougli 

wliom  he  made  Countess  of  Dorchester  to  find  it  ottt."  ' 


VOL.  II. 


/ 


^ 


vy 


«!V 


f 


I 


I 


ii 


I 


114 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IX. 


sentatives  of  the  divinity  of  kingship,  the  Dutch  were  to 
paj  very  dearly. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  Dutch  Government 
could  have  prevented  all  this,  if  they  had  been  fully  re- 
solved to  do  so.     For  William  IT.  of  Nassau,  Prince   of 
Orange,  who  had  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Charles  I.,  King 
of  England,  had  died  just  before  this  time  ;  and  his  post- 
humous son,  born  in  1650,  William  III.  of  Nassau,  Prince 
of  Orange,  and  ultimately  King  of  England,  was  then  a 
helpless  infant,  whose  youth  was  destined  to  suffer,  from 
the  jealousy  and  hostility  caused  by  his  father's  infringe- 
ment of  the  constitutional  rights  of  the  States   of  the 
Netherlands.     It  could   not   therefore   be   said   that   the 
Dutch  Government  was  at  that  time  in  the  hands  of  a  son- 
in-law  of  Charles  I.,  who  might  be  expected  to  look  with 
no  friendly  eye  upon-  a  Government  formed  of  the  men  who 
had   brought   his    father-in-law  to   the   block.     But  the 
Dutch  Government,  though  at  that  time  calling  itself  a 
republic,  was  a  republic  with  a  very  narrow  basis.     The 
election  of  the  magistrates  or  councillors  of  the  cities,  who 
with  the  nobles  formed  the  Provincial  States,  the  deputies 
chosen  by  which   formed   the    States- General,  had   been 
originally  in  the  burghers  at  large.     But  during  the  con- 
fusion of  the  great  struggle  against  Philip  II.  of  Spain,  it 
was  found  convenient  to  invest  the  magistrates  with  the 
power  of  filling  up  vacancies  in  their  own  number.     This 
irregularity  continued  when  the  necessity  for  it  had  ceased, 
and  the  consequence  was  that  the  Government,  though  in 
form  a  republic,  was  a  narrow  oligarchy  ;  and  probably  did 
not  feel  itself  attracted  towards  the  Government  calling 
itself  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  either  by  admira- 
tion of  the  constitution  of  the  English  Government,  or  by 
approbation  of  its  proceedings.     The  Dutch  Government, 


1651.]        CHARACTER   OF   THE  DUTCH  GOVERNMENT.  II5 

moreover,  had  passed  from  the  condition  in  which  a 
Government  is  content  with  defensive  strength,  to  that 
in  which  its  strength  is  apt  to  become  aggressive.  For 
the  Dutch  Government  of  that  time  possessed  the  most 
powerful  navy  and  the  greatest  admirals  then  in  the  world 
— a  navy  compared  to  which  any  navy  they  had  yet  seen 
possessed  by  England,  they  looked  upon  but  as  a  collection 
of  small  privateers  and  corsairs,  which  they  could  easily 
sweep  from  the  face  of  the  sea.  They  were  destined,  in 
the  course  of  two  shoi-t  years,  to  find  themselves  somewhat 
out  in  their  reckonings.  Yet  it  is  not  surprising  that  they 
should  not  have  then  known  what  England  was  capable  of; 
for  at  that  time  England  did  not  know  herself  what  genius 
and  valour  could  accomplish  when  they  have  freed  them- 
selves from  the  withering  speU  of  tyraimy  combined  with 
imbecility. 

There  was  no  inconsiderable  amount  of  baseness  as  well 
as  of  shortsightedness  in  the  conduct  of  the  Dutch  at  this 
time.  The  baseness  was  in  some  degree  the  cause  of  the 
shortsightedness ;  for  it  was  the  cold,  calculating,  and 
nevertheless  shortsighted  baseness  of  commercial  avarice, 
which  pursues  its  ends  with  a  reckless  rapacity,  as  blind  to 
all  consequences,  but  the  glutting  of  its  own  appetite  for 
what  it  calls  wealth,  as  the  ravenous  fury  of  a  hungry 
tiger.  Thus  the  Dutch,  while  valuing  themselves  on 
being  a  republic,  were  willing  to  lend  their  aid  to  the 
tyrants  of  Europe  to  destroy  the  English  Commonwealth, 
shutting  their  eyes  to  the  fact  that  their  own  destruction 
would  be  the  next  object  those  tyrants  would  aim  at. 
This  is  established  on  the  testimony  both  of  royalist  and 
republican  writers.  According  to  Hobbes,  "  the  true  quaiTel 
on  the  Dutch  part  was  their  greediness  to  engross  all 

1  2 


116 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.'IX. 


traffic,  and  a  false  estimate  of  our  and  their  own  strength."  ^ 
Ludlow's  testimony  is  to  the  same  effect,  and  is  stren^h- 
ened  by  his  actual  experience  of  the  Dutch,  in  purchasing 
an  agreement  with  England,  after  the  Restoration,  with  the 
price  of  blood,  in  delivering  three  of  King  Charles's  judges 
into  the  hands  of  their  enemies,  which  made  him  decline 
the  offer  made  to  him  from  Holland,  of  the  command  of  a 
body  of  land-forces  to  be  shipped  on  board  the  Dutch 
fleet.  "All  men  knew,"  says  Ludlow,  "they  preferred 
the  profits  of  trade  before  any  other  thing  in  the  world  :^ 
choosing  rather  to  see  a  tyranny  than  a  commonwealth 
established  in  England,  as  knowing  by  experience  that 
they  could  corrupt  the  former,  and  by  that  means  possess 
themselves  of  the  most  profitable  parts  of  trade."^ 

On  the  1st  of  April  1651,  the  Council  of  State  despatched 
a  letter,  "  demanding  satisfaction  for  the  afi'ront  offered  to 
the  English  ambassadors  in  Holland  by  Prince  Palatine 
Edward."  ^  On  the  following  day  it  was  ordered,  "  That 
the  letters  and  instructions  now  read  to  the  Lords  Ambas- 
sadors in  Holland  be  fair-written,  signed,  and  sent  away 
this  night  by  an  express,  and  that  duplicates  be  sent  to- 
morrow by  the  post."^ 


•  Hobbes's  Behemoth,  p.  287  (Lon- 
don, 1682). 

2  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  iii.  p.  166. 
«  Ibid.  p.  203. 

*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Tuesday,  April  1,  1651,  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 

5  Ibid.  April  2, 1651.— The  folio  wing 
order  shows  that  Scott  performed  the 
duties  now  performed  by  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs:  "That 
Mr.  Scott  do  hold  a  constant  intelli- 
gence with  the  Lords  Ambassadors 
who  are  now  to  go  over  into  the  Uni- 


ted Provinces."  {Ibid.  Feb.  28,  165f.) 
The  following  minute  further  shows 
that  particular  members  of  the  Council 
of  State  were,  from  their  personal  pre- 
eminence, considered  as  Ministers,  or 
Secretaries  of  State.  :  "  That  it  be  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  for  Irish  and 
Scottish  Affairs,  to  consider  of  the  par- 
ticulars desired  in  a  letter  from  Scot- 
land, written  to  Sir  Henry  Vane,  and 
in  his  hands,  and  thereupon  to  give 
order  for  the  speedy  providing."  {Ibid. 
April  17,  1651.)  By  a  subsequent  mi- 
nute of  May  8,  it  appears  that  this 


1651.]  INSTRUCTIONS   TO   THE  AMBASSADORS. 


117 


In  these  instructions  for  St.  John  and  Strickland,  the 
Council  of  State  say :— "  Admiral  Yan  Tromp  is  arrived 
at  the  islands  of  Scillyes  or  Sorlings,  anciently  a  part  of 
the  territories  belonging  to  the  Commonwealth  of  England, 
with  a  fleet  under  his  command  consisting  of  ten  or  fifteen 
men-of-war ;  in  some  of  which  are  great  number  of  men 
and  some  persons  of  quality  not  usual  in  men-of-war  only 
designed  for  sea-service  :  which  said  Admiral  declined  to 
have  a  boat  of  our  fleet  to  come  on  board  to  him ;  and  does 
continue  his  abode  with  his  said  fleet  near  those  islands 
and  the  western  parts  of  England,  without  discovering  his 
clear  intentions  therein,  pretending  that  it  is  to  procure 
satisfaction  for  the  injui-ies  done  by  the  garrisons  in  those 
islands,  and  ships  belonging  thereunto,  unto  the  ships  of 
their  [the  United  Provinces']  subjects ;  but  with  instruc- 
tions, as  we  are  informed,  to  compel  such  satisfaction  with- 
out any  limitation  of  means,  either  by  possessmg  himself  of 
those  islands  or  otherwise,  and  to  seize  upon  all  ships 
whatsoever  going  in  or  coming  out  from  that  place,  where- 
by just  cause  of  jealousy  is  given  to  the  Parliament.    And 
that  until  the  intentions  of  the  States-General  in  this  ex- 
pedition be  clearly  made  manifest  to  the  Parliament,  and 
assurance   given   to   them   that   the  said   fleet   may   act 
nothing  to  the  prejudice  of  this  Commonwealth  in  honour 
or  interest,  the  instructions  and  commission  given  to  Yan 


letter  was  from  the  Lord-General 
Cromwell.  Sir  Henry  Vane  had  en- 
tered the  Council-room  just  before.  He 
probably  then  read  the  letter  to  the 
Council.  Thus,  while  Scott  might  be 
considered  as  Secretary  of  State  for 
Foreign  Affairs,  Vane  might  be  con- 
sidered, in  regard  to  his  connection  both 
with  the  Committee  of  the  Admiralty 
and  Navy,  and  with  the  Committee  for 


Irish  and  Scottish  Affairs,  as  Secretary 
of  State  for  War.  Sir  Henry  Vane's 
name  stands  first,  both  in  the  list  of 
the  Committee  for  carrying  on  the  Af- 
fairs of  the  Admiralty  and  in  that  of 
the  Committee  for  the  Affairs  of  Ire- 
land and  Scotland.— Order  Book  of  the 
Counc'd  of  State,  Saturday  March  1, 
1655,  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


118 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IX 


?*. 


V 


*^. 


I 


Tromp  in  reference  to  the  said  islands  may  be  recalled,  to 
avoid  aU  occasions  of  disputes  and  differences  between  the 
two  States;  the  Parliament  having  thought  fit  to  give 
order  to  their  fleets  not  to  suffer  the  said  Admiral  Tromp, 
or  any  other,  to  act  anything  to  the  prejudice  of  the  State 
in  honour  or  interest."  * 

On  the  10th  of  April  the  Council  of  State  ordered,  "  That 
it  be  reported  to  the  Parliament  that  the  Council  of  State 
received  letters  from  the  Lords  Ambassadors  from  Holland, 
relating  to  a  paper  put  in  by  them  concerning  an  affront 
offered  to  them  by  Edward,  the  son  of  the  Queen  of  Bohemia; 
and  that  the  Council  of  State  have  again  by  this  post  re- 
ceived letters  from  the  said  ambassadors,  and  some  papers, 
relating  further  affronts  offered  unto  them."  ^ 

It  would  appear  from  the  following  minute  that  the 
Dutch  gave  a  satisfactory  account  of  Tromp's  fleet  at 
Scilly,  so  that  for  the  year  1651  the  war  with  Holland 
was  avoided,  that  war  which  was  to  break  out  with 
such  fury  in  the  following  year,  1652  :  "That  a  letter  be 
written  to  Colonel  Blake,  to  enclose  him  a  copy  of  the 
paper  of  the  States  of  Holland,  in  answer  to  a  paper  of  the 
ambassadors  of  England,  concerning  the  going  of  Van 
Tromp  towards  SciUy  ;  and  to  let  him  know  that  he  is  so  to 
carry  the  matter,  that  the  honour  of  the  Commonwealth 
may  be  preserved,  and  a  good  correspondence  between  the 
two  nations."  ^ 

The  following  minute  of  the  same  date  confirms  what 
has  been  said  respecting  the  disposition  of  the  Kings  of 
Europe  towards  the  Parliament   of  England  :  "  That  it 

'  "  Instructions  for  the  Ambassadors  -  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 

with  the  States-General  of  the  United  April  10,  1651,  MS.  State  Paper  Of- 

Provinces." — Order  Book  of  the  Coun-  fice. 

cil  of  State,  April  2,  1651,  MS.  State  ^  Ibid.  April  l7,  1651. 
Paper  Office. 


1651.]  COUNCIL'S  VIGILANCE  AGAINST  INVASION.  Ug 

be  referred  to  the  Committee  of  the  Admiralty  to  inform 
themselves  concerning  the  truth  of  the  intelligence  given 
of  the  preparation  of  men  and  shipping  in  Sweden;  and 
thereupon  so  to  appoint  the  fleet  of  the  Conimonwealth, 
that  prevention  may  be  given  to  any  attempts  which  may 
be  made  by  them  upon  any  parts  of  this  nation  to  the  pre- 
judice thereof."  ^ 

The  following  minute  further  shows  that  some  desi^rns 
were  on  foot  of  effecting  a  landing  in  some  parts  of  England, 
with  a  view  of  making  a  diversion  m  favour  of  the  King 
of  Scots  and  the  Eoyalists,  who  had  probably  by  this  time 
(the  end  of  April  1651)  formed  the  design  of  their  invasion 
of  England  which  led  to  the  Battle  of  Worcester :  "  That 
such  of  the  letters  intercepted  in  Holland  as  refer  to 
designs  against  this  Commonwealth  be  referred  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  Committee  for  Examinations;"  "the 
Committee  of  the  Admiralty  to  consider  of  some  fit  ships 
for  those  parts  designed  upon,  as  showii  by  the  intercepted 
letters."  ^ 

At  this  particular  time  the  ability  and  vigilance  of  the 
Coimcil  of  State  were  tasked  to  the  utmost.  Besides  the 
threatened  invasions  from  the  Continent  and  from  Scot- 
land," they  had  also  received  intelligence  of  an  intended 
diversion  in  Scotland  from  Ireland :  "That  a  letter  be 
written  totlie^Xord-General  [Cromwell],  to  acquaint  him 
with  the  propositions  made  concerning  the  making  of  a 
diversion  in  Scotland  from  Ireland ;  and  that  they  have 
written  to  the  Lord  Deputy  [Ireton],  to  hold  intelligence 
with  his  Lordship  concerning  the  same ;  to  enclose  the  copy 
of  the  Council's  letter  to  the  Deputy  to  him,  and  to  lett  [sic, 
i.e.  leave],  the  whole  business  to  his  Lordship's  considera- 

»  Order  Book    of    the   Council   of        ^  Ibid.  April  28,  1651,   MS.  State 
State,  April  17,  1651.  Paper  Office. 


7 


120 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IX. 


^  tion."!  And  with  regard  to  the  invasion  from  the  Conti- 
nent, the  Council  received  intelligence,  in  the  beginning 
of  June,  "  of  the  enemy's  designs  to  land  at  or  near  Yar- 
mouth." 2 

On  the  11th  of  April,  several  papers  from  the  Parlia- 
ment's   ambassadors    in    Holland,    and   two   intercepted 
letters,  were  read  in  the  House,  upon  which  the  House 
I  assed   the  following  resolutions  :  "  1.  That  the  Parlia- 
ment doth  approve  of  what  the  Ambassadors  Extraordinary 
to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  States  of  the  United  Pro- 
vinces have  done  upon  the  affronts  offered  to  them. — 2. 
That  the  Parliament  doth  approve  of  the  direction  given  by 
the  Council  of  State,  to  the  said  Ambassadors  Extraordi- 
nary, touching  their  return. — 3.  That  it  be  referred  to  the 
Council  of  State,  upon  the  debate  now  had  in  the  House 
on  this  report,  to  give  such  orders  and  directions  as  they 
shall  think  fit,  for  the  honour  of  this  Commonwealth  and 
safety  of  the  Ambassadors. — 4.  That  the  debates  of  the 
House   this   day,  and  the  votes  thereupon,  he  not  made 
known  to  any  person :  and  that  the  members  of  the  House, 
and  the  officers  thereof,   he  enjoined  secrecy  therein  for  21 
daysJ'^     This  injunction  of  secrecy  would  appear  to  refer 
to  intelligence  contained  in  the  intercepted  letters,  and  in 
the   ambassadors'  desj)atches,  respecting  some  designs  to 
land  foreign  forces  on  the  east  coast  of  England,  near  Yar- 
mouth,  under  the  command  of  the  Duke  of  Lorraine  ;  and 
th6  injunction  of  secrecy  would  also  appear  to  have  been 
continued  for  a  considerable  time  beyond  the  21  days  spe- 
cified above.     For,   on   the  5th  September  of  this  year, 

*  Or({ev'RooYoit\\ii  Qoundl  omtSLie,  C  ouncil  of  State,  June  3,  1651. 
April  22,  1651.  «    Commons'    Journals,   April    11, 

2  "Intelligence  the  Council  have  had   1651;  Pari.    Hist.   vol.  iii.  pp.    1363, 
of  the  enemy's  designs  to  land  at  or   1361. 
near  Yarmouth." — Order  Book  of  the 


\ 


1651.]       DUKE   OF  LOREAINE'S  PROJECTED   INVASION.  121 

just  two  days  after  the  BaMeof^Worcester,  there  is  this 
minuteentered  in  the  "Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State :" 
"  That  the  injunction  of  secrecy  laid  upon  the  business  of 
the  Duke  of  Lorraine  be  taken  off."  ^ 

It  alsrr-iaippears,  from  the  following  minute  of  12th 
August  1651,  that  the  Council  of  State  had  reason  to 
expect  the  foreign  forces  to  sail  from  Dunkirk  or  Ostend, 
and  the  attempt  at  invasion  to  be  made  at  or  near 
Yarmouth:  "That  Colonel  Popham  should  send  some 
ships  from  the  Downs  to  ffef  beiUl'^'Dunkirk  and  Ostend,  to 
prevent  any  forces  coming  out  from  thence  from  the  Duke 
of  Lorraine  to  make  any  diversion ;  and  should  also  send 
some  ships  to  Yarmouth,  to  prevent  the  landing  of  any  in 
England. "2  There  are  various  subsequent  minutes  to  the 
same  effect. 

All  these  minutes  and  the  resolutions  of  Parliament, 
taken  together,  afford  strong  confirmation  of  the  statement 
of  General  Ludlow,  and  also  show  that  the  Council  of 
State  h^^nformation  of  designs  of  attempting  a  landing- 
of  foreign  forces  in  England,  as  well  as  in  Ireland.  Lud- 
low states  that  the  Council  of  State  had  reason  to  think 
that  the  Dutch  had  a  design  to  transport  some  foreign 
forces  by  their  fleet  to  the  assistance  of  the  Irish,  who  were, 
says  Ludlow  (and,  as~fKi6n  coinniahding  in  Ireland,  he 
had  the  best  means  of  knowing),  "  not  only  still  numerous 
in  the  field,  but  had  also  divers  places  of  strength  to 
retreat  to."^  Ludlow  then  goes  on  to  give  the  account 
which  has  been  quoted  at  the  beginning  of  this  volume 
of  the   designs   of  the   Duke   of  Lorraine,   who  was   a 

'  Order     Book   of    the  Council   of  State,  Tuesday,  August  12,  1651. 

State,    Friday,    Sept.    5,  1651,    MS.         *  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  i.  p.  389 

State  Paper  Office.  (2nd  edition,  London,  1721). 

^  Order    Book    of   the  Council    of 


J  22 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IX. 


near  relation  of  Henry  of  Guise,  one  of  the  principal 
autHbfs'oflKe  Sras'sacre  of  St.  BartTiolomew,  and  also 
a  relation  of  the  Stnartsj.  It  was  within  the  Lorraine 
territory  that  the  conferences  were  held,  among  the 
chiefs  of  the  "  Sacred  League,"  some  60  years  before, 
at  which  it  was  resolved  to  require  of  the  last  Yalois  the 
immediate  extermination  -of  heresy  and  heretics,  and  the 
formal  establishment  of  the  "  Holy  Inquisition,"  in  every 
2)rovince  of  France. 

Here  then  was  a  repetition,  in  the  17th  century,  of  the 
story  of  some  memorable  years  of  the  16th.  "  It  will  not 
take  much  time  to  put  down  the  heretics  here,"  wrote 
Philip  II.'s  ambassador  at  Paris  on  the  7th  of  June,  1585  ; 
"nor  will  it  consume  much  more  to  conquer  England 
with  the  forces  of  such  powerful  princes,  there  being  so 
many  Catholics,  too,  to  assist  the  invaders.  If  your 
Majesty,  on  account  of  your  Netherlands,  is  not  afraid  of 
putting  arms  into  the  hands  of  the  Guise  family  in  France, 
there  need  be  less  objection  to  sending  one  of  that  house 
into  England,  particularly  as  you  will  send  forces  of  your 
own  into  that  kingdom,  by  the  reduction  of  which  the 
affairs  of  Flanders  will  be  secured."  The  Spaniard  adds, 
with  characteristic  modesty,  "  To  effect  the  pacification  of 
the  Netherlands  the  sooner,  it  would  be  desirable  to 
conquer  England  as  early  as  October."  ^     The  difference. 


*  Letter  from  Mendoza  to  Philip  IL 
from  the  MS.  in  theArchives  of  Siman- 
cas,  in  Motley's  History  of  the  United 
Netherlands,  vol.  i.  pp.  128,  129.  The 
Spanish  ambassador  also  insists  on  the 
want  of  disciplined  forces  in  England 
to  oppose  an  invasion.  It  is  remark- 
able that  so  late  as  the  year  1849  a 
French  vice-admiral,  byname  Dupetit- 
Thouars,  gave   a   similar  opinion   in 


his  evidence  in  the  French  "Enquete 
Parlementaire ''  of  1849,  respecting 
the  facility  of  conquering  England. 
Between  Mendoza  and  Dupetit-Thouars, 
however,  two  men,  Blake  and  Nelson, 
had  lived,  who  had  made  it  necessary 
for  Vice-Admiral  Dupetit-Thouars  to 
assume  a  landing  made.  The  land- 
ing having  been  eflFected,  Vice-Admi- 
ral Dupetit-Thouars  assumes  that  the 


1651.] 


THE    ENGLISH  AMBASSADOES  RECALLED. 


123 


however,  between  1585  and  1651  was  important.  For  in 
1585  England  had  at  least  the  Netherlands  on  her  side, 
whereasr  in  1651  she  had  the  Netherlands  leagued  with 
the  rest  of  Europe  against  ner.' "'"" 

But  if  the  tyrants  of  Lorraine,  of  France,  of  Spain, 
imagined  that  they  could  extinguish  in  England  religious 
and  civil  liberty  in  a  sea  of  blood,  shed  by  assassins  and 
not  by  honourable  soldiers,  as  they  had  extinguished  it  in 
France,  they  little  knew  the  spirit  of  the  people  they 
undertook  to  subdue  and  massacre  :  they  little  knew  that 
the  arts  of  Italian  falsehood  would  be  no  match  for  such 
statesmen  as  Vane,  and  the  arms  of  Lorraine,  of  Spain, 
of  Holland,  nd'Hnatch  for  such  soldiers  as  Blake  and 
Cromwell.  *^ 

When  the  States  of  the  United  Provinces  received  the 
letters  of  the  English  Council  of  State,  demanding  satis- 
faction for  the  affronts  offered  to  the  English  ambassadors 
in  Holland,  they  remonstrated  with  the  Queen  of  Bohemia 
and  the  Princess  Dowager  of  Orange,  against  the  be- 
haviour of  the  two  princes.  They  also  offered  a  reward  of 
200  guilders  (£20)  for  discovery  of  the  other  offenders,  and 
published  a  proclamation  for  the  punishment  of  all  such 
as  should  offer  any  violence  to  the  persons  or  privileges 
of  ambassadors  or  agents  from  foreign  Powers.  The 
smallness  of  the  sum  offered  looked  like  an  aggravation 
of  the  insult.  And  such  the  English  Parliament  felt  it  to 
be,  for  they  soon  after  recalled  their  ambassadors.* 

The  speech  which  St.  John  made,  or,  as  Hobbes  says, 

English  would  be  driven  before  the  in-  slight    mistake ;    and   that    the  Par- 

vaders  like  a  flock  of  sheep.    HoweA'er  liamentary   cuirassiers    and    pikemen 

the  case  might    have   been    in    1585  were   a  morsel  by  no  means  easy  of 

and  1849,  wlioever  expected   to   find  digestion. 

England    an   easy   conquest   in    1651  '  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  p.  13G5. 
would    have  found    he  had   made  a 


1 


») 


124 


C0MM0NWK4LTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  IX. 


I 


the  "  compliment  which  he  gave,"  to  the  Dutch  commis- 
sioners at  taking  leave,  is  a  curiosity  in  diplomacy,  and, 
as  Hobbes  observes,  worth  hearing.      "  My  lords  "  said 
St.  John,  "  you  have  an  eye  upon  the  event  of  the  affairs 
of  Scotland,  and  therefore  do  refuse  the  friendship  we  have 
offered.     Now,  I  can  assure  you  that  many  in  the  Parlia- 
ment were  of  opinion,  that  we  should  not  have  sent  any 
ambassadors  to  you  before  they  had  put  an  end  to  the 
contest  between   themselves   and   that  King;    and   then 
expected  your  ambassadors  to  us.     I  now  perceive  our 
error,  and  that  those  gentlemen  were  in  the  right.     In  a 
short  time  you  shall  see  that  business  ended ;  and  then 
you  will  come  to  us,  and  seek  what  we  have  freely  offered, 
when  it  shall  perplex  you  that  you  have  refused  our  prof- 
fer."^    As  Hobbes  observes  after  quoting  these  words,  St. 
John  guessed  well,  as  we  shall  see  in  subsequent  chapters. 
On  the  2nd  of  July,  1651,  the  ambassadors  took  their 
seats  in  the  House,  when  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  St.  John, 
Mr.  Strickland  standing  by  him,  gave  an  account  of  their 
negotiation,  beginning  with  the  particulars  of  their  recep- 
tion at  the  Hague,  and  relating  the  several  occurrences 
which   passed   between   them   and  the  Assembly  of  the 
States  ;  and  presenting  the  several  papers  delivered  in  on 
either  side,  in  the  business  of  the  Treaty,  and  the  letters 
re-credential  from  the  said  Assembly,  in  French,  directed 
thus:     "Au   Parlement    de    la    Repuhlique    d'Angleterre,'' 
These  several  papers  having  been  read,  it  was  resolved, 
"  That  the  Parliament  doth  approve  of  all  the  proceedings 
of  the  Lords  Ambassadors  in  this  negotiation,  and  that 
they  have  the  thanks  of  the  House  for  their  great  and 

'  This  parting  speech  of  St.  John  is     and  in  Heath's  ''  Chronicle  of  the  Civil 
given,  in  almost  the   same  words,  in     Wars/'  p.  287. 
Hobbes's  "Behemoth,"  pp.  285,  286; 


1651.]         AMBASSADORS   THANKED  BY  rARLIAMEKT.  125 

faithful  services  therein ; "  which  the  Speaker  gave  them 
accordingly.  The  same  compliment  was  also  paid  to  the 
gentlemen  that  attended  them  abroad,  for  their  services 
to  the  Parliament,  and  the  respect  shown  to  their  ambas- 
sadors.^ 

'  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii,  p.  1 367. 


CHAPTER  X. 


It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  among  the  members  of  the 
Council  of  State  and  of  the  Parliament,  at  the  time  when 
the  Government  called  itself  the  Government  of  the  Com- 
monwealth of  England,  were  some  peers,  who  or  whose 
fathers  had  been  the  especial  favourites  of  the  first  of  the 
Stuart  kings  who  reigned  in  England.  William  Cecil, 
Earl  of  Salisbury,  the  son  of  Eobert  Cecil,  who  had  been 
created  Earl  of  Salisbury,  by  King  James,  in  1605,  and 
Philip  Herbert,  created  Earl  of  Montgomery  by  King 
James,  also  in  1605,  and  who  succeeded  his  brother  as 
Earl  of  Pembroke  in  1630,  were  both  members  of  the  Rump, 
and  also  members  of  the  first  Council  of  State.  Among  the 
peers  who  sat  as  members  of  the  Rump,  was  Edward 
Howard,  a  younger  son  of  Thomas  Howard,  who  had  been 
created  Earl  of  Suffolk,  by  King  James,  in  1603.  This 
Thomas  Howard — who  had,  in  the  early  part  of  King 
James's  reign,  filled  the  post  of  Lord  Chamberlain, 
and  upon  the  death  of  the  Earl  of  Salisbury  had  been 
made  Lord  High  Treasurer — was  the  father  of  Lady 
Frances  Howard,  known,  among  other  things,  for  poisoning 
Sir  Thomas  Overbury ;  and  also  of  Edward  Howard,  created 
by  King  Charles,  in  1628,  Baron  Howard  of  Escrick, 
whose  son,  also  Lord  Howard  of  Escrick,  is  known,  among 
other  things,  as  the  single  witness  against  Algernon 
Sydney,  who  was  condemned  and  executed,  to  borrow  the 


1651.]      CHAEGE   OF  BEIBERY  AGAINST   LORD  HOWARD.      127 

words  of  Evelyn,  "  on  the  single  witness  of  that  monster 
of  a  man,  Lord  Howard  of  Escrick,  and  some  sheets  of 
paper  taken  in  Mr.  Sydney's  study."^  In  the  early  part 
of  this  year  (1651),  a  complaint  had  been  exhibited  in 
Parliament  against  this  Edward,  Lord  Howard  of  Escrick, 
now  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons  for  the  city  of 
Carlisle.  The  witnesses  against  him  had  been  examined 
strictly  by  a  Committee  of  the  House  appointed  for  that 
purpose.  The  particulars  of  the  charge  are  not  given  in 
the  Journals  of  the  House ;  but  Ludlow,  in  his  Memoirs, 
gives  the  following  account  of  it : — 

"Before   I   left   the   Parliament"  [to  go  to  Ireland], 
"  some  difference  happening  between  the  Countess  of  Rut- 
land and  the  Lord  Howard  of  Escrick,  Colonel  Cell,  who 
was  a  great   servant   of  the  Countess,   informed   Major- 
General  Harrison,  that  the  Lord  Edward  Howard,  being  a 
Member   of  Parliament   and   one   of  the    Committee   at 
Haberdashers'  Hall,  had  taken  divers  bribes  for  the  ex- 
cusing delinquents  from  sequestration,  and  easing  them 
in  their  compositions;    and  that,  in  particular,    he  had 
received  a  diamond  hatband,  valued  at  £800,  from  one  Mr. 
Compton  of  Sussex,  concerning  which  he  could  not  prevail 
with  any  to  inform  the  Parliament.     Major-General  Han-i- 
son,  being  a  man  of  severe  principles,  and  zealous  for  justice, 
especially  against   such  as  betrayed  the  public  trust  re- 
posed in  them,  assured  him,  that  if  he  could  satisfy  him 
that  the  fact  was  as  he  affirmed,  he  would  not  fail  to  inform 
the  Parliament  of  it :  and  upon  satisfaction  received  from 
the  Colonel  touching  that  matter,  said  in  Parliament,  '  That 


*  It  would  seem  the  Earl   of  Salis-  crick,  respecting  which  marriarre,  see 

bury,  mentioned  above  as  a  member  o^  the    despatches    of    La    Bodcrie,  the 

the  first  Council  of  State,  had  married  French  ambassador   at   the  Court   of 

a  sister  of  this  Lord  Howard  of  Es-  James  (tom.  iv.  p.  100). 


128 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


though  the  honour  of  every  member  was  dear  to  him,  and 
of  that  gentleman  in  particular  (naming  the  Lord  Howard), 
because  he  had  so  openly  owned  the  interest  of  the  Com- 
monwealth as  to  decline  his  peerage,  and  sit  upon  the 
foot  of  his  election  by  the  people ;  yet  he  loved  justice 
before  all  other  things,  looking  upon  it  to  be  the  honour 
of  the  Parliament  and  the  image  of  God  upon  them ;  that 
therefore  he  durst  not  refuse  to  lay  this  matter  before  them, 
though  ha  was  very  desirous  that  the  said  Lord  might 
clear  himself  of  the  accusation.'     The  Parliament,  having 
received  this  information,  referred  the  consideration  of  the 
matter  to  a  committee,  where  it  was  fully  examined ;  and, 
notwithstanding  all  the  art  of  counsel  learned  in  the  law, 
and  all  the  friends  the  Lord  Howard  could  make,  so  just 
and  equitable  a  spirit  then  governed,  that  the  Committee 
represented  the  matter  to  the  Parliament  as  they  found  it 
to  be."  ^     It  was  therefore  resolved  by  the  House  :  "  That 
upon  consideration  of  the  several  charges  against  Edward, 
Lord  Howard  of  Escrick,  and  the  proofs  reported,  and  his 
answer  and  defence  thereupon,  the  Parliament  doth,  upon 
the   whole   matter,    declare   and  adjudge   him   guilty   of 
bribery  :  that  the  said  Edward  Lord  Howard  be  discharged 
from  being  a  member  of  this  Parliament,  and  for  ever  dis- 
abled to  sit  in  any  Parliament,  and  from   bearing   any 
office  or  place  of  trust  in  this  Commonwealth  :  that  he  be 
fined  i^l  0,000 ;  committed  to  the  Tower  during  the  plea- 
sure of  the  Parliament ;  and  that  he  do  attend  at  the  bar 
of  the  House,  and,  upon  his  knee  there,  receive  this  judg- 
ment."^    The  Lord  Howard  was  released,  from  his  im- 
prisonment in  the  Tower,  on  the  6th  of  August  following ; 
and  on  the  5tli  of  April,  1653,  the  fine  of  £10,000  imposed 


•  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  i.  pp.  334,       ^  Commons'     Journals,    June    25, 
335  (2nd  edition,  London,  1721).  1651. 


1651.]  VISCOUNT  LISLE    AND  ALGERNON  SYDNEY.  129 

upon  him  was  ordered  to  be  discharged. »  His  son,  when 
thirty  years  after  he  brought  Algernon  Sydney  to  the  scaf- 
fold, might  think  that  he  then  paid  back  upon  the  Eepub- 
lican  party  the  humiliation  which  on  this  occasion  they  had 
inflicted  on  his  father.  The  history  of  this  family  would  be 
an  instructive  iUustration  of  the  sort  of  virtues  which 
recommended  men  to  the  favour  of  the  Stuarts,  and  of  the 
depth  of  infamy  to  which  the  Stuarts  reduced  nobility  in 
England. 

The  fact  of  this  Lord  Howard  of  Escrick's  sitting  as  a 
member  of  this  assembly-may  be  explained  easily  enough, 
on  the  ground  that  such  men  as  he  are  ever  ready  to  side 
with  that  party,  whatever  its  principles  may  be,  which  is 
the   strongest   for   the   time  being.     But   there  is  a  far 
deeper  significance  in  the  fact  that  Philip  Earl  of  Pem- 
broke, and  Philip  Lord  Viscount  Lisle,  the  eldest  son  of 
the  Earl  of  Leicester,  were  members  of  this  Parliament, 
and  also  of  the  Council  of  State ;  and  that  Algernon  Sydney,' 
another  son  of  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  was  a  member  of  the 
Parliament,  and  an  officer  of  the  army  of  the  Parliament, 
and  also  a  member  of  the  last  Council  of  State  elected  in 
November   1652.     These   two   brothers   were   related  by 
blood  to  the  Earl  of  Pembroke,  whose  mother  was  the 
sister  of  Sir  Philip  Sydney,  and  also  of  Eobert  Sydney, 
their   grandfather,    created  Viscount  Lisle  in   1605,  and 
Earl  of  Leicester  in  1618,  by  James  I.     JSTo  one,  therefore, 
had  better  means,  than  they  had,  of  knowing  what  was 
the   price   of  King   James's   honours.     Whether  all  the 
wickedness  of  the  Court  of  the  Stuart  was  known  to  all 
those  who  called  themselves  Cavaliers,  and  fought  for  the 
Stuarts  like  Falkland,  or  wrote  for  them  like  Hyde,  I  can- 
not  say.     If  they  did   not   know  for  what   the  Earl  of 


1 


'  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  pp.  1366,  1367. 


VOL.  II. 


K 


130 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


Gowrie  and  his  brother  had  been  murdered,  they  could 
hardly  miss  knowing  why  the  murderers  of  Sir  Thomas 
Overbury  escaped  punishment,  and  retired  with  a  pension 
of  £4,000  a  year.  However  that  might  be,  this  Earl  of 
Pembroke  knew  the  wickedness  of  that  Court  too  well ; 
and  Viscount  Lisle  knew  enough  of  it  to  take  an  active 
part  in  the  business  of  the  Council  of  State,  for  his  name 
appears  often  in  the  MS.  minutes,  showing  that  his  attend- 
ance was  as  regular  as  that  of  most  of  the  members. 
But  the  case  of  Lord  Lisle 's  brother,  Algernon  Sydney,  is 
still  more  significant. 

Algernon  Sydney  was  not  a  member  of  the  Council  of 
State  till  November  1652.  He  was  again  elected  a  member 
of  the  Council  of  State,  on  the  restoration  of  the  Long 
Parliament,  in  1 659.  But  in  1 646  he  was  returned  Member 
for  Cardiff;  and  in  1647  he  received  the  thanks  of  the 
House  of  Commons  for  his  services  in  Ireland,  and  was 
appointed  Governor  of  Dover.  In  April  1645  Fairfax  had 
raised  him  to  the  rank  of  Colonel,  and  had  given  him  a 
regiment.  On  the  2nd  of  July  1650,  there  is  this  minute  in 
the  "  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State":—"  That  Colonel 
Algernon  Sydney  be  desired  to  repair  down  to  Dover 
Castle  and  take  care  of  the  place,  the  Council  being 
informed  that  the  enemy  have  some  design  upon  the 
place."^ 

Of  Algernon  Sydney's  qualities  as  a  soldier,  there  could 
not  be  a  stronger  testimonial  than  this— that  when 
Cromwell,  after  his  return  from  Ireland  in  1650,  proposed 
to  Ludlow  that  "  some  person  of  reputation  and  known 
fidelity  might  be  sent  over  to  command  the  horse  in 
Ireland,  and  to  assist  Major-General  Ireton  in  the  public 

'  Order  Book   of    the     Council  of  State,  July  2,  1650,    MS.    State   Paper 
Offioe. 


1651.]  CHARACTER   OF  ALGERNON  SYDNEY.      J^         j^jj 

service,"  and  desired  Ludlow  to  propose  o^  whom  he 
thought  sufficiently  qualified  for  that  station,  Ludlow  told 
him  that,  in  his  opinion,  "  a  fitter  man  could  not  be  found 
than  Colonel  Algernon  Sydney;"  and  the  only  exception 
Cromwell  made  against  him  was  "  his  relation  to  some 
who  were  in  the  King's  interest." 

The  character  of  Algernon  Sydney  has  been  a  favourite 
theme  with  writers,  great  and  small ;  and,  as^ls  usual,  the 
small  writers  have  been  harder  upon  him  than  the  great 
For  It  IS  a  sourcerof  wonderful  self-complacency  to  a  small 
man  to  pass  judgment,  from  an  imaginary  judgment-seat 
on  what  he  terms  the  narrow-minded  obstinacy,  the  utter 
nnpracticability,   the   infatuated  helplessness,  of  a  ship- 
wrecked  faction.     The  man   fancies  that,  by   such  lofty 
denunciations,  he  establishes  his  own  title  to  vast  prac- 
tical ability.     But  sometimes  he  is  undeceived  before  he 
dies.    Algernon  Sydney,  in  one  of  his  letters  to  his  father 
seems   to   forebode  this' part  ~5f  Ms  sad   fafe,    when   he 
says  :  "  I  wander  as  a  vagabond  through  the  world,  forsaken 
of  my  friends,- poor,    and   kno^vn    only  to   be  a  broken 
limb   of  a   shipwrecked   faction."     In  another   letter  to 
his   father,    first   published   by   Mr.    Blencowe   in   1825 
from  the  original  in  Mr.  Lambard's  collection,  Algernon 
Sydney  pleads,  as  it  were  by  a  voice  from   the   grave, 
against  Jeffreys,  who   pronounced   upon   him   the  judg- 
ment of  death,2  as  well  as  against  those  who,  after  death 
pronounced   him   to   be   a  narrow-minded,   opinionative' 


•  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  p.  320 
(2nd  edition,  London,  1721). 
\       ^  At  Algernon  Sydney's  trial,  Finch, 
:  the  Solicitor-General,  a  far  moreadfSit* 
legal    sophist    than     Prideaux,     the 
•  Attorney-General  at  John  Lilburne's 
}  trial,  maintained  that  one  witness  to 
iOnefact,  and  another  witness  to  another 


fact,  were  the  two  witnesses  required 
by  law.  It  is  remarkable  that  Sydney 
was  destroyed  by  the  very  same  fal- 
sification of  law  by  which  the  Rump, 
of  which  he  had  been  a  member,  had 
attempted,  though  in  vain,  to  destroy 
John  Lilburne. 


I 


K  2 


132 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


LChap.  X. 


i 


1     fanatical  egotist.     Let  us  hear  Algernon  Sydney's  defence 

>     of  himself. 

He  thus  writes  to  his  father  from  Hamburg,  August 
30,  1660 :  "  Sir  John  Temple  sends  me  word,  your  Lord- 
ship is  very  intent  upon  finding  a  way  of  bringing  me  into 
England,  in  such  a  condition  as  I  may  live  there  quietly 
and  well.  I  acknowledge  your  Lordship's  favour,  and  will 
make  the  best  return  for  it  I  can ;  but  T  desire  you  to  lay 
that  out  of  your  thoughts  ;  it  is  a  design  never  to  be  ac- 
complished. I  find  so  much  by  the  management  of  things 
at  home,  that  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  be  quiet  one  day, 
imless  I  would  do  those  things,  the  remembrance  of  which 
would  never  leave  me  one  quiet  or  contented  moment 
whilst  I  live.  I  know  myself  to  be  in  a  condition  that,  for 
aU  circumstances,  is  as  ill  as  outward  things  can  make  it. 
This  is  my  only  consolation,  that  when  I  call  to  remem- 
brance, as  exactly  as  I  can,  all  my  actions  relating  to  our 
civil  distempers,  I  cannot  find  one  that  I  look  upon  as  a 
breach  of  the  rules  of  justice  or  honour.  This  is  my 
strength,  and,  I  thank  God,  by  this  I  enjoy  very  serene 
thoughts.  If  I  lose  this,  by  vile  and  unworthy  submis- 
sions, acknowledgment  of  errors,  asking  of  pardon,  or  the 
like,  I  shall  from  that  moment  be  the  miserablest  man 
alive,  and  the  scorn  of  all  men.  I  know  the  titles  that  are 
given  me,  of  fierce,  violent,  seditious,  mutinous,  turbulent, 
and  many  others  of  the  like  nature  ;  but  God,  that  gives 
me  inward  peace  in  my  outward  troubles,  doth  know  that 
I  do  in  my  heart  choose  an  innocent  quiet  retirement, 
before  any  place  unto  which  I  could  hope  to  raise  myself 
by  those  actions  which  they  condemn.  If  I  could  write 
and  talk  like  Colonel  Hutchinson,  or  Sir  Gilbert  Pickering, 
I  believe  I  might  be  quiet ;  contempt  might  procure  my 
safety  ;  but  I  had  rather  be  a  vagabond  all  my  life,  than 


ALGERNON  SYDNEY. 


133 


)uy  my  bemg  in  my  own  country  at  so  dear  a  rate  :  and 
if  I  could  have  bowed  myself  according  to  my  interest 
perhaps  I  was  not  so  stupid  as  not  to  know  the  ways  of 
settling  my  affairs  at  home,  or  making  a  good  provision 
for  staying  abroad,  as  well  as  others,  and  did  not  want 
credit  to  attain  unto  it;  but  I  have  been  these  many  years 
outstripped  by  those  that  were  below  me,  whilst  I  stopped 
at  those  things  that  they  easily  leaped  over.     What  shall 
T  say?  It  hath  been  my  fortune  from  my  youth,  and  will 
be  so  to  my  grave,  by  which  my  designs  in  the  world  will 
perpetually  miscarry.     But  I  know  people  will  say,  I  strain 
at  gnats,  and  swallow  camels ;  that  it  is  a  strange  con- 
science, that  lets  a  man  run  violently  on,  till  he  is  deep  in 
civil  blood,  and  then  stays  at  a  few  words  and  compliments  • 
that  can  earnestly  endeavour  to  extirpate  a  long-established 
monarchy,  and  then  cannot  be  brought  to  see  his  error 
and  be  persuaded  to  set  one  finger  towards  the  setting 
together  the  broken  pieces  of  it.     It  will  be  thouo-ht  a 
strange   extravagance   for  one,  that   esteemed  it  no"  dis- 
honour  to  make  himself  equal  to  a  great  many  mean 
people,  and  below  some  of  them,  to  make  war  upon  the 
King;  and  is  ashamed  to  submit  unto  the  King,  now  he  is 
encompassed  with  all  the  nobles  of  the  land,  and  in  the 
height  of  his  glory,  so  that  none  are  so  happy  as  those 
that  can  first  cast  themselves  at  his  feet.     I  have  enough 
to  answer  all  this  in  my  own  mind  ;  I  cannot  help  it  if  I 
judge  amiss ;  I  did  not  make  myself,  nor  can  I  correct  the 
defects  of  m^  o^vn  creation.     I  walk  in  the  light  God  hath 
given  me ;  if  it  be  dim  or  uncertain,  I  must  bear  the 
penalty  of  my  errors.     I  hope  to  do  it  with  patience,  and 
that  no  burden  shall  be  very  grievous  to  me,  except  sin 
and  shame.     God  keep  me  from  those  evils,  and,  in  all 
things  else,  dispose  of  me  according  to  his  pleasure '  - 


// 


/ 


134 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X 


J" 


/ 


Hi. 


have  troubled  your  Lordship  very  long,  but  it  is  that  I 
might  ease  you  of  cares  that  would  be  more  tedious,  and 
as  unfruitful.  I  do  not  know  whither  the  course  of  my  for- 
tune doth  lead  me,  probably  never  to  return  to  see  your 
Lordship  or  my  own  country  again.  However,  if  I  have 
offended  your  Lordship,  transported  by  folly  or  the  violence 
of  my  nature  (I  have  nothing  else  that  needs  your  forgive- 
ness), I  beseech  you  to  pardon  it ;  and  let  me  have  your 
favour  and  blessing  along  with  me.  If  I  live  to  return,  I 
will  endeavour  to  deserve  it  by  my  services ;  if  not,  I  can 
make  no  return  but  my  prayers  for  you,  which'  shall 
never  be  omitted  by  your  Lordship's 

./  Algernon  Sydney."^ 

In  another  of  his  letters  to  his  father,  first  published  by 
Mr.  Blencowe  in  1825  from  Mr.  Lambard's  collection,  and 
dated  Venice,  October  12,  1660,  Algernon  Sydney  gives  the 
following  account  of  his  conduct  with  regard  to  the  King's 
trial,  which  shows  that  he  had  clearer  notions  on  the  ille- 
gality of  "  High  Courts  of  Justice"  than  either  Cromwell 
or  Bradshaw.  He  says  : — "  The  truth  of  what  passed  I  do 
very  well  remember.  I  was  at  Penshurst,  when  the  Act 
for  the  trial  passed;  and  coming  up  to  town  I  heard 
my  name  was  put  in,  and  that  those  that  were  nominated 
for  judges  were  then  in  the  Painted  Chamber.  I  presently 
went  thither,  heard  the  Act  read,  and  found  my  own  name 
with  others.  A  debate  was  raised  how  they  should  pro- 
ceed upon  it ;  and  after  having  been  some  time  silent,  to 
hear  what  those  would  say  who  had  the  directing  of  that 
business,  I  did  positively  oppose  Cromwell,  Bradshaw,  and 
others,  who  would  have  the  trial  to  go  on,  and  drawing  rea- 


'  Sydney    Papers,    pp.    195-198,     edited  by   R.   W.  Blencowe    (London, 
1825). 


1651.] 


ALGERNON  SYDNEY. 


135 


sons  from  these  two  points  :— First,  the  King  could  he  tried 
by  no  court ;  secondly,  that  no  man  could  be  tried  by  that 
court.  This  being  alleged  in  vain,  and  Cromwell  using 
these  formal  words,  "  I  tell  you,  we  will  cut  off  his  head 
with  the  crown  upon  it,'  I  replied :  '  You  may  take  your 
own  course,  I  cannot  stop  yoa,  but  I  will  keep  myself 
clean  from  having  any  hand  in  this  business  ; '  and  imme- 
diately went  out  of  the  room,  and  never  returned.^  This 
is  all  that  passed  publicly,  or  that  can  with  truth  be  re- 
corded, or  taken  notice  of.  I  had  an  intention,  which  is 
not  very  fit  for  a  letter."^ 

This  last  sentence  has  given  rise  to  some  discussion. 
Sir  James  Mackintosh,  in  a  notejjprinted  at^e  end  of 
Mr.    ElencoweT*voiume,  expresses  an   opinion  "that   the 
intention  to  which  Sydney  aUudes,  was  to  procure  a  con- 
currence of  both  Houses  of  Parliament  in  the  deposition 
of  the  King.    The  Lords  had  passed  an  ordinance,  making 
it  High  Treason  in  future  for  a  King  of  England  to  levy 
war   against  the  Parliament,  a  measure  which  of  itself 
declared  the  judicial  proceedings  against  the  King  illegal. 
"  Sydney,  we  know  from  a  letter  to  his  father,"  says  the 
note  of  Sir  James  Mackintosh,  "  approved  that  ordinance, 
and  blamed  the  resolutions  of  the  Commons  which  were 


[ 


'  The    Earl  of  Leicester's   Journal 
agrees  with  this  account :     "  3Iy  two 
sons,  Philip  and  Algernon,  came  unex- 
pectedly to  Penshurst,  Monday  22nd, 
and  stayed  there  till  Monday,  29th  .Jan- 
uary, so  as  neither  of  them  were  at  the 
condemnation  of  the  King ;  nor   was 
Philip  at  any  time  at  the  High  Court, 
though  a  commissioner ;  but  Algernon 
(a  commissioner  also)  was  there  some- 
times, in  the  Painted  Chamber,  but 
never  in  Westminster  ^dX\r —Journal 
of  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  p.  54,  in 'Syd- 


ney Papers. 

2  Sydney  Papers,  edited  by  R.  W. 
Blencowe  (London,  1825),  p.  237. 

"  In  tliat  note  Sir  J.  Mackintosh 
says,  "■  wliat  this  intention  was  it  is  no 
longer  possible  to  ascertain  ;  but  we 
may  with  tolerable  certainty  affirm 
that  it  was  one  which  he  wished  not 
to  be  known  to  the  Government  of 
Charles  II.,  who  were  pretty  sure  to 
read  his  letter,  and  yet  was  willing  to 
communicate  to  his  father  in  con- 
versation." 


\ 

1  -^ 


1:36 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


founded  on  other  principles.  The  design  of  deposition 
seems  perfectly  reconcileable  with  the  known  opinion  of 
Sydney  and  his  connexions  at  the  moment."  Sydney,  in 
the  letter  just  quoted,  also  says  that  his  opposition  to  the 
trial,  and  to  the  subscription  of  a  paper  declaring  appro- 
bation of  the  order  for  the  King's  execution,  "  had  so  ill 
effects  as  to  my  particular  concernments,  as  to  make 
Cromwell,  Bradshaw,  Harrison,  Lord  Grrey,  and  others 
my  enemies,  who  did  from  that  time  continually  oppose 
me."  In  regard  to  the  supposition  that  the  words  of 
Sydney's  letter  referred  to  private  assassination.  Sir  James 
Mackintosh  says: — "  Even  the  enemies  of  Sydney's  memory 
cannot  surely  think  it  probable  that  a  man  of  so  frank  and 
fearless  a  character  should  have  preferred  expedients  which 
had  no  other  recommendation  than  their  tendency  to  pro- 
vide for  the  personal  safety  of  the  actors.  But  it  is  alto- 
gether incredible  that,  if  he  had  been  a  partisan  of  secret 
regicide,  he  should  have  needlessly  alluded  to  such  a 
disposition,  in  a  letter  written  to  supply  his  father  with 
every  fair  means  of  procuring  his  secure  admission  into 
England."  ^ 

In  another  letter  beginning  "  Sir, "  and  without  date  or 
address,  Algernon  Sydney  says  : — "  I  confess  we  are 
naturally  inclined  to  delight  in  our  own  country,  and  I 
have  a  particular  love  to  mine  ;  T  hope  I  have  given  some 
testimony  of  it.  I  think  that  being  exiled  from  it  is  a 
great  evil,  and  would  redeem  myself  from  it  with  the  loss 
of  a  great  deal  of  my  blood.  But  when  that  country  of 
mine  is  now  like  to  be  made  a  stage  of  injury,  the  liberty 
which  we  hoped  to  establish  oppressed ;  the  Parliament 
and  army  corrupted,  the  people  enslaved  ;  all  things  ven- 
dible, no  man  safe,  but  by  such  evil  and  infamous  means 


'  Sydney  Papers  by  Blencowe,  note  I.  pp.  281-284,  London,  1825. 


1651.] 


ALGERNON  SYDNEY. 


137 


as  flattery  and  bribery ;  what  joy  can  I  have  in  my  own 
country  in  this  condition  ?  Shall  I  renounce  all  my  old 
principles,  learn  the  vile  court  arts,  and  make  my  peace  by 
bribing  some  of  them  ?  Better  is  a  life  among  strangers, 
than  in  my  own  country  on  such  conditions.  ^  ^  ^  Let 
them  please  themselves  with  making  the  King  glorious, 
who  think  that  a  whole  people  may  justly  be  sacrificed  for 
the  interest  and  pleasure  of  one,  and  a  few  of  his  followers. 
Nevertheless,  perhaps  they  may  find  their  King's  glory  is 
their  shame,  his  plenty  the  people's  misery."^ 

Now  let  it  be  observed  that  in  all  this  Algernon  Sydney 
— one  of  that  body  of  statesmen  whom  a  modern  writer  has 
thought  fit  to  term  "  a  small  faction  of  fanatical  egotists, 
more  important  from  their  passionate  activity  than  from 
their  talents," — was  right,  and  they  who  again  brought  in 
the  Stuarts  upon  the  English  nation  were  wrong,  as  the  event 
fully  proved,  when,  after  twenty-eight  years  of  crimes  and 
follies,  those  Stuarts  were  expelled  for  ever.  In  estimating 
the  conduct  of  Sydney,  it  must  also  be  remembered  that  his 
experience  had  not  furnished  him  with  any  remedy  for  the 
evils  of  which  he  had  seen  and  heard  so  much,  and  which 
seemed  inherent  in  monarchical  government,  except  a  re- 
public, or,  at  any  rate,  some  form  of  government  like  that 
which  had  been  established  after  the  death  of  Charles. 
For  he  could  hardly  be  expected  to  know  that  a  remedy 
might  be  found  such  as  the  Government  estabhshed  in 
England  after  the  final  expulsion  of  the  Stuarts.  He  had 
seen  the  evils  of  the  monarchical  government  brought  very 
near  to  him;  for  Leicester,  the  unworthy  favourite  of  Eliza- 
beth, was  as  bad  a  man,  and  as  incapable  a  minister  and 
general,  as  Buckingham,  the  unworthy  favourite  of  James 

•  Sydney   Papers,    pp.     199-201,    edited  by  R.  W.    Blencowe    (London, 
182o). 


f 


/ 


^ 


138 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


165L] 


CROMWELL'S   ILLNESS  IN  SCOTLAND. 


139 


and  Charles.     It  so  happened  that  Sydney  was  peculiarly 
situated  for  observing  both  the  old  and  the  new  nobility. 
The  Sydneys  belonged  to  the  new  nobility.     But  Algernon 
Sydney  was  descended  from  Hotspur  and  the  old  warrior 
nobility,  through  his  mother,  the  Lady  Dorothy  Percy, 
eldest  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Northumberland ;  and  he 
was  also  descended  from  the  new  or  court-lackey  nobility, 
his  great-grandmother  being  the  sister  of  Eobert  Dudley, 
the  Earl  of  Leicester  of  infamous  memory.     Moreover,  his 
aunt,  the  Lady  Lucy  Percy,  having  been  married  to  one  of 
James's  favourites,  was  the  Countess  of  Carlisle,  a  woman 
celebrated  for  her  beauty,  but^ whose  reputation  was  not 
likely  to  meet  with  the  approbation  of  Algernon  Sydney, 
any  more  than  it  would  have  been  likely  to  meet  with  the 
approbation  of  her  ancestor.  Hotspur— a  proud  rough  man, 
who  hated  the  "  vile  court  arts,"  which  Algernon  Sydney, 
a  proud  rough  man  also,  hated.     Further,  the  two  nephews 
of  Sir  PhUip  Sydney,  the  Earl  of  Pembroke  and  his  brother 
Philip  Herbei-t,  had  been  favourites  at  James's  Court ;  and 
of  that  Court  it  may  be  said  that  its  favour  was  even  worse 
than  its  enmity,  and  that  none  ever  escaped  with  honour 
from  its  deadly  embrace.     Now,  when  all  this  is  taken  into 
account,  and  when  it  is  remembered  that  Algernon  Sydney 
was  a  thoughtful  and  observing  as  well  as  a  proud  and 
conscientious  man,  one  can  understand  that,  as  he  could 
see  no  other  remedy  but  a  republic  for  those  intolerable 
evils  of  a  monarchical  government,  he  was  willing  to  take 
help  wherever  he  could  get  it— to  take  help  even  from  a 
despot  like  Louis  XIY.     And  if  we  are  bound  to  consider 
the  papers  of  Barillon   as   sufficient   evidence   that   500 
guineas  were  paid  to  Algernon   Sydney  on  the  part   of 
Louis  XIV.,  the  only  explanation  of  such  a  circumstance, 
which  can  in  the  least  reconcile  it  with  Sydney's  character,' 


is  that  he  considered  the  situation  of  affairs  so  desperate 
as  to  warrant  a  desperate  remedy ;  as  his  cotemporary, 
Thomas  Hobbes,  defended  his  retaining  a  friend  or  two  at 
court,  to  protect  him,  if  occasion  should  require,  by  saying, 
"  If  I  were  cast  into  a  deep  pit,  and  the  Devil  should  put 
down  his  cloven  foot,  I  would  take  hold  of  it  to  be  drawn 
out  by  it."  ' 

The  folly  of  the  attempt  to  represent  that  assembly  of 
"  the  greatest  geniuses  for  government  the  world  ever  saw- 
embarked  together  in  "*one  common  cause,"  as"^'  a  small 
faction  of  fanatical  egotists,  more  important  from  their 
passionate  activity  than  from  their  talents,"  will  be  made 
abundantly  manifest  in  the  present  chapter,  from  the  mi- 
nutes of  their  proceedings  which  happily  exist. 

During  the  winter  of  165^,  which  Cromwell  passed 
in  Scotland,  he  had  an  attack  of  illness,  which  would  seem 
to  have  been  very  severe.  In  a  letter  to  the  President  of 
the  Council  of  State,  dated  Edinburgh,  March  24,  1650y, 
he  says — "  I  thought  I  should  have  died  of  this  fit  of 
sickness ;  but  the  Lord  seemeth  to  dispose  otherwise." 
And  in  May,  Cromwell  sent  word  that  the  air  of  Scotland 
did  not  agree  with  him,  and  desired  to  remove  himself  to 
some  part  of  England  for  the  restoration  of  his  health. 
Leave  was  granted  to  him ;  but  he  appears  to  have  reco- 
vered his  health  so  much  as  not  to  need  to  make  use  of  it. 

It  is  extremely  difficult  to  get  at  the  truth  respecting 
powerful  men — I  mean  men  powerful  from  their  position. 
The  truth,  if  likely  to  be  distasteful  to  them,  cannot  be 
published  diu-ing  their  lifetime,  or  even,  in  many  cases,  till 
long  after  their  death.  Thus  some  persons  who  attempted 
to  publish  a  version  of  what  James  I.  called  the  Go^vrie 
Conspiracy,  different  from  King  James's  version,  were 
punished  with  torture  and  death.     And  even  after  James's 


iliriTiifMiililiilmitiMililiiliiriiir^^ 


140 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


accession  to  the  throne  of  England,  any  expression  of  dis- 
sent from  the  doctrine  of  the  royal  wisdom  and  virtue 
brought  ruin  and  death  on  the  unhappy  dissenter.*  The 
common  accounts  say  that  Cromwell's  illness  on  this  occa- 
sion was  an  attack  of  ague.  But  Aubrey,  in  his  account  of 
Jonathan  Godard,  M.D.,  tells  the  following  story,  which 
may  be  taken  for  whatever  it  is  worth :  "  He  [Godard] 
was  one  of  the  College  of  Physicians  in  London  ;  warden 
of  Merton  College,  Oxon ;  physician  to  Oliver  Cromwell, 
Protector ;  went  with  him  into  Ireland.  Qu.  if  not  sent 
to  him  into  Scotland,  when  he  was  so  dangerously  ill  there 
of  a  kind  of  calenture  or  high  fever,  which  made  him  mad, 
that  he  pistolled  one  or  two  of  his  commanders  that  came 
to  visit  him  in  his  rage."^ 

The  Scottish  Parliament,  which  after  the  Battle  of 
Dunbar  had  retired  beyond  the  Forth,  still  maintained  a 
show  of  decided  opposition  to  those  whom  they  called 
the  English  sectaries.  The  moderate  Presbyterians,  who 
desired  monarchical  government,  resolved  on  the  coronation 
of  Charles,  with  a  view  of  conciliating  him,  having  been 
alarmed  by  a  proceeding  of  his  called  the  8 tart,  the  nature 


»  May  5,  1  619.  "  Relation  of  the 
Execution  of  Williams,  a  Counsellor  at 
Law,  as  a  Traitor,  for  writing  a  libelling 
Eook  against  the  King,  called  '  Ba- 
laam's Ass.'  "—MS.  State  Paper  Office. 

2  Aubrey's  Letters  and  Lives,  vol. 
ii.  pp.  357,  358  (London,  1813).— Au- 
brey was  right  as  to  Dr.  Godard, 
as  appears  from  the  following  mi- 
nutes:— "  That  Dr.  Goddard  shall  have 
the  sum  of  £100  given  unto  him  for  his 
care  and  pains  with  the  Lord-General 
in  his  sickness.  That  Dr.  Goddard  be 
recommended  to  the  Committee  for  the 
Universities,   to   be   made   master  of 


a  college  in  one  of  the  Universities ;  and 
Sir  H.  Vane  is  desired  to  acquaint 
them  that  the  Council  have,  in  con- 
sideration hereof,  given  him  a  smaller 
sum  than  otherwise  they  would  have 
done,  for  his  care  and  pains  with  the 
Lord-General  in  his  sickness."  ( Order 
Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  June  13, 
1651,  MS.  State  Paper  Office.)  It 
appears  from  a  minute  of  May  23, 
1651,  that  the  Council  also  despatched 
two  other  physicians,  Dr.  "Wright  and 
Dr.  Bates,  "  to  give  his  Lordship  advice 
for  the  recovery  of  his  health." — Ibid„ 
May  23,  1651. 


I 


1561.]      A  NATURAL  AND  AN  ARTIFICIAL  ARISTOCRACY.        141 

of  which  was  not  fully  known.    The  ceremony  of  the  coro- 
nation was  performed  at  Scone,  on  the  1st  of  January  165^ 
with  such  solemnities  as  the  circumstances  of  the  times 
admitted.  Charles,  in  royal  robes,  walked  in  procession  from 
the  hall  of  the  palace  to  the  church ;  the  spurs,  sword  of 
state,  sceptre,  and  crown  being  carried  before  him  by  the 
principal  nobility.     The  crown  was  carried  and  placed  on 
the  head  of  Charles  by  the  Marquis  of  Argyle,  who  was 
beheaded  immediately  after  the  Restoration  in  1660,  and 
said  upon  the  scaffold,  "  I  placed  the   crown  upon    the 
King's  head,  and  in  reward  he  brings  mine  to  the  block." 
This    coronation    spectacle,    at    this    particular   time, 
is  well  fitted  to  give  rise  to  some  grave  reflections.     We 
have   here   two  aristocracies  in  presence  of  each   other 
— a  natural  and  an  artificial  aristocracy,  or,  employino- 
the  words  in  their  strict  meaning,  an  aristocracy  and  an 
oligarchy.     The  natural  aristocracy  consists  of  an  army 
composed  of  the  best  soldiers,  commanded  by  the    best 
officers  that  the  world  had  ever  seen — "  an  army  to  which," 
as  Clarendon  has  truly  and  eloquently  said,  ''  victory  was 
entailed,  and  which,  humanly  speaking,  could  hardly  fail 
of  conquest  whithersoever  it  should  be  led  ;  an  army  whose 
order  and  discipline,  whose  sobriety  and  manners,'  whose 
courage  and  success,  have  made  it  famous   and  terrible 
over  the  world."     But  then,  says  Mr.  Denzil  Holies,  all 
of  these  men,  from  the  General  to  the  meanest  centinel, 
were  not  able  to  make  £1,000  a  year  lands ;  most  of  the 

'  See     the    testimony     of    Baillie  contrast   with  some  other    "  sojours," 

(Memoir,   p.   63),    as     to    Cromwell's  in  times  that  might  be  thought  more 

"  sojours     doing    less  displeasure    at  civilized.— See  Wellington's  Despatches 

Glasgow,  nor  [than]  if  they  had  been  (particularly  Gur^'ood's  Selections),  p. 

at  London,  though  Mr.  Zacharie  Boyd  375,  No.  426  ;  p.  449,  No.  507 ;  p.  919, 

rallied    on     them    all   to   their    very  No.  1013. 
faces  in    the  High  Church  "-a  strong 


; 


\ 


V 


142 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


1651.] 


POSITION   OF  THE   SCOTTISH   ARMY. 


143 


colonels  and  officers  being  mean  tradesmen,  brewers, 
tailors,  goldsmiths,  shoemakers,  and  the  like — "  a  notable 
dunghill,"  adds  this  son  of  one  of  James  I.'s  notable  peers, 
"  if  one  would  rake  into  it  to  find  out  their  several  pedi- 


grees 


"  1 


Nevertheless,  if  it  be  true,  as  nowadays  some  persons 
are  presumptuous  enough  to  think,  that  men's  deeds  are 
their  best  pedigrees,  such  persons  might  be  disposed  to  say 
that  this  army  of  the  Parliament  of  England  constituted  a 
real  aristocracy,  while  the  coronation  procession,  with  all 
its  symbolical  paraphernalia,  was  but  a  phantom.  If  this 
heraldic  aristocracy  dreamt  that  war  was  an  art  the  know- 
ledge of  which  was  their  birthright,  and  which  the  herd 
of  burghers  and  mechanics  could  never  learn,  they  were 
suddenly  startled  from  this  dream  by  the  trumpet-blast  of 
an  enemy  more  terrible  than  any  they  had  ever  encountered 
through  all  the  dark  centuries  of  their  reign  upon  earth  ; 
though  that  enemy's  ranks  were,  in  part,  composed  of 
"  mean  mechanics,"  and  in  part  officered  by  "  mean 
tradesmen," — by  men  who,  when  they  had  done  their  work 
of  war,  returned  to  their  former  peaceful  and  industrious 
^  f  occupations,  only  noticeable  thereafter  by  their  superior 
skill  in  their  various  trades,  and  their  superior  sobriety, 
honesty,  and  good  conduct. 

The  Eoyalist  writers,  who  strive  to  make  it  appear  that 

their  King  was  not  only  a  gallant  soldier  but  a  prudent 

'  •   commander — though  they  have  never  been  able  to  show, 

i     upon  any  good  evidence,  that  he  displayed  even  the  hum- 

\  I    blest  private  soldier's  virtue  of  steadiness  and  personal 

.  j..  courage   under  an   enemy's   fire,  or  indeed  that   he  was 

^  I    ever  under  an  enemy's  fire  at  all  on  any  one  occasion — 


r 


>  HoUes's  Memoirs,  p.  149. 


inform  us  that  after   his  coronation  the   King  assumed 
the  command  of  the  Scottish  army  in  person^  and  took 
up    a   position   to   the  south   of  Stirling,  having  in   his 
front  the  River  Carron.     This  particular  tract  of^country 
had  witnessed  some  of  the  most  desperate  struggles  for 
the  independence  of  Scotland,   when   the   Scots'' fought 
under  leaders  very  different  from  this  Stuart  king.     On 
the  banks  of  the  Carron  had  been  fought  the  bloody^Battle 
of  Falkirk,  in  which  Wallace  had  been  defeated,  in  conse- 
quence, partly  at  least,  of  the  treacherous  defection,  during 
the  battle,  of  some  of  the   Scottish  nobility  with  their 
retainers.     On  the  banks  of  the  Bannock  had  been  fought 
the  stm  bloodier  Battle  of  Bannockburn,  in  which  Robert 
Bruce  had  given  England  the  greatest  overthrow  recorded 
in  her  annals.     The  strong  position  now  taken  up  by  the 
Scottish  army  was  no  doubt  the  work,  not  of  the  King— 
who  never  showed  a  genius  for  war  or  anything  else  (ac- 
cording to  the  authority  of  his  friend  the  Duke  of  Buck- 
ingham, who  ought  to  have  known  his  gifts),  "  but  ducks, 
loitering,  and  loose  women,"  '—but  of  David  Leslie,  who 
stiU  acted  as  Lieutenant-General ;  though  his  prudence 
and  military  skill  were  rendered  of  small  avail  under  the 
control  of  this  "  duU  blockhead,"  as  Buckingham   calls 
him,  as  they  had  been  baffled  before  by  the  incapacity  and 
folly  of  the  Scottish  oligarchy. 


•  "Nay,  he  could  sail  a  yacht,  both 

nigh  and  large. 
Knew  how  to  trim  a  boat,  and  steer  a 

barge : 
Could  say  his  compass,  to  the  nation's 

joy, 

And  swear  as  well  as  any  cabin-boy.  ' 
But  not  one  lesson  of  the  ruling  art 
Could  this  dull  blockhead  ever  get  by 

heart  ; 
Look  over  all  the  universal  frame, 


There's  not  a  thing  the  will  of  man 
can  name, 

In  which  this  ugly  perjur'd  rogue  de- 
lights. 
But  ducks  and  loit'ring,"  *  #  * 
—  The  Cabin  Boy,  by  George  Villicrs. 
Charles  was  learned  in  the  mechanism 
of  ships,  but  his  knowledge  in  them 
and  their  uses  did  not  extend  beyond 
that  of  a  child  in  some  huge  new  toys. 


/ 


\ 


I 


144 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X 


145 


Here,  as  when,  before  the  Battle  of  Dunbar,  the  Scots 
occupied  a  strong  entrenched  position  between  Edinburgh 
and  Leith,  Cromwell  could  neither  with  prudence  attack 
them  in  their  lines,  nor  find  means  of  inducing  them  to 
hazard  a  battle,  unless  at  a  great  disadvantage  to  himself. 
Now,  as  in  the  preceding  summer,  the  Scottish  army  re- 
mained in  their  fastnesses,  carefully  and  pertinaciously 
avoiding  an  engagement,  though  CromweU  continued  to 
use  his  utmost  efforts  to  provoke  them  to  it.  Here,  again, 
the  generalship  of  David  Leslie  is  for  the  last  time  mani- 
fest. Cromwell  himself  pays  a  high  compliment  to  Leslie's 
skill  in  taking  up  strong  positions.  "The  enemy,"  he 
says,  "  is  at  his  old  lock,  and  lieth  in  and  near  Stirling, 
where  we  cannot  come  to  fight  him  except  he  please,  or 
we  go  upon  too  manifest  hazards  :  he  having  very  strongly 
laid  himself,  and  having  a  very  good  advantage  there. 
Whither  we  hear  he  hath  lately  gotten  gi-eat  provisions  of 
meal,  and  reinforcements  of  his  strength  out  of  the  north, 
under  Marquis  Huntly.  It  is  our  business  stiU  to  wait 
upon  God,  to  show  us  our  way  how  to  deal  with  this  subtle 
enemy ;  which  I  hope  He  will."^ 

When  the  armies  had  faced  each  other  for  more  than  a 
month,  Cromwell  despatched  Lambert  into  Fife,  to  turn 
the  left  flank  of  the  Scottish  army,  and  intercept  their 
supplies.  Lambert  attacked  a  detachment  of  the  Scots, 
commanded  by  Holborne  and  Brown,  and  totally  defeated 
them.^  Cromwell  also  proceeded  with  his  army  to  Perth, 
which   was    surrendered   after   one    day's   siege.^     These 

'  Cromwell  to  the  Speaker,  Linlith-  xix.  pp.  494,  495 ;  Cromwelliana,  p. 

gow,  July  26,   1651,  printed  in    Mr.  106. 

Carlyle's  Cromwell,  from  the   Tanner  '  Cromwell  to  the  Speaker,  August 

MSS.  -t,  1651 ;  Balfour,  vol.  iv.  pp.  313,  314  ; 

2  Pari.    Hist.    vol.    iii.    p.    1369;  Lord  Leicester's   Journal,  p.    110,  in 

Cromwell  to  the  Speaker,  Linlithgow,  Sydney  Papers,  edited  by  R.  W.  Blen- 

July  21,  1651,  in  Old  Pari.  Hist,  vol,  eowe  (London,  1825;. 


1651.]  MISSTATEMENTS   OF  MKS.  HUTCHINSON. 

operations  speedily  had  the  effect  which  Cromwell  intend- 
ed; for  on  the  31st  of  July  the  Scottish  army  broke  up 
their  camp  near  Stirling,  and  moved  to  the  south-westward 
by  rapid  marches.^ 

Mrs.   Hutchinson   represents  the  CouncU  of   State   as 
very  much  surprised  at  hearing  that  the  King  of  Scots 
was  passed  by  Cromwell,  and  was   marching  southward ; 
and   as    not  only  very  much  surprised,    but   very    much 
frightened   and   disturbed  in  their  counsels,  till   Colonel 
Hutchinson  encouraged  and  put   heart   into   them,  "  as 
they   were    one    day   in   a   private    council    raging    and 
crying  out  on  Cromwell's  miscarriages."  ^    Modern  writers 
in  the  weight  they  have  attached  to  this  statement,  have 
overlooked  the  fact,  that  Colonel  Hutchinson  was  not  at 
that  time  a  member  of  the  Council  of  State,  as  I  will  show 
presently.     But  I  will  first  say,  in  reference  to  Mrs.  Hutch- 
inson's statement  respecting  the  very  gi^eat  surprise  of  the 
Council  of  State  at  hearing  of  the  King  of  Scots'  march 
southward— that,  so  long  before  as  the  14th  of  January  of 
this  year,  several  extracts  of  letters  from  CromweU  and 
Lambert  to  the  Council  of  State,  dated  from  Edinburgh  the 
4th  and  8th  of  that  month,  intimating  a  design  of  the 
Scots  to  attempt  an  invasion  of  England,  had  been  read  in 
the  House.3     So  that  the  idea  of  the  invasion  of  England 
would  ai^pear  to  have  been  entertained  by  the  Scottish 
leaders  for  some  time,  though  the  fact  of  CromweU's  havino- 
turned  their  position  probably  hastened  the  execution  of 
the  project. 

In  reference  to  another  statement  of  Mrs.  Hutchinson 
that  the  Council  of  State  "scarce  had  any   account  of 

A^^stTV".  the  Speaker.  Leith,  ^  Memoirs  of  Colonel  Hutchinson, 
August  4,  1601  ;  Lord  Leicester's  p.  3.36,  Bohn's  edition,  London,  1854. 
^^^^^-^^  V-  no.  ^  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  p.  1362. 

VOL.  II.  £ 


i\ 


116 


COMMON^VKALT^   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


/ 


'^ 


Cromwell,  or  of  his  intention,  or  hovf  the  error  came  about 
to  suffer  the  enemy  to  enter  England,  where  there  was  no 
army  to  encounter  him,"  ^  it  is  fair  to  hear  Cromwell's  ac- 
count of  the  matter.  "  This  is  our  comfort,"  he  says, 
"  that  in  simplicity  of  heart,  as  towards  God,  we  have  done 
to  the  best  of  our  judgments ;  knowing  that  if  some  issue 
were  not  put  to  this  business,  it  would  occasion  another 
winter's  war,  to  the  ruin  of  your  soldiery,  for  whom  the 
Scots  are  too  hard,  in  respect  of  enduring  the  winter  diffi- 
culties of  this  country,  and  to  the  endless  expense  of  the 
treasure  of  England  in  prosecuting  this  war.  It  may  be 
supposed  we  might  have  kept  the  enemy  from  this  by  inter- 
posing between  him  and  England,  which  truly  I  believe  we 
mio-ht ;  but  how  to  remove  him  out  of  this  place  without 
doing  what  we  have  done,  unless  we  had  had  a  command- 
ing army  on  both  sides  of  the  Eiver  of  Forth,  is  not  clear  to 
us,  or  how  to  answer  the  inconveniences  afore-mentioned 
we  understand  not."  ^ 

In  the  preceding  volume  I  have  given  an  account  of  the 
election  of  the  first  and  also  of  the  second  Council  of 
State.  As  the  time  drew  near  for  the  election  of  a  Council 
of  State  for  the  third  time— namely,  for  the  year  1651,  the 
third  year  of  the  new  Government  called  the  Common- 
wealth— an  opinion  manifested  itself  in  the  ParKament,that 
a  different  principle  should  be  adopted  from  that  on  which 
the  election  had  been  made  in  the  preceding  year,  when 
all  the  members  of  the  first  Council  of  State  were  re-elected 
except  three  and  two,  who  had  died,  so  that  only  five  new 
members  were  chosen.  Accordingly,  on  the  5th  of  Feb- 
ruary 165|,  the  Parliament  decided  that  the  Council  of 

•  Memoirs  of  Colonel  Hutchinson  ^  Cromwell  to  the  Speaker,  Leith, 

p.  356.  August  4,  1651. 


IGol.]         ELECTION   OF   THE   NEW  COUNCIL   OF  STATE.        147 

State  for  the  ensuing  year  should  consist  of  41  persons  as 
before,  but  that  only  21  of  those  who  were  now  of  the 
Council  should  be  aUowed  to  be  re-elected.^     An  inatten- 
tion to  this  important  fact  has  led  some  writers,  generally 
accurate   and  careful,  into  erroneous  conclusions.     Thus 
Mr.  Brodie  says,  in   reference  to  some  remarks  of  Mrs. 
Hutdrmgon  on  the  Council  of  State  about  the  time  of  the 
Battle  of  Worcester,  "  her  husband,  though  a  member  of 
the  Council,  appears  to  have  been  absent  onBmplojTuent."* 
The  fact,  however,  is  that  Colonel  Hutchinson  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Council  of  State  for  the  fii'st  two  years,  but  not 
afterwards.     Consequently,  he  was  not  a  member  at  the 
time  of  the  Battle  of  Worcester ;  and  this  explains  Mrs. 
Hutchinson's  expression,   "private   council."     With   her 
usual  exorbitant  self-assertion,  she  charges  everybody  but 
her  husband,  and  one  or  two  other  persons  whom  she  ho- 
noured with  her  approbation,  with  cowardice  and  folly ;  and 
attributes  all  the  vigour  and  energy  which  the  Council  of 
State  displayed  on  that  occasion,  to  the  magical  influence 
exercised  on  them  by  Colonel  Hutchinson  "  in  a  private 
council."     As  Mrs.  Hutchinson's  book  has  obtained  far 
greater   authority  on   this   important   period  of  English 
History  than  it  deserves— for  her  account  of  this  and  many 
other  matters  is  very  untrustworthy,  and  written  with  all 
the  conceit  of  knowledge  without  the  reality — I  will  tran- 
scribe here  what  she  says  on  this  point,  that  the  reader  may 
have  an  opportunity  of  comparing  it  with  the  record  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  Council  of  State,  preserved  in  their  own 
minutes : — 

"  The   army   being  small,   there   was   a   necessity   for 


165^ 


'  Commons'   Journals,  February  6,         »  History   of    the   British   Empire, 

vol.  iv.  p.  305,  note. 


L  2 


f 


/ 


i 


148 


COMMONAVExVLTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


\^Chap.  X 


r 


recruits ;  and  the  Council  of  State,  soliciting  all  the  Parlia- 
ment men  that  had  interest  to  improve  it  in  this  exigence 
of  time,  gave  Colonel  Hutchinson  a  commission  for  a  regi- 
ment of  horse.     He  immediately  got  up  three  troops,  well 
armed  and  mounted,  of  his  own  old  soldiers,  that  thirsted 
to  be  again  employed  under  him,  and  was  preparing  the 
rest  of  the  regiment  to  bring  them  up  himself;  when  he 
was  informed,  that  as  soon  as  his  troops  came  into  Scot- 
land, Cromwell  very  readily  received  them,  but  would  not 
let  them  march  together,  but  dispersed  them,  to  fiU  up  the 
regiments  of  those  who  were  more  his   creatures.     The 
Colonel,  hearing  this,  would  not  curry  him  any  more ;  but 
rather  employed  himself  in   securing,  as   much   as  was 
necessary,  his  own  county,  for  which  he  was  sent  down  by 
the  Council  of  State,  who  at  that  time  were  very  much 
surprised  at  hearing  that  the  King  of  Scots  was  passed  by 
Cromwell,  and  had  entered  with  a  great  army  into  England. 
Bradshaw  himself,  stout-hearted  as  he  was,  privately  could 
not  conceal  his  fear  ;  some  raged,  and  uttered  sad  discon- 
tents against  Cromwell,  and  suspicions  of  his  fidelity  ;  they 
all  conddered  that  Cromwell  was  behind,  of  whom  I  think 
they  scarce  had  any  account,  or  of  his  intention,  or  how 
this  error  came  about,  to  suffer  the  enemy  to  enter  here, 
where  there  was  no  army  to  encounter  him.     Both  the  city 
and  country  (by  the  angry  presbyters,  wavering  in  their 
constancy  to  them  and  the  liberties  they  had  purchased) 
were  all  amazed,  and  doubtful  of  their  own  and  the  Com- 
monwealth's safety.     Some  could  not  hide  very  pale  and 
unmanly  fears,  and  were  in  such  distraction  of  spirit  that 
it  much  disturbed   their  councils.     Colonel  Hutchinson, 
who  ever  had  most  vigour  and  cheerfulness  when  there 
was  most  danger,  encouraged  them,  as  they  were  one  day 
in  a  private  council  raging  and  crying  out  on  Cromwell's 


1651.]        COUKAGE   AND   PRUDENCE   OF  THE   COUNCIL.        I49 

miscarriages,  to  apply  themselves  to  councils  of  safety,  and 
not  to  lose  time  in  a^ccusing  others,  while  they  might  yet 
provide  to  save  the  endangered  realm,  or  at  least  to  fall 
nobly  in  defence  of  it,  and  not  to  yield  to  fear  and  despair. 
These  and  suchlike  things  being  urged,  they  at  length  re- 
collected themselves,  and  every  man  that  had  courage  and 
interest  in  their  counties  went  down  to  look  to  them."*      ^^ 
Upon  this  passage  the  Reverend  Julius  Hutchinson,  the 
editor  of  Colonel  Hutchinson's  Memoirs,  has  this  note— 
"  The  trepidation  of  the  Coimcil  of  State  is  well  described 
by  Whitelock."     ISTow,  so  far  is  "VVliitelock  from    saying 
anything  of  the  kind,  that  his  account— wi'itten  at  the  time, 
and  when  he  was  in  daily  conference  with  the  Council  of 
State,  of  which  he  was  a  leading  member — particularly  de- 
scribes the  courage,  as  well  as  the  diligence  and  prudence, 
exhibited  by  the  Council  of  State  in  this  trying  crisis. 
Under  date  August  19,  1651,  he  says  :  "The  Council  of 
State  dui'ing  this  action  [the  advance  of  the  Scots'  army] 
had  almost  hourly  messengers  going  out  and  returning 
from  the  several  forces,  carrying  advice  and  directions  to 
them,  and  bringing  to  the  Council  an  account  of  theii 
motions  and  designs,  and  of  the  enemy's  motions.     It  could 
hardly  be  that  any  affair  of  this  nature  could  be  manao-ed 
with  more  diligence,  courage,  and  prudence  than  this  was ; 
nor,  peradventure,  was  there  ever  so  great  a  body  of  men  so 


'  Memoirs  of  Colonel  Hutchinson, 
pp.  355,  356,  Bohn's  edition,  London, 
1854. — Colonel  Hutchinson,  of  whom 
we  seldom  hear  in  the  records  of  that 
time,  though  his  wife's  interesting 
Memoirs  have  made  his  name  well 
known,  might  be,  and  on  his  wife's 
showing  was,  a  very  respectable  country 
gentleman  ;  but  there  needs  some  cor- 
roborative evidence,  in  addition  to  his 
wife's  testimony,  to  prove  that  he  saved 


the  Commonwealth  on  this  occasion. 
From  the  terms  in  which  Mrs.  Hutch- 
inson speaks  of  Monk,  it  may  be  in- 
ferred that  Ludlow's  charge  against 
Colonel  Hutchinson,  of  co  operation 
with  Monk,  is  groundless.  The  reader 
has  seen,  in  a  preceding  page,  Alger- 
non Sydney's  opinion  of  Colonel 
Hutchinson — certainly  not  a  compli- 
mentary one. 


150 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


well  armed  and  provided  got  together  in  so  short  a  time  as 
were  now  raised,  and  sent  away  to  join  with  the  rest  of 
the  forces  attending  [i.  e.,  watching  the  movements  of]  the 
King."» 

Mr.  Brodie  says,  "  Ludlow  corroborates  Mrs.  Hutchin- 
son's account."^  As  far  as  I  can  see,  Ludlow  does  not 
corroborate  Mrs.  Hutchinson  in  the  least.  Ludlow  says : 
"  They  [the  Scots]  passed  the  Eiver  Tweed  ^  near  Carlisle, 
there  being  a  strong  garrison  in  Berwick  for  the  Parlia- 
ment, and  were  considerably  advanced  in  their  march 
before  our  army  in  Scotland  were  acquainted  with  their 
design.  Major-General  Harrison,  with  about  4,000  horse 
and  foot,  somewhat  obstructed  their  march,  though  he 
was  not  considerable  enough  to  fight  them ;  and  being 
joined  by  Major-General  Lambert,  with  a  j)arty  of  horse 
from  the  army,  they  observed  the  enemy  so  closely  as  to 
keep  them  from  excursions,  and  to  prevent  others  from 
joining  with  them.  The  Scots,  who  were  in  great  expec- 
tation of  assistance  from  Wales,  and  relied  much  upon 
Colonel  Massey's  interest  in  Gloucestershire,  advanced  that 
way.  Few  of  the  country  came  in  to  them ;  but,  on  the 
other  side,  so  affectionate  were  the  people  to  the  Common- 
wealth, that  they  brought  in  horse  and  foot  from  all  parts 
to  assist  the  Parliament,  insomuch  that  their  number  was 
by  many  thought  sufficient  to  have  beaten  the  enemy, 
without  the  assistance  of  the  army ;  some  even  of  the  ex- 
cluded members  appearing  in  arms,  and  leading  regiments 
against  the  common  enemy."'*  'Not  a  word  here  that 
seems  in  the  least  to  corroborate  the  aspersions  cast  by 

•  Whitelock,  pp.  502,  503,     August     was  evidently  not  extensive.   HowcA-er, 
10,  165L  the   Scots   did   pass   the   border   near 

*  History    of  the   British   Empire,     Carlisle. 

vol.  iv.  p.  305,  note.  *  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  i.pp.  362, 

"  Ludlow's  geographical  knowledge     363:  2nd  edition,  London,  1721. 


1651.]        ZEAL  OF  THE  PEOPLE  AGAINST  THE  ENEMY.  151 


Mrs.  Hutchinson  upon  the  Council  of  State,  of  which  her 
husband  was  not  then  a  member,  in  which  fact  may 
perhaps  be  discovered  the  cause  of  her  imputations  of 
cowardice.  Ludlow's  account  of  the  zeal  of  the  people  in 
all  parts  of  England  "  against  the  common  enemy" — for 
such  the  Stuarts  and  their  adherents  might  be  most  truly 
called  at  all  times,  in  1745  as  well  as  in  1645  and  1651 — 
is  fully  supported  by  Whitelock  as  well  as  by  the  MS. 
minutes  of  the  Council  of  State  ;  and  many  will  be  of  the 
opinion  stated  by  Ludlow,  that  the  forces  suddenly  raised 
and  got  together  by  the  Council  of  State,  particularly  with 
such  soldiers  as  Lambert  and  Harrison  to  lead  them, 
would  have  been  quite  sufficient  to  have  beaten  the  enemy, 
without  the  assistance  of  Cromwell  and  his  army. 

But  the  best  defence  of  the  Council  of  State  against  the 
aspersions  of  Mrs.  Hutchinson  is  afforded  by  their  own 
Order  Book.  The  fair-copy  of  the  minutes  of  the  Council 
of  State  for  this  particular  time  is  lost,  but,  happily,  the 
original  rough  drafts  have  been  preserved ;  and  the  hasty 
almost  illegible  writing,  the  interlineations,  marginal  jot- 
tings, and  memoranda,  present  what  may  be  not  untruly 
called  a  graphic  picture  of  the  rapid  and  energetic  action 
with  which  they  encountered  the  danger  that  threatened 
them — with  no  trace  of  the  "  very  pale  and  unmanly  fears  " 
which  Mrs.  Hutchinson  has  thought  fit  to  impute  to  them. 
There  is  not,  in  fact,  in  the  whole  of  this  graphic  record 
of  their  proceedings,  one  trace  of  ground  for  this  malicious 
imputation.' 


/ 


'  It  is  remarkable  how  fond  Mrs. 
Hutchinson  is  of  imputing  cowardice 
and  baseness.  iSome  of  her  imputa- 
tions of  this  sort  are  ludicrous — as,  for 
instance,  where  she  charges  the  Scots 
with   cowardice    for  killing    Colonel 


Thomhagh,  who  made  such  ppeed  to 
Bet  upon  a  troop  of  Scotch  lancers, 
that  he  was  somewhat  in  adviince  of 
his  regiment ;  and  the  lady  is  wroth 
because  the  Scots  did  not  wait,  and 
let  him  kill  a  few  of  them  before  his 


iMPihutMmM 


152 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


In  the  first  place,  there  are  some  circumstances  recorded  in 
the  MS.  minutes  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Council  of  State, 
which  are  at  variance  with  Mrs.  Hutchinson's  statement 
that  when  the  Scottish  army  entered  England,  there  was  no 
army  there  to  encounter  them.  On  the  12th  of  March  of 
this  year  we  find,  in  the  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
a  minute  respecting  the  "  discovery  from  Scotland  of  a  plot 
of  some  gentlemen  in  Cheshire  and  Lancashire."^  On  the 
1 5 til  of  March,  three  days  after,  the  Council  of  State  ordered, 
"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Lord-General  [Cromwell], 
to  take  notice  of  the  receipt  of  his  letter ;  to  let  him  know 
that  the  Council  look  upon  the  discovery  made  by  the  late 
letters  sent  from  his  Lordship  as  a  very  great  mercy,  and 
bless  God  for  it,  and  for  the  good  news  of  his  Lordship's 
recovery ;  to  desire  him  to  send  the  person  lately  appre- 
hended there,  to  this  town  in  a  ship  of  war ;  to  desire  his 


regiment  came  up.  And  then,  because 
the  Scots  naturally  defended  themselves 
when  they  could,  and  asked  quarter 
when  they  could  not,  this  just  and 
merciful  woman  thus  characterises  the 
l)arbarity  of  Thornhagh's  regiment — 
the  Scotch  lancers,  bo  it  repeated,  were 
only  a  troop :  "  Deaf  to  the  cries  of 
every  coward  that  asked  mercy,  they 
killed  all,  and  would  not  a  captive 
should  live  to  see  their  colonel  die  ;  but 
said  the  whole  kingdom  of  Scotland 
was  too  mean  a  sacrifice  for  that  brave 
man."  When  the  Battle  of  the  Metau- 
rus  was  lost,  Hasdrubal  spurred  his 
horse  into  the  midst  of  a  Roman  co- 
hort, and  there  fell  sword  in  hand — 
fighting,  says  Livy,  as  became  the  son 
of  Hamilcar  and  brother  of  Hannibal. 
But  who  talks  of  the  cowardice  of  the 
Boman  cohort  for  killing  him  ?  Though 
there  it  was  a  whole  cohort  against 
one  man,  who   possibly    might   have 


been  saved  (though  Mrs.  Hutchinson, 
as  the  wife  of  a  colonel,  and  not  an 
absolute  fool,  though  not  quite  so  wise 
as  she  imagined  herself  to  be,  ought  to 
have  known  that  in  the  heat  of  action 
such  a  thing  is  always  difficult  and 
often  impossible),  whereas  in  the  case 
of  Colonel  Thornhagh,  he  was  followed 
(if  at  a  little  distance)  by  his  regiment. 
Consequently,  how  could  it  prove 
cowardice,  in  a  troop  attacked  by  a 
regiment,  that  the  troop  killed  the 
colonel  of  the  regiment  instead  of 
saving  his  life,  when  they  only  killed 
him  as  being  the  first  man  of  his  regi- 
ment who  attacked  them  ? 

^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  March  12,  165^,  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. — On  the  same  day  there 
is  a  proclamation  to  "  all  officers  and 
soldiers  who  have  come  into  England, 
some  with  leave  and  some  without  leave, 
forthwith  to  repair  to  their  colours." 


1651.]    GREAT  EXERTIONS   OF   THE  COUNCIL   OF  STATE.      153 

Lordship  to  give  intelligence  to  this  Council  of  anything 
which  may  occur  to  his  Lordship  there,  which  may  relate 
to  the  public  peace,  and  the  Council  will  take  care  to  do 
the   like   to   him."^     In  consequerce   of  this   discovery, 
Major-General  Harrison  was,  on  the  19th  of  March,  sent 
down  to  the  northern  counties— Derby,  Nottingham,  Lan- 
caster, York ;  and  Sir  Arthur  Haselrig  was  desired,  with 
the  forces  and  garrisons  under  his  command  in  the  four 
northern  counties,  Northumberland,  Durham,  Westmore- 
land, and  Cumberland,  to  give  assistance  to  Major-General 
Harrison.2     On  Monday  the  24th  of  March,  an  order  is 
made  by  the  Council  of  State,  "  That  an  Adjutant- General 
be  allowed  to  Major-General  Harrison  for  his  expedition 
into  the  North,  and  that  he  be  allowed  the  pay  of  14s.  per 
diem  for  himself  and  two  men  ;  which  pay  is  to  be  satisfied 
unto  him  out  of  the  incidents  of  the  Council.''^     Qn  the 
7th  of  April  an  order  was  made  "for  raising  4,000  horse  and 
dragoons  for  the  safety  of  the  Commonwealth."     And  on 
the  same  day  "  a  petition  of  many  godly  and  well-affected 
persons  in  the  county  of  Norfolk,  concerning  the  associating 
of  honest  men  there  for  the  defence  of  the  public"— a  pe- 
tition which  shows  that  the  Government  was  by  no  means 
generally  unpopular  at  that  particular  time— was  referred 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Saturday,  March  15,  16of,  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 

2  Ibid.  March  19,  165f. 

'  Ibid.  March  24,  165f.— On  the 
same  day  there  is  a  minute  of  the 
Council  of  State,  which  still  further 
confirms  what  I  have  before  said  as  to 
the  erroneous  statement  of  Eoger  Coke, 
that  the  Parliament  never  pressed 
*•  either  soldiers  or  seamen  in  all  these 
wars." — Detection  of  the  Court  and 
State  of  England,  vol.  ii.  p.  30.  The 
following  is  the  minute  of  the  Council 


of  State  :— "  That  it  be  reported  to  the 
Parliament  that  the  Council  find  great 
difficulty  to  get  recruits  for  Ireland,  of 
which  the  regiments  there  have  great 
need.  And  therefore  oflTer  it  to  the 
consideration  of  the  Parliament,  that 
2,500  recruits  may  be  raised  by  way 
of  press  within  the  county  of  Cornwall, 
from  whence  the  Council  conceive  they 
may  be  sent  much  cheaper  and  more 
conveniently  than  from  other  places." 
— Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
March  24,  l65f,  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 


154 


COMIVIONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


I 


to  a  committee,  "  wlio  are  to  speak  with  the  gentlemen  that 
attend  that  business,  and  give  them  thanks  for  their  good 
affection,  and  consider  with  them  what  use  may  be  made 
of  what  they  offer,  and  report  the  same  to  the  Council.'" 
On  the  following  day  an  order  was  made,  "  That  a  letter  be 
written  to  the  Lord- General,  signifying  the  present  state  of 
those  forces  in  Lancashire,  and  the  danger  that  tlireatens 
the  Commonwealth  in  the  parts  adjacent ;  and  to  desire 
his  Excellency  to  order  his  intended  expedition  upon  the 
enemy,  so  that  he  may  be  able  to  attend  their  attempts  for 
the  invasion  of  this  Commonwealth."^  On  the  24th  of  April 
it  was  ordered,  "  That  the  report  concerning  the  business 
of  the  gentlemen  who  were  secured  in  Cheshire  upon  the 
discovery  of  the  conspiracy  be  made  to-morrow  in  the 
afternoon."^  And  we  find,  by  the  minutes  of  the  9th  of 
May,  that  the  Council  of  State  were  making  great  ex- 
ertions to  send  troops  to'  Major-General  Harrison  in 
the  North — six  troops  of  horse  of  100  each,  and  "  100 
dragoons  of  Captain  Okey's  troop  of  dragoons,"  in  all  700* 
men  despatched :  and  it  was  ordered,  "  That  a  troop  of 
dragoons  be  sent  to  attend  the  demolishing  of  Nottingham 
Castle,  and  the  two  companies  of  foot  now  there  are  to  march 
to  Major-General  Harrison."  ^  On  the  30th  of  May  a  letter 
from  Major-General  Harrison  from  Lancaster,  of  May  27, 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  of  Irish  and  Scottish  Affairs.^ 
It  appears,  then,  that  the  forces  drawn  northwards  under 


*  Order  Book  of  tlie  Council  of 
State,  April  7,  1651,  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

«  Ibid.  April  8,  1651. 
»  7A/W.  April  24,  1651. 

*  This  further  shows  the  numerical 
proportion  of  dragoons  to  horse,  already 
stated,  namely,  about  one  to  six. — See 
Vol.  I.  p.  44. 

*  Order   Book   of    the    Council   of 


State,  May  9,  1651,  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. — The  following  order  of  the 
13th  of  the  same  month  has  re- 
ference to  what  was  needed  at  that 
critical  time — secret  service:  "That 
£100  be  paid  by  Mr.  Frost  unto 
Captain  Bishop,  to  be  by  him  paid  unto 
a  certain  man  for  a  special  service." — 
Ibid.  May  13,  1651. 
«  Ibid.  May  30,  1651. 


li 


1651.]  INVASION   OF  ENGLAND   BY   THE   SCOTS. 

Major-General  Harrison  were  intended  not  only  tcf^uppress 
the  intended  insurrection  in  Cheshire  and  Lancashire,  but 
to  resist  any  invasion  of  England  by  the  army  of  the  Kino- 
of  Scots ;  and  that  therefore  the  Council  of  State  was  by 
no  means  taken  by  surprise,  and  altogether  unprepared,  by 
the  invasion  that  ended  in  the  Battle  of  Worcester.* 

When  Cromwell  wrote  to  the  Speaker  on  the  4th  of 
August,  the  army  of  the  King  of  Scots  had  not  entered 
England.  On  the  6th  of  August  the  Scots'  army  marched 
into  England  over  the  border  about  three  miles  from  Car- 
lisle ;  and  on  the  same  day  Cromwell,  with  about  1 0,000 
horse  and  foot,  and  a  light  train,  that  he  might  move 
the  swifter,  marched  from  Leith,  having  despatched  Major- 
General  Lambert  the  day  before  (the  5th  of  August), 
with  about  3,000  horse  and  dragoons. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  9th  of  August,  the  Council  of 
State  received  by  an  exr)ress  a  letter  from  Mr.  Georo-e 
Downing,  dated  from  Newcastle  on  the  7th,  containing 
the  news  that  the  King  of  Scots,  with  what  forces  were 
left  with  him,  to  the  number  of  14,000  men,  had  in- 
vaded England,  and  was  advancing  southward  by  rapid 
marches;  part  of  the  Parliament's  forces,  consistino- 
of  the  cavalry  under  Major-General  Lambert,  being 
in  his  van,  and  the  Lord-General  Cromwell  with  the  rest 
following  in  his  rear.  The  House  being  adjourned  for 
four  days,  the  Council  of  State  thought  this  intelligence 
so  important  that  they  met  the  next  moming,^  the  10th, 
though  a  Sunday,  and  passed  the  following  orders : 

»  See  further  evidence  of  this  in  the  E.  W.  Blencowe:  London,  1825. 

Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  «  Tliis  meeting  is  headed  "Sunday, 

March    26,    1651,   MS.    State    Paper  Ai:guHt  10,  1651 ."— Order  Book  of  t/ie 

Office.  Coimcil  of  State,   MS.   State    Paper 

*  Lord  Leicester's  Journal,  pp.  110,  Office. 
Ill,    in   Sydney    Papers,    edited   by 


156 


COMMONW^EALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


li 


"  To  write  a  letter  to  the  Lord  Grey  to  come  forthwith 
to  town ;  to  give  him  notice  of  the  Scottish  march." 

"  That  the  letter  now  read  be  sent  to  the  Lord  Mayor, 
with  a  copy  of  the  letter  from  Scont-master-General 
Downing,  to  be  published  at  Paul's  "  [the  next  two  words  I 
cannot  decypher,  but  I  think  they  are  "  this  forenoon ;  " 
"  this  fore—"  is  legible]. 

On  the  afternoon^  of  the  same  day,  the  Council  of  State 
again  met,  and  made  the  following  orders : — 

"  That  a  warrant  be  sent  to  the  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower, 
that  the  prisoners  in  the  Tower  are  to  be  kept  close  pri- 
soners till  further  order." 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  General  Blake,  to  desire  him 
to  take  care  of  the  West,  in  the  absence  of  Major-General 
Desborowe ;  and  to  send  two  ships  of  those  with  him 
toward  the  Isle  of  Man  and  those  parts,  to  prevent  the 
landing  of  any  forces  from  the  Isle  of  Man." 

"That  letters  be  written  to  the  several  militias  forthwith, 
to  bring  the  forces  of  their  counties  together,  without  any 
delay,  to  some  place  where  they  are  to  be  ready  to  execute 
such  orders  as  shall  be  sent  them  from  the  Parliament, 
this  Council,  or  Lieutenant- General  Fleetwood." 

"  That  letters  be  written  to  all  the  militias  in  the  way 
toward  Staffordshire,  to  get  together  all  their  forces,  and 
furnish  them  with  a  fortnight's  pay,  and  have  them  ready 
to  receive  the  orders  of  the  Parliament,  this  Council,  Lieu- 
tenant-General  Fleetwood,  or  Major-General  Harrison." 

"  To  write  to  Major-General  Harrison,  to  give  him  an 
account  of  what  posture  things  are  put  into  in  respect  of 
forces  in  these  parts ;  and  that  he  goes  on  to  raise  the 


•  The  heading  of  the  afternoon's  day." — Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
meeting  is,  instead  of  the  old  form  "  a  State,  Sunday,  August  10,  1651,  MS. 
meridie,"  "  the  afternoon  of  the  same     State  Paper  Office. 


/ 


1651.]    THE  BROAD  PLACE  AT   WHITEHALL   ON  AUG.  10. 


honest  men  he  speaks  on,  and  that  the  Council  will  liiove 
the  Parliament  for  pay  for  them."* 

Now,  as  the  express  from  Scout-master-General  Down- 
ing only  arrived  on  Saturday  afternoon,  and  by  Sunday 
afternoon — that  is,  in  the  course  of  twenty-four  hours — all 
these  energetic  proceedings  were  taken  by  the  Council  of 
State ;  couriers,  mounted  on  the  fleetest  horses,  despatched 
with  letters  to  Lord  Grey,  to  General  Blake,  to  Major- 
General  Harrison,  and  to  all  the  militias  of  the  several 
counties;    and    such    expedition   used    that    satisfactory 
answers  to  their  letters  were  received  by  Tuesday  the  12th 
of  August — that  is  in  forty-eight  hours,  as  appears  by  the 
Council's  report  to  the  Parliament,  to  be  quoted  presently 
— it  will  be  observed  that  Mrs.  Hutchinson's  assertions 
respecting  the  Council  of  State's  having  been  paralysed 
by  fear  to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  incapable  of  efficient 
action,    till,    "one    day   in    a    private    council.     Colonel 
Hutchinson   encouraged   them"    (she   does    not   say  the 
evening  of  Saturday,  the  9th  of  August,  the  only  portion 
of  time  between  the  receipt  of  the  news  of  the  Scottish 
invasion  and  their  energetic  action  to  resist  it  when  what 
she  asserts  was  possible)  are  to  the  last  degree  improbable, 
not  to  use  a  stronger  word.     Li  fact,  Mrs.  Hutchinson's 
words,  according  to  their  most  obvious  construction,  imply 
that  Colonel  Hutchinson  was  in  Nottinghamshire  at  the  time 
the  express  from  Downing  reached  the  Council  of  State. 

On  that  Sunday,  the  10th  of  August  1651,  "the  broad 
place  at  Whitehall "  (it  is  in  these  words  that  the  iiynutes 
of  the  'Council  describe  the  space  in  front  of  Whitehall) 
presented  an  extraordinary  spectacle.  The  ordinary  staff 
consisted  of  twelve^  mounted  messengers,  who  waited  the 

*  Order  Book   of   the    Council   of    State  Paper  Office. 
State,    Sunday,  August  10,  1651,  MS.         ^  a  That     the     twelve    messengers 


y 


158 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


orders  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Council  of  State  in  "  the  broad 
place  at  Whitehall,"  which,  though  we  pass  that  spot  now 
without  emotion,  possessed  at  that  time  a  strange  and 
terrible  interest,  associated  with  that  transaction  which, 
even  Hume  admits,  "  corresponded  to  the  greatest  concep- 
tion that  is  suggested  in  the  annals  of  human  kind — the 
delegates  of  a  great  people  sitting  in  judgment  upon 
their  supreme  magistrate,  and  trying  him  for  his  misgov- 
ernment  and  breach  of  trust."  ^  But  on  this  memorable 
Sunday,  the  10th  of  August,  1651,  a  large  addition  was 
necessarily  made  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Council  to  his 
staff  of  mounted  messengers.  And  one  by  one,  as  they 
received  their  despatches,  courier  after  courier  set  spurs  to 
his  fleet  horse,  and  galloped  off  from  the  door  of  the 
Council  Chamber.  In  this  case  the  couriers  must  have  been 
far  more  numerous,  as  their  business  was  far  more  momen- 
tous, than  Sir  Walter  Scott's 

Ten  squires,  ten  yeomen,  mail-clad  men 
Waited  the  beck  of  the  warders  ten. 


who 


But  the  speed  with  which  the  Council's  couriers  galloped 
off  from  the  front  of  Whitehall,  in  various  directions,  may 
recall  the  scene  so  graphically  described  in  the  "Lay  of  the 
Last  Minstrel :" — 

And  out !  and  out ! 

In  hasty  route, 
The  horsemen  gallop'd  forth ; 
Dispersing  to  the  south  to  scout, 
And  east,  and  west,  and  north. 


hitherto  attending  the  Council  be  enter- 
tained still  in  the  service  of  the  Council, 
to  be  at  the  direction  of  the  Secretary. 
And  shall  have  5s.  per  diem  [each]  for 
their  salary,  and  6d.  per  mile  for  riding, 
in  the  same  manner  they  formerly  had 
at  Derby  House."    "That  Mr.  Frost 


shall  entertain  one  servant  to  keep  the 
office  and  to  be  at  his  command  to  call 
messengers,  &c.,  and  that  he  shall  have 
2s.  per  diem  for  his  salary." — Order 
Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  June 
5,  1649,  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 
'  Hume's  Hist,  of  England,  chap.  lix. 


1G51.]  EXEETIONS   OF   THE   COUNCIL  OF  STATE. 


159 


On  Monday  the  11th  of  August,  the  Council  of  State 
ordered : — 

"That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Lord  Mayor  of 
London,  to  desire  him  that  a  Common  Council  may  be 
warned  to  meet  this  afternoon,  at  2  of  the  clock,  to  be  in 
readiness  to  receive  some  members  of  this  Council,  in 
order  to  communicate  something  unto  them  in  order  to 
public  safety." 

"That  Mr.  Bond,  Mr.  Chaloner,  Mr.  Barley,  Colonel 
Purefoy,  Lord-Commissioner  Whitelock,  Lord  Grey,  Colonel 
Fielder,  Lieutenant- General  Fleetwood,  Mr.  Goodwyn, 
Mr.  Scot,  Mr.  Carew,  or  any  three  of  them,  be  appointed  a 
Committee,  to  consider  of  what  is  fit  to  be  done  at  this 
time  for  the  safety  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  to  report 
their  opinion  to  the  Council  from  time  to  time,  as  they  shaU 
think  fit." 

Another  Committee  is  appointed  "  to  go  to  the  Common 
Council  of  London  at  4  p.  m.  this  day,  to  inform  them  of 
the  invasion  of  this  land  by  the  King  of  Scots,  the  time  and 
manner  thereof;  and  also  of  the  posture  of  the  forces  of  this 
Commonwealth  both  in  Scotland  and  England,  as  to  preven- 
tion of  the  danger  to  the  Commonwealth  thereby ;  and  to 
move  the  City  to  do  their  best  for  raising  some  considerable 
forces  for  the  defence  of  the  Parliament  and  City,  in  ease  the 
enemy  should  pass  our  forces.  And  that  they  also  take  care 
for  the  quiet  of  the  City  within  itself,  and  to  prevent  any 
assistance  to  be  sent  to,  or  any  correspondence  to  be  held 
with,  the  Scots'  King,  or  any  of  his  party." 

"  That  the  Lord  Grey  be  desired  to  repair  into  Leices- 
tershire, to  do  there  what  shall  occur  to  him  to  be  for  the 
prevention  of  the  Scots'  army  in  their  march." 

"  That  a  warrant  be  forthwith  issued,  to  stay  the  1,500 


IGO 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


backs,  breasts,  and  pots^  that  are  now  shipped  to  go  to  Scot- 
land, and  that  they  be  brought  back  to  the  Tower  till 
further  order." 

At  the  afternoon  meeting  of  the  Council  of  State,  the 
Council  made  two  orders,  relating  to  a  subject  not  connected 
with  the  invasion  of  the  Scots ;  which  circumstance  is  of 
itself  suJSicient  proof  that,  so  far  from  the  Council's  being 
in  that  state  of  trepidation  alleged  by  Mrs.  Hutchinson, 
they  not  only  took  all  the  requisite  steps  for  resisting  the 
invasion,  but  attended  also  to  ordinary  business.  The  two 
orders  referred  to  are  as  follows  :  — 

"  That  a  declaration  be  published,  that  all  those  that 
come  to  drink  the  waters  at  Lewisham  in  Kent  do  behave 
themselves  peaceably,  without  tumult." 

"That  Lieutenant- General  [Fleetwood]  be  desired  to 
send  a  fit  party  of  horse,  to  prevent  tumults  and  miscar- 
riages at  the  waters  at  Lewisham." 

Then  comes  the  following  order : — "  That  Mr.  Rush- 
worth  ^  and  Captain  Bishop  maintain  intelligence  between 
the  Council  and  the  armies  "  [namely,  1,  the  army  under 
Cromwell :  2,  that  under  Lambert :  3,  that  under  Har- 
rison] ;  "  and  that  the  sum  of  £200  be  paid  to  Captain 
Bishop  by  Mr.  Frost,  out  of  the  monies  in  his  hands  for 
the  use  of  the  Council."^ 

On  the  following  day,  Tuesday  the  12th  of  August,  the 
House  passed  three  Acts  for  the  support  of  the  Common- 
wealth against  the  present  danger — namely :   1.  An  Act 


'  "Backs  "  are  the  back-pieces  of  the 
defensive  armour ;  "  breasts  "  are  the 
front  pieces,  i.e.  the  cuirasses  or  cors- 
lets ;  "  pots  "  are  helmets. 

■■*  John  Rushworth,  the  great  histo- 
rical collector,  who  appears  from  this 
minute  to  have  by  this  time  returned  to 


London,  having  been  secretary  to 
Cromwell  at  the  time  of  the  Battle  of 
Dunbar,  at  which  he  was  present. 

^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
Monday,  August  11,  1651,  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 


1651.  EXERTIONS   OF  THE   COUNCIL   OF  STATE.  iQi 

empowering  the  Commissioners  of  the  Militia  to  raise  forces 
and  money;  and  for  reviving  aU  commissions  formerly 
granted  by  Ordinance  of  Parliament,  or  the  Council  of 
State,  to  any  Colonels  and  other  officers.  — 2.  An  Act 
containing  instructions  to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Militia. 
—3.  An  Act  for  declaring  it  High  Treason  to  hold  any 
correspondence  with  the  King  of  Scots. 

On  the  same  day,  Tuesday  the  12th  of  August,  the 
Council  of  State  made  the  following  orders  :— 

"  That  a  letter  be  ^vritten  to  the  Lord  Fairfax,  to  desire 
his  Lordship  to  use  his  best  endeavours  for  the  raising  of 
forces  in  Yorkshire." 

"  That  the  1,000  backs  and  breasts,  the  1,500  pots,  the 
1,000  longi  pikes,  the  1,000  snaphance  [flintlock] 
muskets,  the  500  matchlock  muskets,  which  were  shipped 
on  board  the  Thomas  of  London,  Jonathan  Gibbs,  master, 
be  returned  back  into  the  Tower." 

"  That  it  be  reported  to  the  Parliament,  that  the  Council 
of  State,  taking  into  consideration  the  present  state  of 
affairs  upon  occasion  of  the  Scottish  army  marching  into 
England,  and  finding  that  their  march  is  not  upon  confi- 
dence, with  which,  when  it  was  whole  and  unbroken,  they 
could  not  be  provoked  to  give  battle  to  our  army,  or  come 
out  of  their  straights  to  save  their  own  country,  which  they 
saw  broken  in  one  paii:  after  another ;  despairing  of  their 
own  country,  which  they  have  deserted  as  lost,  they  are 
marched  into  England  with  their  last  hope,  that  from  their 
own  party  of  the  traitors  to  this  Commonwealth,  there  wiU 
be  a  great  conflux  unto  them  for  their  recruits  and  assist- 
ance, in  which,  if  they  should  be  disappointed,  they  will 
soon  come  to  nothing,  though  they  should  have  but  weak 


•  This  «i^ows  that  the  pikes  were  of  various  lengths. 
VOL.  II.  M 


162 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


opposition.  And  although,  the  Council  find  also,  that  by 
the  great  diligence  and  care  of  the  Lord-General  and  his 
officers,  the  forces  of  the  nation  are  disposed  so  as  they 
conceive  they  will  not  be  able  to  advance  far  before  our 
forces  will  be  with  them,  and  that  there  will  be  (through 
God's  goodness)  a  speedy  and  thorough  end  of  the  work ; 
yet  they  have  thought  fit,  for  the  better  x>revention  of  any 
such  resort  and  recruit  to  them,  and  also  for  the  better 
preserving  the  peace  of  these  pai4;s,  humbly  to  offer  the 
ensuing  particulars  to  the  consideration  of  the  Parliament, 
if  they  shall  so  judge  fit,  viz. : — 

"  1.  AU  persons  joining  or  giving  any  aid  whatever  to 
the  Scottish  army  shall  be  tried  by  the  Council  of  War, 
and  upon  due  proof  of  the  fact  shall  suffer  death  and  for- 
feit, as  in  case  of  treason,  and  be  executed  accordingly. 

"2.  One-third  part  of  the  estate  of  offenders  to  all  who 
shall  discover  them."^ 

The  rest  of  the  articles  relate  to  disarming  suspected 
persons,  and  police  regulations.  The  Lord  Mayor  and  the 
rest  of  the  Committee  of  the  Militia  of  the  City,  and  also 
the  Commissioners  of  the  Militia  of  Westminster,  the 
Hamlets,  and  Southward,  are  to  sit  daily. 

On  the  same  day  a  letter  is  ordered  to  be  written  to  the 
commander  of  the  2,000  foot  at  Weymouth,  to  march  them 
with  all  expedition  to  Eeading.  A  warrant  is  ordered  to  be 
prepared,  to  be  sent  to  the  several  Postmasters  in  London 
and  elsewhere  upon  the  roads,  to  require  them  to  keerp  a 
certain  number  of  horses  constantly  in  the  house,  to  bo 
ready  upon  all  occasions.  Letters  are  ordered  to  be  written 
to  the  militias,  to  apply  some  horses  towards  the  post-roads  ; 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  Tuesday,  August  12,  1651,  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 


1651.]  EXERTIONS  OF  THE  COUNCIL  OF  STATE. 


163 


and  also  to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Militias  of  the 
several  counties,  "  to  enclose  the  Act  against  correspon- 
dence with  Charles  Stuart  (which  was,  as  we  have  seen, 
passed  that  day — and  this  circumstance  shows  the  ra- 
pidity with  which  the  Council  acted) ;  and  that  they  take 
care  to  deliver  it  to  the  Sheriffs,  who  are  to  cause  the 
same  to  be  proclaimed  forthwith  in  every  market  town, 
and  at  their  County  Courts,  and  that  it  be  also  sent  to 
every  parish."  ^ 

On  the  same  day  a  report  is  ordered  to  be  made  to  the 
Parliament  of  the  various  proceedings  they  have  taken 
upon  the  first  notice  received  of  the  Scottish  army  marching 
towards  England. 

The  Council  of  State  on  the  same  day  also  made  the  fol- 
lowing orders  : — 

"  That  six  blank  horse-commissions  be  prepared,  to  be 
given  to  the  Lord  Grey,^  for  the  raising  of  voluntarie 
[volunteer]  horse  in  the  counties  of  JS'orthampton,  Leices- 
ter, and  Eutland." 

''  That  the  Lord  Grey  have  a  commission  to  command 
the  forces  of  Leicester,  JSTorthampton,  and  Eutland,  and  to 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Tuesday,  August  12,  1651,  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 

2  The  Lord  Grey  of  Groby.  The 
Lord  Grey  of  Werke,  who  had  been  a 
member  of  the  Council  of  State  in  the 
two  former  years,  was  not  re-elected  in 
February  1651.  Henry  Grey,  second 
Baron  Grey  of  Groby,  was  created 
Earl  of  Stamford  in  1628.  The  person 
here  mentioned  as  Lord  Grey  of  Gro- 
by was  Thomas  Grey,  the  eldest  son 
of  the  Henry  Grey  above  mentioned  ; 
and  as  he  died  during  the  life  of  his 
father,  he  never  became  either  Earl  of 


Stamford  or  Baron  Grey  of  Grol)y; 
but  liis  son,  Thomas  Grey,  succeeded 
liis  grandfather,  in  1673,  as  second 
Earl  of  Stamford  and  lliird  Baron 
Grey  of  Groby.  The  Lord  Grey  of 
Werke  had  been  Sir  AVilliam  Grev. 
one  of  King  James's  baronets,  and 
was  created  Baron  Grey  of  Werke  in 
1624.  Though  the  name  of  Grey,  as  a 
baronial  name,  is  nearly  as  okl  in 
England  as  that  of  Plantagenet,  these 
peerages  of  Groby  and  Werke  were, 
it  will  be  observed,  only  Stuart  peer- 
ages, the  least  honourable  ''n  the 
English  annals. 


M  2 


1G4 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


receive  his  orders  from  the  Parliament,  the  Council,  and 
the  Lord-General." 

"  That  ^200  be  paid  unto  the  Lord  Grey,  for  his  inci- 
dent charges  in  his  journey  and  expedition  which  he  is 
now  sent  upon."  ^ 

On  Wednesday  the  13th  of  August  the  Council  of  State 
continued  their  labours,  as  the  following  orders  show : — 

"  That  Barnet  be  appointed  for  the  place  of  rendezvous 
for  the  forces  which  are  to  be  gathered  together  in  these 
parts,  and  Tuesday  next  is  to  be  the  day  when  the  forces 
are  to  rendezvous." 

"  That  the  Commissioners  of  the  Militia  of  Leicester, 
Eutland,  and  Northampton  do  draw  the  forces  of  their 
respective  counties  to  several  rendezvous,  and  send  a 
month's  pay  with  them,  who  are  to  receive  orders  from  the 
Lord  Grey." 

"  That  the  Lord  Grey  shall  have  power  to  list  what 
volunteer  horse  will  offer  themselves,  and  to  assure  them 
pay,  from  the  time  they  are  in  actual  service,  for  so  long 
as  they  continue  in  service."^ 

The  free  constitutional  spirit  of  the  Council  of  State — a 
spirit  in  strict  accordance  with  the  ancient  English  prin- 
ciples of  constitutional  liberty,  self-government,  and  self- 
defence — is  strongly  marked,  even  at  this  critical  time,  by 
the  following  directions  to  Lord  Grey,  to  receive  advice 
from  the  County  Militia  Commissioners  ;  and  is  in  mani- 
fest contrast  with  the  more  centralised  but  not  more  effi- 
cient action  of  the  Government,  when  Cromwell  concen- 
trated the  sovereignty  in  his  single  person  : — 

"That   whereas  there   was  yesterday  an    order    made 
for   the    giving  unto   the    Lord  Grey   six    blank   horse- 

'  Order  Book   of    the    Council   of    Paper  Office. 
State,    August    12,    1651,    MS.    State         *  j^^j^  August  13,  1651. 


1651.]  EXERTIONS   OE  THE   COUNCIL   OF  STATE. 


165 


commissions,  for  the  raising  of  so  many  voluntary  troops 
for  the  defence  of  those  parts,  the  Council  doth  now 
declare  that  their  intention  is  that  the  officers  of  the  said 
troops,  as  also  the  soldiers,  are  to  be  ajDpointed  and 
enlisted  by  the  Lord  Grey  wiih  the  approhation  of  the  Com- 
missioners of  the  Militia  for  that  county  in  which  any  of 
the  said  troops  shall  he  raised,^'  ^ 

On  Thursday,  14th  August  1651,  the  Council  thus 
continued  their  labours  : — 

"  That  1,000  dragoons  be  mounted  to  go  towards  the 
army." 

"That  the  Commissioners  of  the  Militia  of  London, 
Westminster,  Hamlets,  and  Southwark  do  make  a  return 
to  the  Council,  by  3  p.m.,  what  horses  they  have  of  those 
which  they  have  seized  that  are  fit  for  dragoons,  except 
those  that  are  already  listed  in  troops  for  the  service  of 
the  Parliament." 

"  That  it  may  be  reported  to  the  Parliament,  that  Mr. 
John  Claypoole  [sic]  may  be  authorised  to  raise  a  troop  of 
horse,  such  as  shall  come  volimtarily  ^  unto  him,  in  the 
counties  of  Northampton  and  Lincoln,  or  elsewhere ;  and 
that  they  may  be  paid  according  to  the  establishment  of 
the  army."  ^ 

On  Friday  morning,  15th  August  1651,  the  Council 
ordered : — "  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Commissioners 
of  the  Militia  of  Salop,  to  quicken  them,  and  take  notice  of 
their  slow  proceeding,  and  to  [desire  them  to]  certify  who 

»  Order    Book   of  the   Council    of  and  which   the    English   Council   of 

State,    Wednesday,  August  13,  1651,  State  was  even  now  exerting  itself  to 

MS.  State  Paper  Office.  keep  out  of  England. 

2  Another  example  of  the  English  '  Order   Book   of    the   Council    of 

voluntary  principle,  in  marked  contrast  State,  Thursday,  August  14,  1651,  MS. 

to  that  of  the  centralised  despotisms  State  Paper  Office, 
already  widely   spread   over    Europe, 


166 


COMMONWEALTH   OF    ENGLAND. 


Chap.  X. 


of  the  Commissioners  do  not  appear  and  act  vigorously  in 
this  time." 

"  That  answers  be  given  to  the  letters  from  Staffordshire, 
Cheshire,  Lancashire,  to  approve  their  diligence,  to  desire 
them  to  proceed  with  the  greatest  vigour  to  break  bridges 
and  stop  passes,  and  receive  orders  from  Major-General 
Harrison." 

"  That  it  be  reported  to  the  Parliament,  that  it  is  the 
humble  opinion  of  this  Council  that  the  regiment  of 
Colonel  Gibbons  may  be  forthwith  mounted  and  sent  toward 
the  army ;  and  that  for  that  purpose  the  Parliament  will  give 
power  to  the  Council,  out  of  the  horses  now  seized  about 
London  and  the  parts  adjacent,  or  otherwise,  to  take  up 
horses  to  mount  the  said  regiments;  and  that  the  said 
horses  be  prized  with  the  names  of  the  proprietors  of  them, 
listed,  and  tickets  given  to  them  for  payment  of  them,  if 
any  of  them  shall  be  lost  or  spoiled,  if  the  Parliament  shall 
so  think  fit." ' 

Friday  afternoon,  15th  August,  1651. — "  That  the  propo- 
sition of  Sir  Michael  Livesey,  for  the  raising  of  a  regiment 
of  horse  and  a  regiment  of  foot  volunteers  in  the  county  of 
Kent,  be  accepted  of,  and  he  desired  to  repair  into  the 
country  to  press  the  same  into  execution. 

"  That  the  Parliament  be  moved  that  the  regiment  of 
Colonel  Gibbons  may  be  paid  as  so  many  dragoons,  for  so 
long  time  as  they  shall  be  continued  to  serve  in  that  con- 
dition." 2 

Saturday,  I6th  August,  1651. — "  That  a  letter  be  written 
to  the  Commissioners  of  Kent,  to  let  them  know  the  Coun- 
cil expects  that  they  should  send  up  their  two  troops  of 

'  Order   Book    of  the   Council    of        *  j^^^  Eriday  afternoon,  August  15, 
State,    Friday  morning,    August    15,     1651. 
165L  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


1651.]  EXERTIONS   OF  THE   COUNCIL  OF  STATE. 


167 


horse  to  the  rendezvous  on  Tuesday  next ;  and  that  they 
should  proceed  to  the  raising  of  their  regiments  of  foot  in 
full  numbers."  ^ 

Monday  morning,  ISth  August,  1651.— "That  a  short  let- 
ter be  prepared,  to  be  sent  to  the  several  militias  of  this 
nation,  to  give  them  a  brief  account  of  the  state  of  the 
armies." 

"  That  the  letter  from  Colonel  Blake  of  the  loth  inst. 
be  referred  to  the  Committee  of  the  Admiralty."  2 

Monday  afternoon,  18th  August,  1651.—"  That  a  letter  be 
wi-itten  to  the  Lord  Grey,  to  be  by  him  communicated  to 
the  Commissioners  of  the  Militia  for  Northampton,  Leices- 
ter, and  Rutland,  to  desire  his  Lordship  to  cause  the  whole 
forces  of  Northampton,  Leicester,  and  Eutland  to  march  to 
Daventree,  the  23rd  of  August." 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Commissioners  of  Militia 
for  the  counties  of  Leicester,  Eutland,  Lincoln,  Northamp- 
ton, Warwick,  Oxford,  Bedford,  Huntincrdon,  Buckino-ham 
and  Worcester,  to  draw  what  forces  they  can  possibly  to- 
gether, and  to  send  them  to  Daventree  on  Saturday  the  23rd 
of  August,  to  a  rendezvous ;  to  desire  them  to  put  a  week's 
pay  into  the  pockets  of  the  private  soldiers,  and  to  send 
the  other  three  weeks'  [pay]  to  the  field-officers,  or,  in  de- 
fect of  them,  to  the  captains  of  companies  ;  and  they  are 
to  take  care  that  none  be  armed  who  have  been  in  arms 
against  the  Parliament." 

"  That    Lieutenant-General    Fleetwood    be    appointed 
Commander-in-Chief  of  all   the    forces   which    are    now 

>  Order  Book    of    the    Council    of  Council  at  that   time,    but  only  that 

Stat<^,    Saturday,     August     16,     1651,  part  of  it  which  appears  of  the  great- 

MS.  State  Paper  Office. — It  may   be  est  historical  interest, 

proper   to    state,    that    the    minutes  ^  /6tf^.  Monday  morning,  August  1 8, 

here  extracted  by  no  means  represent  1651. 
all   the   business   transacted    by    the 


168 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X 


appointed  to   rendezvous  at  Barnet,  Daventiee,  -end  St. 
Albans."  ^ 

Admiring  as  I  do  the  great  political  ability,  as  well  as 
the  spotless  integrity,  of  Sir  Henry  Yane,  I  might  be  dis- 
posed, if  I  were  writing  in  the  spirit  of  an  advocate,  to  keep 
back  the  minute  which  follows.  But,  as  I  have  said  before, 
I  am  anxious  to  ascertain  the  truth,  if  possible,  whatever 
it  may  be  : — 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  Sir  H.  Vane,  to  let  him 
know  that,  in  the  present  state  of  affairs,  the  Council  are  of 
opinion  that  his  presence  is  necessary  here  ;  to  desire  him, 
therefore,  to  repair  up  hither  with  all  convenient  speed."  ^ 

It  appears,  by  the  subsequent  proceedings  of  the  Council 
in  which  Yane's  name  appears,  that  he  obeyed  this  sum- 
mons. But  why  did  he  not  come  up  sooner  ?  It  is  impos- 
sible that  he  should  not  have  heard  of  the  Scottish  invasion. 
I  can  see  no  solution  of  the  question  but  the  acceptance  of 
the  authority  of  some  of  Yane's  cotemporaries  on  this  point 
of  Yane's  character — that  he  was  naturally  a  timid  man, 
and  that  he  was  at  this  critical  time  keeping  out  of  the 
way,  though  the  courage  he  displayed  at  his  trial  and  exe- 
cution seemed  to  be  at  variance  with  that  character.  It  is, 
moreover,  due  to  Yane's  memory — which  was  assailed  by 
the  malignity  of  Hyde,  who  himself  never  risked  a  scratch 
of  a  finger  in  the  cause,  while  he  never  scrupled  to  impute 
cowardice  to  others,  an  imputation  which  veteran  soldiers, 
really  brave  men,  are  always  slow  to  make — that  the 
veteran  soldier  Ludlow,  who  had  proved  his  courage  in  so 
many  battles,  says  that  to  Yane's  other  great  and  esti- 
mable qualities,  "  were  added  a  resolution  and  courage,  not 
to  be  shaken,  or  diverted  from  the  public  service."^ 

'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,         *  Ibid,  same  meeting. 
Monday  afternoon,  August  18,    1651,         '  Ludlow's   Memoirs,    vol.    iii.    pp. 
MS.  State  Paper  Office.  110,  HI :  2nd  edition,  London,  1721, 


1651.] 


IMPUTED   TIMIDITY  OF  VANE. 


169 


The  philosophy  of  courage  is  indeed  a  dark  subject,  in 
regard  to  which  few  men  are  willing  to  give  the  evidence  of 
their  actual  experience,  and  consequently  many  difficulties 
lie  in  the  way  of  a  complete  elucidation  of  it.     There  is  a 
sort  of  courage  which  has  been  called  "  orator  courage," 
which  such  men  as  Yane  and  Strafford  possess,  and  which 
is  distinct  from  that  sort  of  courage  which  leads  men  to 
face  death  on  fields  of  battle.    This  latter  sort  of  courage  I 
do  not  think  Strafford  possessed,  whether  Yane  possessed  it 
or  not,  though  some  modern  writers  have  spoken  of  the 
"  valour  "  as  well  as  the  "  capacity  "  of  Strafford.     That 
Strafford  did  not  possess  what  is  commonly  understood  by 
"  valour,"  I  think  is  proved  by  his  letting  the  Scots  pass 
the  Tyne  at  Newburn,  when  he  commanded  the  English 
army  for  Charles  I.     At  the  same  time,  though  Strafford 
behaved  bravely,  as  well  as  Yane,  both  at  his  trial  and  exe- 
cution, there  was  a  fundamental  distinction  between  them. 
There  was  in  Strafford  a  spirit  of  insolence,  tyranny,  and 
cruelty  of  which  there  is  no  trace  in  Yane.     Strafford  was, 
in  one  word,  a  bully.     Yane  was  nothing  o?  that.     It  is 
also  a  very  remarkable  psychological  fact,  that  while,  both  at 
his  trial  and  execution,  "  though  timid  by  nature  "—accord- 
ing to  Hume,  who  of  course  follows  Hyde  in  the  imputa- 
tion of  timidity  against  such  a  formidable  enemy  of  the 
Stuarts — "  the  persuasion  of  a  just  cause  supported  Yane 
against  the  terrors  of  death,  "  ^  Lambert,  who  had  faced 
death  on  a  hundred  fields  of  battle,  having  been  tried  and 
condemned  at  the  same  time  as  Yane,  obtained,  by  throw- 
ing himself  abjectly  on  the  royal  mercy,  a  reprieve  at  the 
bar,  and  thus  sacrificed,  to  the  fear  of  death  on  the  scaffold, 
all  those  principles  he  had  so  long  and  so  bravely  fought 
and  bled  for.  There  was  probably  a  constitutional  or  organic 


I 


I 


*  Hume's  History,  chap.  Ixiii. 


170 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


distinction  between  tlie  courage  and  fear  of  Yane  and 
Lambert.  Yet,  when  we  look  at  these  two  men  at  the  time 
of  the  Scottish  invasion,  and  see  Yane  keeping  himself 
absent  even  from  his  ordinary  duty  at  the  Council  of  State, 
and  Lambert  gallantly  leading  the  Ironside  cavahy,  ha- 
rassing the  march  of  the  Scots,  and  then  thoroughly 
defeating  them  at  Worcester ;  and  then  look  again  at  the 
trial  of  the  same  two  men  for  their  lives,  and  see  Yane 
bravely  facing  death,  and  Lambert  abjectly  shrinking  from 
it:  when  we  remember,  moreover,  the  remark  of  Sir  William 
Temple,  "  some  are  brave  one  day  and  cowards  another, 
as  great  captains  have  often  told  me  from  their  own  expe- 
rience and  observation  "—the  reported  saying  of  Napoleon, 
that  "  no  man  is  brave  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  " — and 
the  fact  that  there  were  occasions  on  which  even  Kelson  ^ 
was  subject  to  fear,  we  must  feel  strongly  the  rashness 
and  presumption  of  dogmatising,  either  generally  or 
specially,  on  the  subject  of  courage  and  cowardice. 

On  Tuesday,  19th  August  1651,  the  Council  made 
the  following  orders,  among  many  others  : — 

"  That  such  arms  shall  be  taken  out  of  the  Tower  as 
shall  be  necessary  for  the  soldiers." 

"  That  authority  be  given  to  the  several  Postmasters 
upon  the  road,  to  press  horses  upon  this  exigent  for  the 
despatching  of  intelligence." 

"  That  a  commission  be  sent  to  Colonel  Blake,  to  com- 
mand-in-chief, in  the  absence  of  Major-General  Desborowe, 


i 


'  I  have  seen  it  stated,  on  the  au- 
thority of  a  friend  of  Nelson,  that 
Nelson,  having  one  day  been  taken  by 
him  into  his  phaeton -and-four  for  a 
drive,  in  a  few  minutes  became  uneasy ; 
and  then,  with  evident  marks  of  ner- 
vousness, requested  that  he  might  be 


set  down,  expressing  his  fears  of  being 
run  away  with,  of  which  there  was  no 
danger,  since  the  horses,  though  lively, 
were  perfectly  broken  in.  But  the 
situation  was  novel  to  the  man  of  the 
Nile  and  Trafalgar. 


jSafc,ljlHait.'.-.«Af!iia£.-«l.L.  ««■■«»>.....><.;  a.MMJ»j-.;>«.»,»^.,^-,jta,^j^^ 


1651.]  CHARLES  STUART   PROCLAIMED   TRAITOR. 


171 


all  the  forces  raised  and  to  be  raised  in  the  comities  of 
Cornwall,  Devon,  Somerset,  and  Dorset ;  and  that  letters 
be  written  to  those  four  counties  to  obey  his  orders." 

"  That  power  be  given  to  the  Lord  President  of  the 
Council,  in  case  that  any  packets  shall  arrive  here  in  the 
night-time,  to  open  the  said  letters,  and,  according  as  he 
shall  find  they  do  import,  he  is  to  give  order  for  the  sum- 
moning of  a  Council  immediately."^ 

Wednesday,  20th  August,  1651.—"  That  letters  be  wi'itten 
to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Militia  for  the  counties  of 
Wilts,  Gloucester,  Hereford,  and  South  Wales,  to  brino- 
what  forces  they  can  with  aU  speed  to  a  rendezvous  at 
Gloucester,  for  the  security  of  those  parts ;  and  this  ren- 
dezvous to  be  at  Gloucester  on  Monday  next."  ^ 

Thursday,  21st  August,  1651.— "That  Major  Winthrope 
do  appoint  a  troop  of  horse  to  be  in  readiness,  to  observe 
such  directions  as  shall  be  given  to  him  from  the  Treasurer 
at  War." 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  several  counties  throuo-h 
which  the  army  is  to  march,  to  desire  them  to  furnish 
them  with  all  provisions  necessary  for  them  of  all  kinds." 

"  That  Mr.  Waller  and  Mr.  Cromwell  be  desired  to 
repair  into  the  county  of  Hmitingdon  ;  and  that  they  and 
the  Commissioners  of  the  Militia  do  take  care  that  the 
forces  of  that  county  may  be  drawn  together  to  a  rendez- 
vous."^ 

On  the  same  day  a  committee  was  appointed,  "  to  draw 
a  proclamation  for  the  proclaiming  of  Charles  Stuart 
traitor,  according  to  the  debates  had  this  day." 

On  the  same  day,  the  21st  of  August,  the  House  received 


'  Order  Book  of  ths  Council  of 
State,  Tuesday,  August  19,  1651,  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 


2  3id.  August  20,  1651. 
'  Fnd.  August  21,  1651. 


172 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


intelligence,  that  the  Scots'  army  lay  on  the  1 7th  at  North- 
wich^and  the  next  day  advanced  between  Nantwich  and 
Chester ;  and  that  Major-Greneral  Lambert  and  the  forces 
with  him  were  cheerfully  followed  by  the  officers  and  sol- 
diers of  the  Cheshire  and  Lancashire  militia  of  foot ;  who 
upon  this  emergency,  though  their  harvest  was  ready  to 
cut,  promised  not  to  leave  them  till  they  either  should  be 
properly  dismissed,  or  the  Lord  put  a  seasonable  issue  to 
the  business.^  Under  the  same  date,  Whitelock  mentions 
"  an  account  of  forces  raised  in  Salop  and  the  neighbour- 
ing counties,  and  breaking  of  bridges,  and  endeavouring  to 
divert  the  course  of  the  Scots'  army ;"  "  that  the  Governor 
of  Stafford  went  to  Harrison  with  700  men;"  "that 
4,000  of  the  General's  foot  march  in  their  shirts  20  miles 
a  day,  and  have  their  clothes  and  arms  carried  by  the 
country."^ 

All  this  sufficiently  shows  that  a  Stuart,  or  any  other 
claimant  of  the  Crown  of  England,  had  mighty  small  chance 
of  success  in  his  attempt,  when  made  by  the  help  of  a 
foreign  army,  whether  that  army  was  Scotch,  French,  or 
German.  In  fact  this,  as  well  as  the  attempt  of  1745, 
shows  that  it  was  a  blunder  of  the  Stuarts  to  think  that 
the  English  would  allow  a  foreign  ai-my  (for  such,  in  fact, 
the  Scottish  army  then  was)  to  impose  a  King  upon  them. 
The  zeal  of  the  Parliamentary  soldiers,  and  of  the  country 
generally,  is  forcibly  expressed  in  the  fact  last  quoted  from 
Whitelock,  that  the  soldiers'  upper  clothes  and  arms  were 
"  carried  by  the  country,"  in  order  that  the  soldiers  might 
march  with  more  speed.  As  the  Scots'  army  with  their 
King  advanced  in  that  direction,  "  the  Forest  of  Dean  rose 
for  the  Parliament,  and  there  was  great  resort  of  people  to 


•  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  p.  1369. 


Whitelock,  August  21,  1651. 


1651.]        GEEAT  CONTRAST   BETWEEN' 1651   AND  1660. 


173 


Gloucester  and  Hereford  to  defend  those  places."^  In  all 
places,  on  the  march  of  the  King's  army  southward,  the 
garrisons  were  summoned  in  the  King's  name  to  surrender, 
but  without  any  success.  And  when,  in  the  more  eminent 
places,  Charles  IL  was  proclaimed  by  heralds,  the  people 
returned  no  approving  shouts,  but,  on  the  contrary,  as  the 

Eoyalists  admit,  preserved  a  gloomy  silence,  or  exhibited 

as  if  they  truly  foreboded  what  was  to  come  to  pass  in  after- 
years,  under  the  King  then  proclaimed— the  consternation 
of  persons  stricken  by  some  great  calamity.^ 

It  is  strange  indeed  to  turn  from  this  spectacle  to  that 
described  by  Pepys  and  Aubrey,  as  seen  in  London  some 
nine  years  after  this  month  of  August  1651.   What  was  the 
cause  of  the  great  change  that  took  place,  or  at  least  that 
appeared  to  take  place,  between  1651  and  1660?     Was  it 
that  the  Government  of  the  Long  Parliament  was  popular, 
and  that  of  Cromwell  unpopular  ?  I  think  not.     I  think 
that  the  Government  of  the   Long   Parliament   and  the 
Government  of  CromweU  were  both  unpopular ;  for  both 
were  arbitrary,  and  both  imposed,  of  necessity  perhaps,  a 
very  heavy  taxation.    It  might  indeed  at  first  sight  appear, 
as  it  at  one  time  appeared  to  me,  that  this  zeal  of  the 
country,  manifested  on  this  occasion,  against  the  King  of 
Scots,  contrasted  vdth  the  zeal  manifested  in  1660  for  the 
return  of  that  same  King  of  Scots  as  King  of  England, 
showed  that  the  Government  of  the  Long  Parliament  was 
popular,  and  that  of  Cromwell  unpopular.     But  I  think 
that  the  zeal  of  August  1651  only  expressed  the  determina- 
tion of  the  English  people  not  to  have  a  King  imposed 
on  them  by  a  foreign  army,  and  not  the  approbation  of  the 
Government  of  the  Eump ;  though  that  Government,  as 

»  Perf.  Diur.  August  25  to  Septem-        «  Bates,  partii.  pp.  120,  121. 
ber  1,  in  Cromwelliana,  p.  110. 


\-> 


174 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


165L1  THE   CRY   FOR   A  FREE  PARLlAMExVT. 


compared    with   the   Govemment   of  Charles  11.,  might 
well  be  called  an  assembly  of  gods  as  compared  with  an 
assembly  of  baboons.    No  one  can  deny  this  who  compares 
Charles  II.'s  Council,  as  described  in  Pepys's  Diary,  with  the 
Council  of  State  of  the  Long  Parliament,  as  described  in 
their  own  minutes  ;  which  happily  exist,  to  vindicate  their 
memory  to  all  after-ages  against  the  scurrility  not  only  of 
the  Koyalist  writers,  but  of  Cromwell,  who  destroyed  them, 
and  of  Cromwell's  parasites  and  worshippers.     If  I  were 
an  advocate  of  this  Eunip  and  its  Council  of  State,  as  some 
men  are  advocates  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  it  would  be  easy  to 
say  that,  by  1660,  things  had  altered  greatly — that  Cromwell 
had  succeeded  in  so  digusting  all  men,  that  they  were  will- 
ing to  try  once  more  even  the  Government  of  the  Stuarts. 
But   though   it   can   be   clearly   proved   that   Cromwell's 
Govemment  was  unpopular,  I  think  more  unpopular  than 
that  of  the  Long  Parliament — for  Cromwell's  usurpation 
had  taken  away  all  hope  of  what  both  the  army  and  the 
people  wanted,  namely,  "  a  free  Parliament  " — it  can  at  the 
same  time,  I  think,  be  proved  that  the  Eump  was  unpopular 
also.     In  fact,  in  the  saturnalia  of  the  Eestoration,  the 
most  obtrusive  exhibition  was  the  roasting  of  rumps ;  there 
was  no  burning  of  Oliver  Cromwell  in  effigy.     But  there 
was  also  a  significant  fact,  which,  though  not  noticed  by 
Pepys,  is  particularly  mentioned  by  Aubrey  :  "  Mem.  that 
Threadneedle  Street  was  all  day  long,  and  late  at  night, 
crammed  with  multitudes,  crying  out, '  A  free  Parliamerd ! 
— a  free  Parliament  / "  ^    I  have  never  seen  any  completely 
satisfactory  answer  made  to  the  question  why  the  Eump 

'  Aubrey's  Letters    and  Lives,  vol.  some  very  good  rumps  of  beef.    Health 

ii.    p.    455:    London,    1813.— "Bells  to  King  Charles  IL  !  was  di-unk  in  the 

ringing,  and  bonfires  all  over  the  city  streets  by  the  bonfires,  even  on  their 

j      ...  They  made   little  gibbets,  and  knees." — 3id. 

i    roasted  rumps  of  mutton ;  nay,  I  saw 


put  off  so  long  the  petitions  presented  to  them  for  a  free 
Parliament.  Scot,  one  of  their  ablest  members,  made  this 
answer :  "  The  Dutch  war  came  on-when  Hannibal  is  ad 
portas,  something  must  be  done  extra  leges~we  stayed  to 
end  the  Dutch  war."  But  the  answer  to  this  answer  is 
that  they  were  petitioned  to  dissolve,  and  make  way  for  a 
free  Parliament,  long  before  the  Dutch  war  was  thought  of. 
In  fact,  their  conduct  must  be  admitted  to  form  the  best 
excuse,  though  far  from  a  satisfactory  excuse,  for  the  con- 
duct of  Cromwell. 

On  Friday  the  22nd,  Mr.  Scot  and  Mr.  Salwey  were  s^nt 
by  the  Council  of  State  to  the  Major-Generals,  with 
instructions  "  to  let  them  know  what  course  the  Council 
have  taken  for  raising  and  ordering  of  forces  for  the  pre- 
sent occasion,  besides  those  with  them ;  and  thereupon  to 
confer  and  debate  with  them,  at  Councils  of  War  or  other- 
wise, m  what  manner  the  forces  of  this  Commonwealth  may 
be  best  employed  against  the  enemy,  with  consideration  to 
all  emergencies  that  may  thence  arise."  ' 

On  the  same  day  the  following  orders  were  made  :— 
"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  Major-General  Lambert  to 
let  him  know  that  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Comicil  that  a 
considerable  force  of  horse  and  dragoons  should  wait  upon 
the  enemy,  whereby  he  may  be  impeded  in  his  march  kept 
from  refreshing  his  men,  and  the  people  discouraged' from 
coming  in  to  them." 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Lord-General,  to  ac- 
quaint him  with  the  resolutions  of  the  Council  taken  this 
day-both  of  the  letter  written  to  Major-General  Lambert, 

sJtft'/'l  "'    "1  *^""""'    "'  ^■^''"-  ^»'  '-y  "■«  Council  „„.o  tl,c 

S  a  e    Fnday    August  22,  1651,  MS.  Major-Gonerals  of  the  Forces  of    he 

State  Paper  Office  :    "Instructions  for  Parliament  employed  against  the  8co  " 

Thomas    Scot    and   Richai-d  Salwey,  army  now  in  England "        '""'■-"'"' 


tl 


176 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


1651.] 


SKIRMISH-  AT  WARRINGTON. 


177 


and  likewise  of  sending  Mr.  Salwey  and  Mr.  Scot  to  the 
Major- Generals." 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Militia  for  the  four  northern  counties,  to  desire  them  to  have 
their  militia  forces  speedily  in  readiness,  and  to  apply  them- 
selves to  the  public  service,  that  they  may  be  assistant  to 
the  Governors  of  Berwick  and  Carlisle,  for  the  prevention 
of  any  correspondence  between  Scotland  and  the  Scottish 
army  in  England." 

"  That  the  Lord-Commissioner  Whitlocke  do  report  to 
the  Parliament,  that  it  hath  pleased  God  to  take  out  of 
this  life  Colonel  Edward  Popham,  late  one  of  the  Generals 
of  the  fleet  of  this  Commonwealth."^ 

The  following  minute  of  the  same  date  shows  that  by 
this  time,  the  22nd  of  August,  Sir  Henry  Yane  had  returned 
to  his  duty  at  the  Council  of  State:—"  That  the  Lord-Com- 
missioner Whitlocke  and  Sir  Henry  Vane  be  desired  to  go 
to  Mrs.  Popham  from  this  Council,  to  condole  with  her  the 
loss  of  her  husband  ;  to  let  her  know  what  a  memory  they 
have  of  the  good  services  done  by  her  husband  to  this  Com- 
monwealth ;  and  that  they  will  upon  all  occasions  be  ready 
to  show  respect  unto  those  of  his  relations  which  [sic]  he 
hath  left  behind  him."^ 

"Saturday,  2^rd August,  1651.— "That  the  Lord-Com- 
missioner Whitlocke,  Lord-Commissioner  Lisle,  Mr.  Attor- 
ney, Mr.  Say,  or  any  two  of  them,  be  appointed  a  committee, 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Friday,  August  22,  1651,  MS. 
State  Paper  Office.— The  Earl  of 
Leicester  thus  notices  in  his  Journal 
the  death  of  Colonel  Popham: 
•'  Wednesday,  20th  August,  1651.— We 
had  news  out  of  Kent  of  the  death  of 
Colonel  Popham,  one  of  our  Admirals, 
a  person  of  mucli  honour  and  eminent 


fidelity,  who  was  taken  away  by  a 
fever  at  Dover,  the  19th  instant." — 
Lord  Leicester's  Journal,  p.  115,  in 
Sydney  Papers,  edited  by  E.  W.  Blen- 
cowe,  London,  1825. 

2  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Friday,  August  22,  1651,  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 


to  consider  of  the  draught  of  a  proclamation  now  brought 
in  for  the  proclaiming  of  Charles  Stuart  traitor,  the  de- 
claration of  the  said  C.  Stuart  upon  his  entering  into  the 
Commonwealth  of  England  with  a  Scottish  army,  and  the 
letter  of  the  said  C.  Stuart  to  the  City  of  London ;  and 
upon  consideration  of  the  whole,  to  draw  up  something  in 
the  nature  of  a  proclamation,  whereby  he  may  be  proclaimed 
traitor ;  and  this  to  be  done  so  that  it  may  be  offered  to 
the  Parliament  on  Monday  morning."^ 

By  the  middle  of  August  the  Parliament  had  got 
together  so  many  troops,  under  those  able  commanders, 
Lambert  and  Harrison,  that  it  was  believed,  on  good 
grounds,  that  even  had  Cromwell  remained  in  Scotland, 
the  enemy  could  easily  have  been  defeated. 

Upon  Tuesday  the  12th  of  August,  the  Scots'  King  came 
to  Lancaster,  and  set  all  the  prisoners  in  the  Castle  at 
liberty.  Upon  Wednesday  the  13th  he  lodged  at  Myerscoe, 
Sir  Thomas  Tildesley's  house,  and  from  thence  marched 
through  Preston.  On  Thursday  night  he  lodged  at 
Euxten-burgh,  six  miles  on  this  side  of  Preston,  Sir 
Hugh  Aiiderton's  house,  who  was  prisoner  at  Lancaster, 
but  set  at  liberty  by  the  Scots.  "  This  Anderton,"  says  a 
cotemporary  Parliamentary  newspaper,  "  is  a  bloody  papist, 
and  one  that,  when  Prince  Rupert  was  at  Bolton,  boasted 
much  of  beino:  in  blood  to  the  elbows  in  that  cruel  mas- 
On  the  night  of  Friday,  the  15th,  the  Scots'  King 


sacre. 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Saturday,  August  23,  1651, 
MS.  State  Paper  Office.— On  the 
26th  of  August  the  letter  of  Charles 
Stuart  to  the  Lord  Mavor  was 
burnt  upon  the  Old  Exchange  by 
the  hangman ;  and  the  Parliament's 
declaration  against    him,  wherein   he 


was  called  "  son  of  the  late  tyrant,"  and 
declared  rebel  and  traitor,  and  public 
enemy  to  the  Commonwealth  of  Eng- 
land, and  against  all  his  abettors,  &;c,, 
proclaimed  there  and  at  Westminster 
by  beat  of  drum  and  sound  of  trumpet. 
— Lord  Leicester's  •Joiirnal,  p.  116. 


VOL.  IT. 


N 


178 


COMMONWE/iLTII   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


lodo^ed  at  Brine,  six  miles  from  Warrington,  the  Louse  of 
Sir  William  Gerard,  a  papist. 

On  Saturday  the  16th  of  August,  there  was  a  sharp 
skirmish,  at  Warrington,  between  the  army  of  the  King 
of  Scots  and  the  forces  of  Lambert  and  Harrison.  The 
fullest  account  of  this  skirmish  which  I  have  met  with  is 
that  quoted,  in  Lord  Leicester's  Journal,  from  a  cotempo- 
rary  newspaper.  It  is  commonly  stated  that  Lambert  and 
Harrison  were  "  pressing  hard  on  the  rear"  of  the  Scottish 
army,  whereas  this  account,  written  apparently  by  a  Par- 
liamentary officer  who  was  present,  mentions  "  the  present 
posture  of  flanking  and  fronting  the  enemy ;  "  and  their 
retiring  to  Knutsford  Heath  also  shows  that  they  kept  on 
the  south  of  the  enemy— that  is,  between  the  enemy  and 
London  : — 

"  Saturday,  16th  August, — About  noon  the  enemy's 
scouts  came  into  Warrington,  and  presently  after  a  for- 
lorn hope  of  horse  and  dragoons,  we  having  left  one  com- 
pany of  foot  to  dispute  the  pass  at  the  bridge  and  fords, 
and  to  amuse  the  enemy ;  for  the  said  passes,  and  several 
other  passes  upon  the  river,  were  not  tenable,  by  reason  of 
the  enclosed  grounds,  whereby  our  horse  could  not  have 
room  to  charge,  in  order  to  the  security  of  the  foot.  Yet 
that  single  company  of  the  Cheshire  foot  disputed  the 
bridge  and  pass  with  the  enemy  above  an  hour  and  a  half; 
and  then  he  that  commanded  the  foot  drew  them  off,  when 
the  enemy  began  to  press  hard  upon  him.  Presently  after 
the  enemy  marched  over  the  pass,  with  horse  and  foot, 
towards  our  rearguard.  We'  marched  to  Knutsford  Heath, 
being  a  convenient  place  for  our  horse  to  engage,  expecting 

'  Tho  special  correspondent  of  Po-  many  of  the  officers  of  which  could, 

liticus,  who  sent  this   relation  of  the  like  John  Lilburne,  wield  the  pen  as 

skirmish  at  AVarrington,  was  probably  well  as  the  sword, 
an  officer  of  the  Parliamentary  army  ; 


1651.] 


THE  AEMY  OF  L.VMBERT  AND   HARBISON. 


170 


! 

i 


;• 


the  enemy  would  have  advanced  thither  ;  but  the  van  of 
their  army  came  that  night  about  five  or  six  miles  on  this 
side  Warrington.  It  is  conceived  best  to  continue  in  the 
present  posture  of  flanking  and  fronting  the  enemy,  till 
we  have  a  conjunction  with  other  forces,  unless  they  press 
hard,  and  force  an  engagement ;  and  then  (God  willing) 
our  forces  are  resolved  on  some  open  plain  to  fight  them, 
we  having  9,000  horse  and  dragoons,  and  between  3,000 
and  4,000  foot,  to  give  them  battle."  ^ 

It  may  here  be  observed,  that  the  large  proportion  of 
horse  to  foot  in  the  army  of  Lambert  and  Harrison  (9,000 
to  3,000),  and  the  enclosed  nature  of  the  ground,  "  whereby 
our  horse  could  not  have  room  to  charge,"  as  well  as 
Cromwell's  orders  not  to  risk  a  battle,  may  explain  why  such 
soldiers  as  Lambert  and  Harrison,  the  best  perhaps  (not 
even  excepting  Cromwell)  whom  that  war  had  produced,  did 
not  fight  a  battle  with  the  invading  army  at  Wan-ington. 
If  they  had  done  so,  and  won  the  battle,  which  was  ])yo- 
bable,  Cromwell  would  have  been  stripped  of  that  "  crown- 
ing mercy  "  which,  though  it  did  not  actually  give  him  a 
crown,  gave  him  a  power  greater  than  that  of  most  wearers 
of  cro^vns. 

On  the  23rd  of  August,  the  House  received  intelligence 
from  the  Major-Generals,  Lambert  and  Harrison,  dated  the 
22nd,  that  the  Scots'  army  lay  the  night  before  at  Tonge, 
a  village  in  Shropshire,  on  the  borders  of  Staffordshire — 
near  to  which  are  White  Ladies'  Priory  and  Boscobel 
House,  known  in  connection  with  the  escape  of  Charles 

*  Journal  of  the  Earl  of  Liecester,  observes,  in  his  preface,  that  "  it  may 

pp.  112-114,  in  Sydney  Papers,  edited  be  presumed,  from  the  care  with  which 

by   K.  W.  Blencowe,  A.M.  :    London,  Lord  Leicester  has  copied  them,  that  he 

1825. — In  regard  to  the  passages  ex-  considered  them  faithful  accounts  of 

tracted   by   Lord  Leicester   from  the  the  transactions  which  they  record." 
newspapers  of  the  day,  Mr.  Blencow 

N  2 


180 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


165L] 


DEFK4T   OF   TIIE  EARL  OF  DERBY. 


181 


after   liis   defeat   at  Worcester— and  that   tliey  inclined 
towards  Worcester;    that  Colonel  Danvers,   Governor  of 
Stafford,  witli  some  few  horse,  fell  in  npon  some  of  their 
quarters,  killed  five  of  their  men,  and  gave  an  alarm  to  their 
whole  army.     In  another  letter,  it  was  stated  that   the 
Scots  had,  of  horse  and   foot,  120  columns;   that  their 
horse  were  poor  and  harassed  out;  that  their  foot  were 
miserably  ragged,  and  sick  creatures  a  great  number  of 
them;    that   their  King  was  found,  with   cap    in  hand, 
desiring  them  yet  a  little  longer  to  stick  to  him— per- 
suading them  that,  within  two  days'  march,  they  should 
come  into  a  country  where  all  things  would  be  plentifully 
provided  for  them,  and  shortly  thence  to  London.     It  was 
also  stated  that  the  Parliament's  forces  were  at  Tamworth, 
and  from  thence  had  sent  several  parties  to  attend  the 
enemy's    motions ;    and   intended   to  dispose   their   own 
marches,  in  order  to  a  conjunction  with  the  Lord-General, 
and  the  other  forces  lately  sent  from  London,^ 

On  Friday  the  22nd  of  August,  the  Scots  with  their 
King  reached  Worcester  ^ ;  where  the  country  forces  made 
a  gallant  resistance,  and  beat  back  the  enemy  several 
times.  But  the  townsmen  having  laid  down  their  arms, 
and  some  of  them  shooting  out  of  the  windows  at  the 
Parliament's  soldiers,  that  had  been  sent  by  Harrison  and 
Lambert  to  secure  Worcester,  the  latter  removed  their 
ammunition  and  withdrew  to  Gloucester,  30  of  them 
keeping  the  enemy  in  check  while  they  were  so  employed.-^ 
The  Council  of  State  took  measures  for  punishing  the 
townsmen  of  Worcester  for  their  conduct  on  this  occasion, 
as  appears  by  the  following  minute,  made  on  the  afternoon 

'Pari.    Hist.    vol.    iii.    pp.    1369,     Fleetwood,  in  Cromwelliana,  p.  110. 
1370  ;  Whiteloek,  August  23,  1651.  »  Whitelock,  August  25,  1651. 

"^  Letter   from    Lieutenant-General 


i 


of  the  29th  of  August :  "  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the 
Lord-General,  to  desire  him  to  send  a  commission  of  martial 
law  into  Yorkshire,  for  the  trial  of  such  persons  as  have 
assisted  Charles  Stuart,  some  of  which  [sic]  are  there  in 
restraint.    And  his  Lordship  is  also  to  be  put  in  mind,  that 
in  case  the  city  of  Worcester,  or  any  persons,  inhabitants 
of  the  same,  who  have  been  instruments  in  the  betraying 
of  that  town  to  Charles  Stuart,  do  fall  into  his  hands,  that 
he  proceed  to  try  all  of  them  according  to  the  late  Act."  ^ 
The  Earl  of  Derby,  who  had  held  out  the  Isle  of  Man 
for  the  King,  at  this  time  made  a  descent  on  Lancashire, 
for  the   purpose    of  creating    a   diversion.     He  had  got 
together  1,500  men,  when  Colonel  Robert  Lilbume  (the 
brother  of  Lieutenant- Colon  el  John  Lilburne),  with  not 
half  that  number,  fell  upon  him  near  Wigan.     After  a 
hot  dispute,  for  near  an  hour,  the  Earl's  forces  were  routed. 
The  Earl  himself  was  wounded,  but  escaped  and  fled,  to 
seftk  refuge  in  the  royal  army  at  Worcester.    The  Lord  Wid- 
drington  and  80  officers  and  persons  of  quality  were  slain. 
Four  hundred  prisoners  were  taken,  of  whom  many  were 
officers  and  gentlemen.     Three  cloaks  with  stars  of  the 
Earl  of  Derby,  his  George  and  Garter,  and  other  valuables, 
were  taken.     The  Parliament   ordered  £500    to  Colonel 
Lilburne,  £200  per  annum  as  a  mark  of  honour  for  his 
faithful  services,  and  £100  to  his  lieutenant,  that  brought 
the  news  from  him ;  and  thanks  next  "  Lord's-day  in  the 
London  churches  for  the  surrender  of  Stirling  Castle  and  the 
defeat  of  the  Earl  of  Derby,"  and  prayers  "  for  a  blessing 
upon  the  Parliament's  forces,  now  near  an  engagement.^'  ^ 

»  Order   Book   of    the   Council    of  ordered  to  Colonel  Mackworth  a  chain 

State,  August   29,   1651    (afternoon),  of  gold  \iith  a  medal,  as  a  mark  of 

MS.  State  Paper  Office.  their   favour    "  for    his   faithful    and 

*  Whitelock,  August  29-30,  1651. —  gallant  refusal  of  the  King's  summons 

About  the  same  time,  the  Parliament  to  render  Shrewsbury  Castle." — Jbid, 


f 


182 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


The  Council  of  State  relaxed  not  their  exertions.     On 
Tuesday,  the  2nd  of  September,  they  wrote  to  the  Commis- 
sioners of  Yorkshire,  to  hasten  their  forces  towards  Colonel 
Lnbume ;  to  Sir  Arthur  Haselrig,  to  send  some  forces  into 
Scotland,  to  prevent  the  levies  of  the  enemy ;  and  they  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  for  the  Admiralty  a  letter  of  Colonel 
Blake,  from  aboard  the  Victory  in  the  Downs,  dated  the 
day   before   (September  1,  1651).i      On   Wednesday   the 
3rd  of  September  1651,  the  day  on  which  was  fought  the 
Battle  of  Worcester,  much  business  of  various  kinds— some 
of  it  of  great  importance— was  transacted  by  the  Council 
of  State;  the  numbers  present  in  the  morning  being  19, 
in  the  afternoon  20.     But  many  members  of  the  Council  of 
State  were  at  Worcester— Scot  and  Salwey  and  Lord  Grey 
of  Groby  being  there,  besides  the  military  officers,  Crom- 
well, Fleetwood,  Harrison,  and  others.     Of  the  minutes 
of  their  proceedings  on  that  day  I  wiU  mention  two  as 
especially  deserving  of  attention.   The  first  is  this  :  "  That 
thanks  be  returned  to  the  sick  and  maimed  soldiers  living 
about  this  town,  for  their  free  offer  to  be  a  guard  to  the 
Parliament ;  and  to  let  them  know  that,  through  the  good- 
ness of  God,  the  state  of  affairs  is  such  at  present  that 
they  have  not  need  of  any  other  guards  than  what  are 
already  appointed  to  that  service."  ^ 


same  date.  On  August  27,  the  Coun- 
cil of  State  made  the  following  order  : 
—"That  Mr.  Alderman  Allein  [who 
was  a  member  of  the  Council  of  State, 
and  then  present]  do  prepare  a  chain 
of  gold  and  a  medal  [he  was,  I  sup- 
pose, a  jeweller  and  goldsmith— one 
of  Denzil  Holles's  "  mean  tradesmen  "] 
for  Colonel  Maekworth,  to  the  value  of 
£^100,  in  pursuance  of  an  Order  of 
Parliament."— Orf/er^ooA-  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  State,  Wednesday,  August  27, 
1  o5 1 ,  MS.  State  Paper  Office.    On  Sat- 


urday, August  30,  the  Council  of  State 
ordered,  "  That  Lord-Commissioner 
Whitelock  be  desired  to  report  to  the 
Parliament  the  letter  from  Colonel 
Lilburne,  and  also  the  narrative  pre- 
pared of  the  success  of  the  forces  of 
the  Commonwealth  in  Scotland  and 
England,  in  pursuance  of  an  Order 
of  Parliament."— /At^.  Saturday,  Au- 
gust 30,  1651. 

'  B)id.  Tuesday,  September  2,  1651. 

^  Ibid.    Wednesday,    September    3. 
1651. 


1651.]     "THE  BUSINESS   OF  THE  DUKE  OF  LORRAINE."        183 

The  other  minute  is  a  very  remarkable  one,  and  confirms 
what  I  have  before  stated — that  foreign  nations  were  eagerly 
watching  the  issue  of  the  present  attempt  of  the  Stuarts 
and  their  adherents,  with  a  view  to  seize  any  favour- 
able opportunity  of  crushing  the  English  Commonwealth. 
The  minute  states  that  "  the  Council  have  received  infor- 
mation of  some  designs  from  Holland  to  land  foreign 
forces  on  the  coast  of  Suffolk ;  "  and  they  order  letters  to 
be  written  to  the  Commissioners  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk, 
to  furnish  between  them  one  regiment  of  foot  to  the  guard 
of  those  parts,  and  Suffolk  to  send  one  troop  of  horse ;  and 
to  Colonel  Wauton  and  Colonel  Jermie,  to  desire  them  to 
take  especial  care  of  that  part  of  the  coast.  ^  On  the  fol- 
lowing day  (Thursday,  the  4th  of  September,  1651),  they 
order  a  letter  to  be  written  to  Colonel  Blake,  to  give  him 
an  account  of  the  state  of  affairs  at  Worcester  ;  to  acquaint 
him  with  the  intelligence  concerning  the  coast  of  Suffolk, 
and  to  desire  him  to  give  order  that  a  fitting  strength 
of  ships  may  be  applied  to  those  parts.^  On  the  daj^ 
after  that — namely,  Friday,  the  5th  of  September — there  is 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Wednesday,  September  3,  1651, 
MS.  State  Paper  Office.— I  give  these 
two  minutes  in  full :  "  That  a  letter  be 
written  to  Colonel  Wauton  and  Colonel 
Jermie,  to  desire  them  to  take  especial 
care  of  the  safety  of  the  Island  of 
Lothingland;  to  let  them  know  the 
Council  have  received  information  of 
some  designs  from  Holland  to  land 
foreign  forces  there,  and  therefore 
have  thought  fit  to  write  to  the  Com- 
missioners of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk,  to 
furnish  between  them  one  complete 
regiment  of  foot  to  the  guard  of  the 
island,  and  Suffolk  to  furnish  one 
troop  of  horse  ;  to  desire  them  to  con- 
fer with  tlie  Commissioners  of  the  two 


counties  concerning  the  business,  and 
to  give  orders  for  the  marching  of  the 
forces." — "That  a  letter  be  wTitten  to 
the  Commissioners  of  Norfolk  and 
Suffolk,  to  furnish  between  them  one 
complete  regiment  of  foot  to  the  guard 
of  the  Isle  of  Lothingland,  and  Suffolk  to 
send  one  troop  of  horse."  By  the  "  Isle 
of  Lothingland "  is  here  meant  the 
Hundred  of  Lothingland,  the  part  of 
Suffolk,  nearest  to  Yarmouth,  on  tlie 
border  of  Norfolk.  There  are  various 
subsequent  minutes,  which  show  that 
the  Council  had  reason  to  expect  that 
some  attempts  would  be  made  to  land 
forces  on  the  coast  near  Yarmouth. — 
Ibid.  July  2,  1652  ;  Jidy  14,  1652. 
»  Ibid.  Thursday.  .September  4,  1651. 


fj^**^^» 


,  alC^-.^-  m 


I 


184 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X 


this  remarkable  minute :  "  That  the  injunction  of  secrecy 
laid  upon  the  business  of  the  Duke  of  Lorraine  be 
taken  off. " ' 

I  earnestly  hope  that  ihe  fullness  with  which  I  have,  in 
this  chapter,  given  the  proceedings  of  the  Council  of  State, 
as  recorded  in  their  own  minutes,  may  not  have  appeared 
tedious.     And  when  it  is  considered  that  the  occasion  was 
the  actual  invasion  of  England  by  an  army  from  Scotland, 
under  the  King  of  Scots,  and  the  expected  invasion  by 
another  army  from  Dunkii-k  and  Ostend  under  the  Duke 
of  Lorraine,  it  will  be  admitted  that  all  the  details  of  the 
preparations  made,  by  the  English  Government  of  the  year 
1651,  to  meet  such  a  crisis  must  form  a  study  both  in- 
teresting  and   instructive   to   the  English  people.     It  is 
no   compliment   to   any  Government  to   say   of  it,    that 
it    is    a   better   Government    than    the    Government    of 
Charles  II.,  or  indeed  than  the  Government  of  any  of  the 
Stuarts.      But  we   have   the    means    of    comparing   the 
Government  of  this  Council  of  State  of  1651  with  an  Eng- 
lish Government,  in  circumstances  so  far  similar  as  regarded 
danger   from   powerful  foreign  enemies -the  Government, 
namely,  of  Queen  Elizabeth  in  1588,  and  the  two  or  three 
preceding  years.     The  fullness  with  which  Mr.  Motley  has 
given  the  proceedings  of  the  English  Government  of  that 
time,  from  original  records,  enables  us  to  compare  it  with 
the  Government  of  the  Council  of  State  of  the  Parliament 
of  the   Commonwealth.     And  if  the  Government  of  the 
Commonwealth  be  pronounced  to  be  a  sort  of  despotism  as 
well  as  the  Government  of  Elizabeth,  the  despotism  of  the 
Commonwealth  must  also  be  pronounced  to  be  a  despotism 
that   evinced   a   great   genius  for  government,  while  the 

'  Order  Took  of  the  Council  of  State,  Friday,   September   5,   1651,    MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 


1651.] 


THE   GOVERNMENTS   OF   1588  AND   OF   1651. 


185 


despotism  of  Elizabeth  must  be  pronounced  to  be  a  des- 
potism that  evinced  no  genius  for  government  at  all. 

To  pass  over  the  indecent  exhibitions  in  Elizabeth  of  a 
temper  at  once  violent,  savage,  and  capricious,  all  her 
proceedings  in  the  affair  of  the  Netherlands  and  Spain; 
her  violent  and  vituperative  language  to  the  States  of  the 
Netherlands  ;  her  negotiations  with  Parma,  in  which  she 
was  so  signally  duped ;  her  tardy  and  inefficient  preparations 
for  the  Spanish  invasion;  her  treatment  of  the  poor  men 
she  sent  from  England  as  soldiers  to  the  Netherlands — 
whom,  by  her  inhuman  neglect,  she  changed  from  brave 
soldiers  into  brigands,  or  famishing  half-naked  vagabonds, 
and  many  of  whom,  maimed  and  womided,  begged  their 
way  back  to  England,  and  even  at  the  very  gates  of  the 
palace  of  the  "  good  Queen  Bess,  the  mother  of  her  people," 
begged  for  a  morsel  of  bread  in  vain — displayed  as  great  a 
want  of  real  political  ability  as  of  humanity  :  and  formed 
the  stronofest  contrast  with  the  statesmen  of  the  Common- 
wealth,  whose  despotism,  if  despotism  it  is  to  be  called, 
was,  as  compared  with  such  despotism  as  that  of  Elizabeth 
Tudor,  a  humane,  an  energetic,  and  a  sagacious  despo- 
tism. Its  humanity  was  shown  by  its  provision  for  the  wel- 
fare of  its  soldiers  and  sailors,  as  well  as  in  its  anxious  care 
to  protect  the  people  from  any  possible  military  outrage: 
ordering  that  in  their  march  their  soldiers  "  shall  quarter 
in  inns  and  alehouses  only,  and  not  in  private  men's 
houses ;  and  in  case  of  necessity,  where  there  are  not 
inns  or  alehouses,  that  they  agree  with  people  where  they 
come  to  quarter,  and  duly  pay  for  what  they  have."  ^ 

^  Order    Book    of    the    Council  of  very  different  from  the  estimate  taken 

State,  February  21,   165f,  MS.  State  of  them  by  either  the  Tudors  or  the 

Paper  Office. — The  concluding  words  Stuarts,  with  whom  the  English  people 

of  the  above  order  are  also  indicative  were  "the  rude  and  rascal  commons:" 

of  an  estimate  of  the  people  of  England,  "And   that   the  Parliament,   if  they 


186 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  X. 


Queen  Elizabeth's  reputation  for  ability  must  have  been 
obtained  by  the  talent,  which  she  really  displayed,  as    a 
speaker  and  wi'iter.     Her  speeches  certainly  have  the  show 
of  talent— even  of  sagacity.      And,  as  compared  with  the 
Stuarts,  she  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  ruler  of  even  some 
practical  ability.     But  when  compared  with  that  of  the 
statesmen  of  the   Commonwealth,   her   Government   ap- 
pears, on  a  close  and  minute  examination,  to  be  at  once 
imperious  and  feeble :  and  the  ruler  who  appointed  Eobert 
Dudley,  Earl  of  Leicester,  to  oppose  such  a  general  as 
Alexander  Farnese,  must  be  regarded  as,  while  by  such 
delegation  of  her  office  admitting  her  own  incapacity  to 
command   armies,  also  incapable  of  selecting  those  who 
could.     No  one  who  reads  the  evidence  can  refuse  to  agree 
with  Mr.  Motley,  in  his  conclusion  respecting  the  attempted 
invasion  of  England  by  Spain  in  1588,  that  "  very  little 
credit  can  be  conscientiously  awarded  to  the  diplomatic  or 
the  military  efforts  of  the  Queen's  Government ;"  and  with 
the  opinion  of  Eoger  Williams,  cited  by  Mr.  Motley,  that 
"  miracles  alone  had  saved  England  on  that  occasion  from 
perdition."  ^      But  as  miracles  cannot  be  trusted  to  with 
safety  in  human  affairs,  the  Government  that  needs  the 
aid  of  miracles  to  accomplish  its  first  and  most  essential 
duty— the  defence  from  foreign  invasion  of  the  country  it 
professes  to  govern — must  be  pronounced  to  be  a  very  bad 
and  a  very  incompetent  Government. 

think  fit,  will  give  order  the  same  may  but  the  lackeys  of  the  Tudors  and  tlie 

he  made  public,  for  the  better  satisfac-  Stuarts,  it  may  be  inferred  that  the 

tion  of  the  peopled   When  the  nobility,  Tudors  and  the  Stuarts  would  not  look 

who  looked  upon  the  people  as  little  with  much  respect   upon  those    their 

better  than  the  sweepings  of  the  kennel,  lackeys  trampled  on. 

and  the    doorkeeper  of    whose  house  ^  Motley's   History  of  the    United 

insulted  even  members  of  the  House  Netherlands,  vol.  ii.  pp.  527,  528. 
of  Commons  (see  Vol.  I.  p.  13),  were 


CHAPTER  XL 

Another  great  and  decisive  battle  was  now  to  be  added  to 
the  list  of  those  which  have  made  the  Severn,  and  its  tri- 
butary the  Avon,  famous  in  the  English  annals.  For  at 
Evesham,  on  the  Avon,  had  been  fought  the  battle  which 
determined  whether  a  Plantagenet  or  a  De  Montfort,  and 
at  Shrewsbury,  on  the  Severn,  that  which  determined 
whether  a  Plantagenet  or  a  Percy,  should  rule  in  England : 
while  at  Tewkesbury,  where  the  Avon  joins  the  Severn, 
had  been  fought  the  battle  so  disastrous  to  the  House  of 
Lancaster,  where  Queen  Margaret  and  her  unhappy  son 
Prince  Edward  were  taken  prisoners,  and  the  latter  was 
savagely  murdered  in  cold  blood  after  the  battle.  And  in 
this  civil  war  of  the  1 7th  century — a  war  far  greater  and 
more  momentous  than  any  of  the  former  wars — the  Battle 
of  Edgehill,  the  first  battle  of  the  war,  had  been  fought  in 
the  Vale  of  the  Red  Horse, ^  through  apart  of  which  the 
Avon^  flows  ;  and  at  Naseby,  where  the  Avon  ^  rises,  had 


1  "  Not  far  from  the  foot  of  Edgehill 
was  a  broad  plain  called  The  Vale  of 
the  Bed  Horse,  a  name  suitable  to  the 
colour  which  that  day  was  to  bestow 
upon  it ;  for  there  happened  the  greater 
part  of  the  encounter." — May's  Hist, 
of  the  Parliament,  b.  iii.  eh.  i. 

2  Washington  Irving,  in  his  "  Sketch 
Hook,"  in  giving  an  account  of  his  walk 
from  Strat  ford-on- A  von  to  Charlecot, 


"  through  some  of  those  scenes  from 
which  Shakspeare  must  have  derived 
his  earliest  ideas  of  rural  imagery," 
particularly  describes  the  windings  of 
the  Avon  "  through  a  wide  and  fertile 
valley,  called  the  Vale  of  the  Eed 
Horse." 

'  The  spring  which  forms  the  source 
of  the  Avon  rises  in  the  village  of 
Naseby. 


188 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XI. 


been  fought  tliat  battle  wbicb  may  be  said  to  have  deter- 
mined the  fate  of  Charles  I. 

As  you  trace  the  course  of  these  two  famous  rivers,  the 
Severn  and  the  Avon,  the  latter  linked  with  associations  of 
another  and  a  very  different  kind — with  Shakspeare  and 
his  youth,  his  scenery,  and  his  burialplace — you  trace 
at  the  same  time  many  of  the  great  battles,  which  tell  the 
story  of  the  struggles  by  which  the  great  English  people 
attained  that  settled  government,  and  that  regulated 
liberty,  denied  as  yet  to  all  the  other  nations  of  the  world. 
For  on  the  Avon  and  the  Severn  were  fought  some  of  the 
most  decisive  battles  of  this  great  Parliamentary  war : 
and  though  at  Evesham  Simon  De  Montfort  "with  all 
his  peerage  fell,"  his  cause  did  not  perish  with  him ;  for 
he  had  before  won  the  great  Battle  of  Lewes,  and,  as  the 
fruit  of  that  battle,  had  founded  Eepresentative  Government 
in  England,  thence  to  spread  in  the  course  of  time  over 
the  world.  He  may  thus  be  truly  said  to  have  achieved, 
if  ever  man  achieved,  something  that  is  more  than  a  vain 
shadow — something  truly  excellent  and  great : 

Something,  indeed,  that  may  for  ever  live 
In  honour  where'er  man  is  most  divine. 

The  length  of  the  course  of  the  Avon,  to  its  junction 
with  the  Severn,  may  be  estimated  at  about  100  miles. 
The  whole  length  of  the  course  of  the  Severn,  from  its 
source  in  Montgomeryshire  to  the  Bristol  Channel,  is 
about  200  miles.  And  it  would  be  difficult  to  name  any 
rivers  in  the  world  associated  with  events  of  greater  his- 
torical importance  than  these  two  English  rivers.  The 
horrors  of  war  are  a  topic  easy  to  dilate  upon.  But  he 
who  studies  carefully  the  history  of  all  those  sanguinary 
conflicts  on  the  banks  of  these  two  English  rivers  may, 


1651.] 


THE  KING'S  ARRIVAL  AT  WORCESTER. 


189 


when  any  voice  is  raised  to  say  that  those  fields  were 
bedewed  with  blood  in  vain,  and  that  man  should  never 
engage  in  so  dangerous  a  game  as  war,  be  reminded  of  the 
remark  of  Hotspur,  made  shortly  before  that  day  when  he 
determined 

-.'^  to  abide  a  field, 

Where  nothing  but  the  sound  of  Hotspur  s  name 
Did  seem  defensible, 

— "  I  tell  you,  out  of  this  nettle,  danger,  we  pluck  this 
flower,  safety."  For  it  appears  that  man  will  be  satisfied 
with  no  decision  of  certain  great  questions  but  the  decision 
of  the  sword. 

Soon  after  his  an-ival  at  Worcester,  King  Charles,  by 
proclamation,  commanded  all  from  16  to  60  years  of  age  to 
come  in  to  him  at  Worcester.  According  to  a  statement 
in  "Whitelock,  none  came — that  is,  the  proclamation  or  sum- 
mons produced  no  effect.^  According  to  other  accounts,  this 
proclamation  brought  him  about  two  thousand  men,  who 
with  those  he  had  with  him  made  in  all  14,000 — two  thou- 
sand Scots  having  dropped  off  by  the  way.^  These  14,000 
consisted,  according  to  a  statement  in  Whitelock,  of  7,000 
horse  and  7,000  foot.  According  to  the  same  authority,  their 
discipline  was  very  strict ;  and  some  prisoners  brought 
before  their  King  were  courteously  treated  by  him,  and 
having  kissed  his  hand  were  discharged.^  The  Scots'  foot 
were  mostly  Highlanders.  The  Lowlanders  had  had  enough, 
for  the  present,  of  their  covenanted  oligarchy  and  covenanted 
King.  These  poor  Highlanders  were  much  harassed  by 
excessive  marches  and  insufficient  food;  insomuch  that 
they  "  did  importune  the  King  to  take  pity  on  them," 
who  in  reply  gave  them  all  he  ever  gave  in  return  for  such 


'  AVliitelock,  August  27,  1651. 
'  Bates,  part  ii.  p.  122. 


■  Whitelock,  August  28,  1651. 


190 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XL 


16.3L] 


OPERATIONS  OF  LAMBERT'S  TROOPS. 


191 


service—"  good  words."  The  Scots  proceeded  to  refortify 
Worcester,  and  to  that  end  summoned  in  the  country  to 
repair  the  works,  and  that  which  was  called  the  Eoyal 
Fort.i 

On  the  morning  of  Thursday,  the  28th  of  August,  Crom- 
well, advancing  from  the  Evesham  side,  anived  before  Wor- 
cester.    He  encamped  on  Red  Hill,  about  three-quarters  of 
a  mile  south-eastward  of  Worcester,  on  the  London  road, 
having  with  him  upwards  of  30,000  men.    The  cotemporary 
authorities  say  that  he  "  came  before  Worcester  having 
about  17,000  horse  and  foot,  with  Major-General  Lambert 
and   Major-General   Harrison."^     The    meaning   of  this 
statement,  which  is  not  very  clear,  probably  is  that  the 
forces  he  brought  with  him  from  Scotland,  and  those  under 
Lambert  and  Harrison,  amounted  altogether  to  about  1 7,000 
horse  and  foot.     But,  in  consequence  of  the  exertions  of 
the  Council  of  State  —which  have  been  described  in  the 
preceding  pages,  on  the  authority  of  their  own  minutes— 
bodies   of  militia  were  flocking   to   him   from   all  parts. 
Bates,  who  is  not  a  very  great  authority,  says  that  "  those 
who  from  all  parts  came  flocking  in,  made  up  an  army  (if 
some  be  not  mistaken  in  their  reckoning)   of  fourscore 
thousand  men  and  more,  whom  he  posts  round  the  city  of 
Worcester."  ^     Hobbes  says  that  Cromwell,  joining  with 
the  new  levies,  environed  Worcester  with  40,000  men.* 
Worcester  is  on  the  left  bank  of   the    Severn,  with  a 


*  Letter  from  Lieutenant-General 
Fleetwood,  in  Cromwelliana,  p.  110; 
and  in  Whitelock  (the  substance  of 
letters  from  Lieutenant-General  Fleet- 
wood), August  26,  1651.— Under  the 
same  date,  in  Whitelock,  it  is  stated 
that  they  have  very  few  English  horse 
among  them  ;  their  foot  Highlanders. 
That  a  messenger  from  the  army  brought 


an  account  that  the  Lord-General,  the 
Lieutenant-General,  the  Major-Gen- 
erals, and  the  Lord  Grey  of  Groby,  met 
at  Warwick. 

2  See  Proc.  in  Pari.  (August  28  to 
September  4),  in  Cromwelliana,  p.  110. 

"  Bates,  part  ii.  p.  123. 

*  Hobbes's  Behemoth,  p.  282:  Lon- 
don, 1682. 


suburb  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  connected  with  the 
city  by  a  bridge.  Fort  Eoyal,  mentioned  above,  is  on  the 
south-east  of  the  city,  towards  Cromwell's  lines.  At 
Upton,  seven  miles  below  ^  Worcester,  there  was  a  stone 
bridge  over  the  Severn.  Colonel  Massey  had  broken  down 
this  bridge,  but  had  accidentally  left  a  foot-plank  from  one 
arch  to  another;  and  lay  secure  with  250  horse  in  the 
neighbouring  town,  leaving  no  guard  to  defend  the  pass. 
On  the  morning  of  Thursday,  the  28th,  the  same  day  on 
which  Cromwell  came  before  Worcester,  Lambert  marched, 
with  a  party  of  horse  and  dragoons,  from  Evesham  to- 
wards Upton.  The  dragoons,^  straddling  upon  the  plank, 
passed  over,  one  after  another,  and  then  fired  upon  the 
enemy  in  the  town,  who  had  taken  the  alarm  ;  while  the 
horse  partly  forded,  partly  swam,  their  horses  across  the 
river,  about  pistol-shot  from  the  bridge.  The  dragoons, 
about  eighteen  in  number,  then  advanced,  and  took  pos- 
session of  the  church,  upon  a  little  hill  near  the  bridge- 
foot.  The  enemy  drew  up  to  the  church,  and  fired  their 
pistols,  and  thrust  their  swords  in  at  the  windows ;  but  the 
dragoons  fired  upon  them,  killed  three  or  four  of  their 
men,  and  eight  or  nine  of  their  horses,  and  took  one 
prisoner,  who  was  shot  in  the  arm.  By  this  time  a  small 
party  of  Lambert's  horse  were  come  up,  at  whose  ap- 
pearance the  enemy  faced  about  without  a  charge.  Lam- 
bert then  sent  for  Fleetwood,  who,  being  four  miles  behind 
with  his  brigade,  mounted  about  300  of  Colonel  Cobbet's 


>  Bates  (part  ii.  p.  124)  makes  the 
strange  blunder— which  several  modern 
writers  have  copied,  to  the  inextricable 
confusion  of  themselves  and  their 
readers— of  placing  Upton  above  instead 
of  below  Worcester. 

2  The  operations  here  described  are 


a  good  illustration  of  the  primary 
character  and  use  of  the  sort  of  troops 
called  "  dragoons, "  sho^^dng  precisely 
the  sort  of  service  for  which  they  were 
fitted  and  intended.  As  to  the  differ- 
ence between  "horse"  and  "  di-agoons," 
see  Vol.  L  pp.  44,  45. 


192 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XI. 


1651.] 


BATTLE   OF   WORCESTER. 


193 


foot  behind  troopers,  and  hastened  to  the  bridge,  the  rest 
of  his  brigade  following.  In  the  meantime  Lambert 
used  all  diligence  to  make  up  the  bridge  for  the  party  to 
march  over,  he  and  Major-General  Deane  themselves 
working  at  it;  and  receiving  no  interruption  from  the 
enemy,  the  work  was  speedily  accomplished,  and  the 
troops  all  marched  over.  In  illustration  of  the  small 
execution  at  that  time  done  by  firearms,  it  may  be  men- 
tioned that,  although  at  least  forty  carbines  were  fired 
within  half  pistol-shot  at  Massey,  "  who  brought  up  the 
rear  of  his  party  very  stoutly,"  when  they  faced  about,  the 
only  result  was  that  Massey's  horse  was  killed,  and  him- 
self badly  wounded  in  the  hand. 

By  the  end  of  August,  Cromwell's  forces  had  gotten 
within  half  musket-shot  of  the  enemy's  works,  on  the 
south  side  of  Worcester,  and  his  cannon  played  daily  into 
the  city,  in  which  the  enemy  had  planted  some  great  guns. 
On  Sunday,  the  31st  of  August,  the  Earl  of  Derby  went 
wounded  into  Worcester,  having  with  him  not  above  thirty 
horse  left  of  all  his  levies  in  Lancashire.  The  King  of 
Scots,  according  to  a  cotemporary  account,  seeing  all  his 
hopes  in  the  Earl  of  Derby  frustrated,  would  have  marched 
away  with  his  horse  ;  whereupon  his  infantry  began  to 
mutiny,  protesting  their  horse  should  not  desert  them, 
but,  since  they  must  suffer,  they  should  all  fare  alike.  At 
length,  with  fair  words  and  large  promises  of  supplies 
from  the  King  and  their  officers,  they  were  somewhat  ap- 
peased.^ 

On  the  right  or  west  side  of  the  Severn,  the  Eiver  Teme 
runs  into  it  about  three  miles  below  Worcester,  and  four 

'  Kings  Pamphlets,  large  4to,  No.  Bates,  part  ii.  p.  124. 

54,  article  15.     The  same  account— a  ^  j^jj^g-g  Pamphlets,   large  4to,  No. 

special  express   from    Major-General  54,  article  14  ;  Cromwelliana,  pp.  Ill, 

Lambert — in    Cromwelliana,  p.    HI;  112. 


) 


miles  above  Upton.  On  this  River  Teme,  at  Powick,  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  place  where  it  joins  the 
Severn,  there  was  a  bridge.  This  bridge  the  Scots  took 
possession  of  on  Monday  the  1st  of  September.  Crom- 
well, having  resolved  on  an  attack  on  Wednesday  the  3rd 
of  September,  the  day  on  which  the  Battle  of  Dunbar 
had  been  fought  twelve  months  before,  ordered  Fleetwood 
to  advance  in  the  morning  with  his  brigade  from  Upton. 
The  plan  was  (and  preparations  had  been  made  accord- 
ingly) to  lay  a  bridge  of  boats  across  the  Severn  close  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Teme,  and  also  a  bridge  of  boats  across 
the  Teme  within  pistol-shot  of  the  other  bridge ;  and,  by 
this  means,  to  connect  the  two  parts  of  his  army  on  the 
two  banks  of  the  Severn.  Accordingly,  the  forces  under 
Fleetwood  began  their  march  from  Upton,  between  5  and  6 
o'clock  on  Wednesday  morning,  September  3.  But,  in 
consequence  of  some  delays,  probably  connected  with 
the  bringing-up  of  the  boats  for  the  making  of  the  bridges, 
they  did  not  reach  the  Eiver  Teme  tiU  between  2  and  3 
in  the  afternoon.  The  boats  came  up  much  about  the  same 
time,  and  a  bridge  was  presently  made  over  the  Severn, 
and  another  over  the  Teme.  The  right  wing  of  Fleet- 
wood's forces  then  crossed  the  bridge  of  boats  over  the 
Teme  at  its  junction  with  the  Severn,  while  the  left  wing 
attacked  the  bridge  at  Powick,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  up  the 
Teme.  The  dispute  here  lasted  a  long  time,  and  was  very 
hot,  the  Scots  having  drawn  out  a  considerable  body  of 
their  forces  to  oppose  Fleetwood  here.  Cromwell  led 
some  regiments  of  horse  and  foot,  across  the  bridge  of 
boats,  over  the  Severn  at  the  mouth  of  the  Teme,  to  act  in 
conjunction  with  Fleetwood's  forces,  "  His  Excellency 
leading  them  in  person,  and  being  the  first  man  that 
set  foot  on  the  enemy's  ground."      The   ground   was  so 

VOL.  II.  o 


194 


COMMONWEALTH  OF   ENGLAND. 


[CHA.P.  XI. 


encumbered  with  hedges  that  the  horse  had  not  much  liberty 
to  act.  The  Scots  on  that  side  of  the  Severn  having  been 
driven  into  Worcester,  then  drew  out  all  their  forces  that 
remained  from  the  conflict  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Severn,  and  made  a  furious  attack  upon  Cromwell's  forces 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river. 

Cromwell  had  recrossed  the  bridge  of  boats,  and  was 
ready  to  receive  them.  Although  the  Scots  at  first  gained 
some  advantages — forced  some  of  Cromwell's  troops  to  re- 
treat with  disorder,  and  made  on  that  side  (to  use  Cromwell's 
own  words)  "  a  very  considerable  fight  with  us  for  three 
hours'  space,"  ^  in  the  end  they  were  totally  beaten,  and 
driven  back  into  the  town.  Fort  Eoyal  was  then  taken, 
and  their  own  cannon  were  turned  against  them.  The 
fight  and  carnage  were  then  continued  in  the  streets  of 
Worcester,  till  the  Scottish  foot  were  all  killed  or  taken. 
The  Duke  of  Hamilton  had  his  thigh  broken  with  a  shot, 
and  died  four  days  after  the  battle.  The  King  and  David 
Leslie,  with  most  of  the  horse,  and  several  noblemen 
and  persons  of  note,  fled.  Many  noblemen  and  persons 
of  rank  were  taken.  The  King  and  some  few  of  the 
cavalry  escaped.  The  wounded  Earl  of  Derby  was  taken, 
tried  for  treason  against  the  State,  and  executed  at  Bolton. 
The  Earls  of  Lauderdale  and  Cleveland  and  others  were 
sent  to  the  Tower. 

Clarendon  and  other  English  writers  have  represented 
the  Scottish  army  as  making  little  resistance  at  this  Battle 
of  Worcester.  Yet  Cromwell's  own  words  testify  that  the 
Scots   fought   so   well,   that  for  a  time   it  was   doubtful 

1  Cromwell  to  the  Speaker,  Septem-  Newspapers  in  Cromwelliana,  pp.  114 

ber  3  and  4,  1651;  Letter  from  Robert  — 116. 

Stapylton,  10  at  night,  September  3,  2  Cromwell  to.  the  Speaker,  Septem- 

1651,  in  Cromwelliana,  pp.  112,  113.  ber  3,  1651,  10  at  night. 


1651.] 


TOTAL  DEFEAT   OF  THE   KING'S  ARMY. 


195 


on  which  side  success  would  fall.  "  This  battle  was 
fought  with  various  success  for  some  hours,  but  still  hope- 
ful on  your  part,  and  in  the  end  became  a  complete 
victory."  ^  "  Indeed,  this  hath  been  a  very  glorious  mercy, 
and  as  stiff  a  contest,  for  four  or  five  hours,  as  ever  I  have 
seen."^  And  again,  "indeed  it  was  a  stiff  business,"  and 
"  the  slain  are  very  many "  of  the  enemy,  "  and  must 
needs  be  so,  because  the  dispute  was  long  and  very  near 
at  hand ;  and  often  at  push  of  pike,  and  from  one  de- 
fence to  another."^  He  does  "not  think  the  Parliamen- 
tary forces  have  lost  two  hundred  men."  And  Cromwell 
uses  that  remarkable  expression : — "  The  dimensions  of 

this  mercy  are^  above" my"  thoughts^ Tt*^s",  for  aught  I 

know,  a  crowning  mercy."  *  But,  as  Sir  Walter  Scott 
says,  well  or  ill  disputed,  the  day  was  totally  lost.  Three 
thousand  men  were  slain  in  the  fight,  ten  thousand  were 
taken  prisoners ;  and  their  fate  formed  a  melancholy  con- 
trast to  that  of  His  sacred  Majesty,  and  his  councillors, 
the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  the  Earl  of  Lauderdale,  and 
other  noble  persons,  who  had  dragged  those  poor  men 
from  their  homes  and  families,  and  who  lived  and  flourished 
in  after-years,  "  a  spectacle  for  the  angels." 

The  covenanted  King  of  the  Seots — exhausted,  it  is  said, 
by  want  of  rest,  having  been,  according  to  Clarendon, 
upon  his  horse  most  part  of  the  night — retired  a  little 
before  noon  to  his  lodging,  to  eat  and  refresh  himself, 
under  the  impression  that  the  enemy  meant  to  make  no 
attempt  that  night.^  He  had  fallen  asleep,  and  slept  till 
the  most  terrible  of  all  eartlily  sounds,  that  of  his  flying 

'   Cromwell  to  the  Speaker,  Septem-         '  Ihid.  September  4,  1651. 
ber  4,  1651.  *  Ibid. 

2  Ibid.  September    3,   1651,    10   at         *  Clarendon's  Hist.  vol.  vi.  pp.  510, 

night.  511:  Oxford,  1826. 


I 


\ 


o  2 


196 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XL 


troops  driven  pellmell  through  the  streets  of  Worcester— 
the  sound  of  rapid  footsteps,  like  that  of  a  great  river 
bursting  a  barrier— footsteps  rendered  swift  by  fear,  but 
unsteady  on  streets  slippery  with  blood— the  shouts  of  the 
victors,  and  the  cries  for  quarter  of  the  vanquished— broke 
his  slumbers.     He  started  up,  mounted  his  horse  (which 
stood  ready  at  the  door),  and  fled  instantly,  surpassing  even 
David  Leslie  in  the  faculty  of  flight.     He  immediately  took 
his  natural  place  here,  which  place  was  the  van  in  flight ; 
as  that  of  Eobert  Bruce,  as  whose  representative  he  claimed 
to  be  King  of  the  Scots,  had  been  the  rear  in  retreat,  and  the 
van  in  onset.     The  first  time  that  day  that  this  "  heir  of  a 
hundred  kings  "  was  seen  by  the  enemy,  was  as  the  fore- 
most of  his  cavalry  in  headlong  flight.  "  They  make  no  re- 
sistance when  any  of  ours  overtake  them,"  says  the  ofiicer 
in  command  of  the  pursuing  cavahy— a  man  whose  back  no 
enemy  ever  saw—"  but  ride  post  and  in  great  confusion, 
the  King  being  the  foremost."  ^ 

It  IS  remarHHeTEat  this  is  the  first  time  the  King  is 
mentioiied'by  any  of  Cromwell's  officers  as  having  been 
66671  during  the  affair.  He  is  before  mentioned,  indeed,  in 
the^'r^WOMs :  ■'''Their  King  (it  is  said)  went  out  very 
meanly,  with  only  12  horse  "  ^  And  here  it  is  only,  "  it  is 
said."  If  the  King  had  shown  himself,  much  more  if  he  had 
exposed  himself  to  danger,  would  Cromwell's  despatches 
and  the  other  letters  from  the  army  have  said  nothing 
of  it?     Clarendon,  after  saying  that  "  a  little  before  noon 


16oL] 


THE   KING'S   CONDUCT   IN   THE   BATTLE. 


197 


'  Letter  from  Major-General  Har- 
rieon,  in  Wliitelock,  p.  508.— The 
course  and  extent  of  Harrison's  pur- 
suit are  indicated  in  the  following 
minute  of  September  12:  "  That  the 
letters  from  Major-General  Harrison 


and  the  Committee  of  Yorkshire,  with 
the  list  of  the  prisoners  enclosed,  be 
reported  to  the  Parliament."— Oro^gr 
Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  Septem- 
ber 12,  1651,  MS.  State  Paper  OiEce. 
*  Cromwelliana,  p.  1 15. 


he  retired  to  his  lodging,"  goes  on  to  relate  that  "  he  had 
not  been  there  near  an  hour  when  the  alarm  came ;  and 
though  he  presently  mounted  his  horse,  which  was  ready  at 
the  door,  before  he  came  out  of  the  city  he  met  the  whole 
body  of  his  horse  running  in  so  great  fear  that  he  could 
not  stop  them."  Lord  Clarendon  has  also  the  courage  to 
assert,  that  "  in  no  other  part,  except  where  Middleton  was 
hurt  and  Duke  Hamilton's  leg  broke  with  a  shot,  was  there 
resistance  made  ;  but  such  a  general  consternation  possessed 
the  whole  army,  that  the  rest  of  the  horse  fled,  and  all  the 
foot  threw  down  their  arms  before  they  were  charged."  ^ 

Now,  it  has  been  shown  that  the  battle  commenced  to- 
wards 3  P.M.,  and  lasted,  according  to  Cromwell's  own 
words,  "  as  stiff  a  contest  for  four  or  five  hours  as  ever  he 
had  seen."  But,  according  to  Clarendon,  the  battle  ended 
about  two  hours  before  it  began.  Clarendon  then  suddenly, 
without  any  intimation  that  the  King  had  left  the  town  to 
fight  the  enemy,  begins  his  next  sentence  thus  :  "  When 
the  King  came  back  into  the  town,  he  found  a  good  body  of 
horse,  which  had  been  persuaded  to  make  a  stand  ;  "  and 
after  in  vain  attempting  to  persuade  them  to  face  the 
enemy,  and  "  staying  till  very  many  of  the  enemy's  horse 
were  entered  the  town,  he  was  persuaded  to  withdraw  him- 
self; and  though  the  King  could  not  get  a  body  of  horse  to 
fight,  he  could  have  too  many  to  fly  with  him."  ^  This 
narrative,  though  constructed  with  the  art  of  an  unscru- 
pulous^advocafce,  is  incoherent,  and,  as  its  very  incoherency 
proves,  is  manifestly  untrue,  except  that  part  of  it  which 
states  that  the  King  was  in  his  lodging  while  his  troops 
were  fighting. 

Ik  was  a  feat  of  advocacy  more  rash  than  dexterous  in 

'  Clarendon's  Hist.  vol.\-i.  p.  612:  Oxford,  1826.     ^  Ibid.  yo).  vi.  pp.  512,  5U. 


4 
I 

4 


I 


198 


COMMONM^EALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XI. 


Clarendon  to  attempt  to  prove  that  Charles  was  a  brave 
man,  and  his  army  an  army  of  cowards.    He  knew,  indeed, 
the  importance  of  what  he  sought  to  prove ;  he  knew  that 
mankind  will  overlook,  will  bear  with,  if  they  will  not 
forgive,   many  things   in  a  brave  man  which  they  will 
visit  severely  upon  a  coward.   But  it  was  particularly  hard 
upon  the  men  who  composed  the  army  with  which  Charles 
marched  from  Scotland  to  Worcester  to  be  treated  in  this 
way.     For  if  that  army  had  not  had  among  them  some 
men  unusuaUy  brave,  such  a  march  would  never  have  been 
attempted;  for  they  well  knew,  and  they  had  had  good 
cause  to  know,  the  formidable  qualities  of  the  troops  they 
would  have  to  encounter. 

Dr.  George  Bates,  who  in  the  titlepage  of  his  book  is 
called  "  principal  physician  to  King  Charles  I.  and  King 
Charles  II.,"  and  is  also  said,  in  the  "  Preface  by  a  Person 
of  Quality,"  to  have  been  physician  to  Oliver  Cromwell— 
an  assertion  which,  as  has  been  shown  from  the  Order 
Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  is  so  far  true  that  Dr.  Bates 
was  one  of  three  physicians  sent  by  the  Council  into  Scotland 
to  give  Cromwell  advice  for  the  recovery  of  his  health- 
states  that  the  King,  with  a  Council  of  War,  viewing  the 
enemies  from  the  high  steeple  of  the  cathedral-church, 
perceived  them  upon  their  march  towards  the  town  ;  that 
aU  presently  arm,  and  the  King  himself  marches  out  to 
the  defence  of  Powick  Bridge,  and  to  hinder  the  enemies 
passing  over  the  bridge  of  boats.     Without  specifying  any 
of  the  King's  exploits  at  Powick  Bridge,  or  saying  why 
His  Majesty  left  it.  Dr.  Bates  begins  his  next  sentence  by 
suddenly  informing  us,  that  "  the  King  was  scarcely  got 
back  into   the   to;vn,"   when  everything  went  wrong  in 
the  defence  of  the  bridge.     And  in  the  next  sentence,  by  a 
turn  equally  sudden  and  remarkable,  he  informs  us' that 


1651.] 


FALSE  PANEGYRIC   ON   THE  KING, 


"  whilst  these  things  were  acting  " — that  is,  whilst  the 
King's  forces  were  losing  Powick  Bridge,  in  consequence  of 
the  King's  Majesty  having  "  got  back  into  the  town," — "  the 
King's  Majesty,  turning  towards  the  east  side  of  thetown» 
resolves  to  hazard  a  battle."^     The  royal  panegyrist  and 
physician  then  proceeds  to  state  that  the  King,  with  a  con- 
siderable body  of  foot  but  a  small  number  of  horse  ("for," 
he  says,  "  the  Scottish  cavalry  scarce  budged")  marched 
against  the  enemy  at  Perry-wood,  "  with  a  most  undaunted 
and    present    mind,''   being   followed   by   the   Dukes    of 
Hamilton  and  Buckingham,  and  Sir  Alexander  Forbes,  at 
the  head  of  his  foot ;  that  at  the  first  charge  he  beat  the 
van,  and  made  himself  master  of  the  artillery  ;  but  after- 
wards, "  though  with  wonderful  sagacity  he  gave  orders, 
in  the  heat  and  confusion  of  the  fight,  faced  the  greatest 
dangers  with  a  high  and  steady  mind,  not  to  be  matched 
by  others,  and  with  his  own  hand  did  many  brave  actions, 
and  gave  illustrious  proofs  of  his  personal  valour  even  in 
the  judgment  of  his  enemies  ;^  yet  being  overpowered  by 
fresh  men,  whom  Cromwell  in  great  numbers  sent  in,  he 
thought  it  best,  that  he  might  reserve  himself  for  better 
fortune,  to  retreat  in  time,  and  save  himself  in  the  town  ; 
that  he  then  used  all  manner  of  persuasions  to  encourage 
the  soldiers  to  renew  the  engagement ;   till,  the  danger 
growing  greater  and  greater,  by  St.  Martin's  Gate  he  went 
out  to   the  horse,   commanded  by  David   Leslie,  being 
almost   entire,  and   directed  his  course  towards  Barbon 
Bridge,  earnestly  entreating  the  horse  to  take  courage  and 
hasten  to  the  assistance  of  the  foot,  who  were  put  to 
utmost  extremity."^ 

If  the   other   account  be   true — and   Clarendon,  if  as 


'  Bates,  part  ii.  p.  125.  shown  above. 

'  The  falsehood  of  this   has   been         "  Bates,  part  ii.  pp.  125,  126. 


200  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XI 

regardless  of  the  truth,  was  likely  to  be  at  least  as  well 
nformed  as  Bates-that  Charles,  during  the  obstinate  and 
sangumaiy  conflict  in  which  the  unfortunate  Scots  were 
shedding  their  blood  for  this  phantom  King,  whom  they 
regarded  as  the  representative  of  their  great  Robert  Bruce 
was   "  m  his  lodging  eating,"  and  afterwards  "  refreshing 
himself"  with  sleep,  and  that  it  was  the  noise  of  the  flying 
army,  driven  pellmell  into  the  town,  that  broke  the  royal 
slumbers,  the  only  part  of  this  romance  of  Bates  which 
has  m  It  a  shadow  of  truth,  is  that  Charles  then  joined  the 
cavalry,  and  "  was  the  foremost  in  flight." 

There  is  a  reason  for  taking  more  notice  of  this  book  of 
Bates  than  its  intrinsic  value  merits :  for  this  mendacious 
de^iption  of  the  King's  heroism  at  the  Battle  of  Worcester 
IS   a   sort  of  measure  of  the  degradation  to  which  the 
Restoration  reduced  public  opinion  and  everything  else 
m  England.     The  second  part  of  Bates's  book  was  written 
after  the  Restoration,  with  what  object  is  evident  enough 
^^^  ihi22^  Jts^lf.     HTs"  always  the  last  proof  of  de- 
basement  m  a  nation,  when  the  corruption  of  the  Govern- 
ment awards  to  men  who  have  not  risked  their  lives  in 
battle  or  in  the  public  service  the  honours  that  only  belong 
to  those  who  have.     Rome  had  fallen  upon  evil  days  when 
Caligula  drew  up  his  army  on  the  seashore  near  Boulogne 
under   pretence  of  invading   Britain;  and,  having   with 
great  parade   disposed  his  warlike  engines,  ordered  his 
soldiers  to  gather  the  sea-shells,  and  fill  their  helmets  and 
the  skirts  of  their  clothes,  saying  "  these  were  the  spoils 
of  the  ocean,  fit  to  be  deposited  in  the  Capitol ;"  and  then, 
by  letters  to  Rome,  ordered  preparations  to  be  made  for  a 
triumph  that  should  exceed  in  magnificence   all  former 
triumphs.     In  like  manner  had  England  fallen  upon  evil 
days,  when  a  man,  who  performed  the  part  neither  of  a 


1651.]        SCOTCH  STUDENTS  AMONG   THE   PRISONERS. 


201 


^ 


i- 


great  commander  nor  a  good  soldier,  was  held  up  to  public 
view  as  having  performed  the  part  of  both ;  while  the 
brave  but  unfortunate  men,  who  shed  their  blood  for  a 
worthless  and  incapaBle^yuuiig""lfiarn7w^r€""TreId  up  to  un- 
merited obloquy.         '  ' 

WKehTt  is  considered  that  the  students  at  the  Scottish 
Universities  were  usually  very  young,  of  the  age  of  boys 
rather  than  of  young  men,  it  appears,  from  the  following 
minute  of  the  Council  of  State,  that  the  zeal  of  the  Scottish 
Royalist  gentry,  in  favour  of  their  Stuart  Kings,  for  whom 
they  from  first  to  last  shed  so  much  of  their  blood  in  vain, 
led  them  to  take  with  them  in  this  disastrous  expedition 
some  of  their  sons  who  were  mere  boys.  For  here  was  a 
mere  boy,  a  student  at  the  University  of  St.  Andrews,  who 
had  accompanied  his  father,  and  shared  with  him  the  hard- 
ships of  the  long  march,  the  perils  of  Worcester,  and  after- 
wards imprisonment : — 

"  Upon  the  reading  of  the  petition  of  Sir  Adam  Hepbume 
of  Hombee,  for  himself  and  his  two  sons,  John  Cockbourne 
of  Ormestone,  and  Thomas  Hepburn e,  student  at  St. 
Andrews  in  Scotland,  it  is  ordered  that  the  said  Thomas 
Hepburne  shall  have  liberty  to  return  into  Scotland  to 
follow  his  studies  there,  he  first  taking  the  engagement ; 
and  that  Sir  Adam  Hepburne  of  Hombee  and  John  Cock- 
burne  [sic]  of  Ormestone  shall  have  the  liberty  of  the  city 
and  the  places  within  the  late  lines  of  communication — 
they  entering  into  bonds,  in  the  sum  of  £1,000  apiece  for 
themselves,  and  £500  each  two  sureties,  upon  the  usual 
terms."* 

On  the  10th  of   September  the   Parliament   issued  a 

'  Order   Book   of    the    Council    of    Hombee,  for  himself  and  his  two  sons], 
State,     Thursday,    March     25,    1652     MS.  State  Paper  OflBce. 
[Petition  of  Sir  Adam  Hepburne   of 


i 


202  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XI. 

proclamation,  offering  a  reward  of  £1,000  "for  the  discovery 
and  apprehending  of  Charles  Stuart,  and  other  traitors, 
his  adherents  and  abettors."     A  month  passed,  however,' 
and  Charles  was  still  nncaptured.     On  Monday  the  13th  of 
October  1651,  the  Council  of  State  made  the  following 
order,  which  appears  to  me  to  show  (what  before  I  consi- 
dered doubtful)  that  they  reaUy  desired  to  apprehend  him  : 
"  That  letters  be  written  to  all  the  ports,  to  make  strict 
search  of  aU  persons  that  shall  attempt  to  go  out  of  the 
land,  especiaUy  such  as  are  in  disguise,  to  prevent  the 
going  out  of  Charles  Stuart,  who  we  are  informed  is  still 
in  England ;  to  let  them  know  that  £1,000  is  appointed  by 
Act  of  Parliament  for  them  who  shaU  take  him."^     Crom- 
well, who  did  not  attend  the  Council  of  State  after  the  2nd 
tiU  the  11th  of  October  (his  name  not  being  in  the  list  of 
those  present  at  the  Council  on  any  of  the  intervening 
days),  was  present  on  this  day,  the  13th  of  October.  It  may 
thence  be  inferred  that  Cromwell  really  desired  the  appre- 
hension of  Charles.    But  it  seems  to  have  been  better,  both 
for  CromweU  and  the  Council  of  State,  that  Charles  escaped, 
than  that  they  should  have  had  either  the  keeping  of  himl 
prisoner,  or  the  repetition  of  the  scene  of  the  30th  of  Jan- 
uary 164f  in  front  of  WhitehaU. 

After  many  adventures,  which  have  been  variously  related, 
some  of  which  are  described  in  the  nai-rative  of  a  Mr! 
Whitgreaves,2  at  whose  house  he  was  secreted  two  or  three 
days— a  narrative  which  presents  a  strong  contrast  to  the 
fictions  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  "  Woodstock,"  and  represents 
Charles  in  a  far  better  light  than  the  romance  does ;  there 

JJt'  ^"")."^.'^"    ^"""'^^    "^  ^^ntly  printed  copy  of  this  MS.  in  the 

State,  Monday  October  13,  1651,  MS.  ''Westminister  Review,"  vol.  ..pp.  432 

State  Paper  Office.  .434^,^^  ,j^^  "Retrospective  Review," 

-  i^ee  an   extract  from  a  then  re-  No.  20. 


I60I.] 


ESCAPE   OF  THE  KING  TO   FRANCE. 


203 


being,  instead  of  insolent  airs  and  attempts  on  the  honour 
of  his  htTSlfr'^^^^ttghteTT''^ very  respectful' condescension 
towards  his  host  and  his  family,  and  a  full  sense  of  his 
forlorn  condition  on  the  part  of  the  King — Charles  found 
means  to  hire  a  vessel  on  the  coast  of  Sussex,  and  landed 
at  Havi'e-de-Grace.  On  the  28th  of  October,  an  extract  of 
two  letters  from  Paris  was  published,  licensed  by  the  Clerk 
of  the  Parliament,  and  setting  forth :  "  That  on  the  19th 
the  Scots'  King  arrived  there,  and  was  met  by  the  Duke  of 
Orleans  not  far  from  that  city :  that  his  Highness  conducted 
him  to  the  Louvre,  whither  the  late  Queen,  his  mother, 
repaired  presently  after  from  Chaliot,  where  she  had  been 
erecting  a  nunnery  :  that  the  King  gave  the  company  a  full 
narrative  of  all  the  pai-ticulars  of  what  happened  at  the  fight 
at  Worcester,  threw  out  some  reproachful  words  against  the 
Scots,  put  some  scurrilous  language  on  the  Presbyterian 
party  in  England,  and  boasted  much  of  his  own  valour. 
That  he  told  them  how  he  slipt  out  of  Worcester,  and  how 
near  he  was  of  being  taken  there — first  in  the  fort,  and 
after  in  his  chamber :  how  he  disguised  himself,  and  went 
from  county  to  county,  and  what  shift  he  made  for 
victuals  and  lodging ;  sometimes  being  driven  to  beg  a 
piece  of  bread  and  meat,  and  ride  with  bread  in  one  hand 
and  meat  in  the  other,  and  sometimes  setting  a  guard 
about  a  little  cottage,  while  he  rested  there  until  the  morn- 
ing :  as  also  his  being  in  London,  and  the  manner  of  his 
passing  disguised  through  several  counties  in  England, 
till  he  made  his  escape."^ 

The  Council  of  State  was  much  occupied  for  some  time 
with  the  disposal  of  the  prisoners.  The  noblemen  and  the 
superior  officers,  such  as  Lieutenant- General  David  Leslie, 


/ 


J 


'  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  p.  1375. 


204 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XI. 


were  committed  to  the  Tower  of  London-the  persons  next 
in  rank  to  Windsor  Castle.  The  Order  Book  of  the  Council 
of  State,  under  date  16th  September  1651,  contains  a  list  of 
knights,  colonels,  &c.,  committed  to  Windsor  Castle.  The 
following  minutes  of  29th  September  relate  to  the  other 
prisoners  of  lower  rank  or  of  no  rank  :— 

«  That  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  for  Prisoners  to 
examine  whether  Chelsey  College  belongs  to  the  State  or 
to  particular  persons :  if  to  the  State  they  are  to  make  use 
of  It ;  if  to  particular  persons,  they  are  to  treat  with  them 
that  it  may  be  made  use  of  for  the  accommodating  of  some' 
of  the  Soots  prisoners."     "  That  it  be  referred  to  the  same 
Committee  to  make  use  of  the  church  near  the  ground 
[TothUl  Fields]  where  now  they  are,  or  of  the  pesthouse  or 
of  any  other  place  for  the  lodging  of  the  sick  and  wounded 
men  of  the  Scots  prisoners ;  and  the  said  Committee  is  to 
speak  with  the  Martial-General  about  the  providing  of 
straw  and  other  necessaries  for  the  lodging  of  the  Scots 
prisoners."' 

It   is  impossible  to  say  what  proportion  of  the  Scots 
prisoners  was  shipped  to  the  plantations.     A  doubt  may 
even  be  raised,  as  will  be  shown  presently,  whether  any  of 
them  were  so  disposed  of,  although  undoubtedly  the  Council 
at  one  time  contemplated  such  a  proceeding.  It  is,  however, 
quite  certain  that  they  were  not  all  so  disposed  of,  either 
after  the  Battle  of  Dunbar,  or  after  that   of  Worcester 
There  are  in  the  Order  Book  minutes  respecting  the  employ- 
ment of  some  of  those  of  Dunbar  in  the  coal-mines  about 
Newcastle,  and  of  others  in  agriculture  in  England.     And 
with  regard  to  those  of  Worcester,  the  Council  of  State,  on 
the  1st  of  October  1651,  made  an  order:  "  That  1,000  of 


16oL] 


DISPOSAL   OF   THE   PRISONERS. 


20^ 


tlie  Scottish  prisoners  be  delivered  to  the  use  of  the  under- 
taker for  the  draining  of  the  Fens,  upon  condition  that,  if 
ten  men  of  each  hundred  do  escape  from  them,  thej  do 
then  forfeit,  for  every  man  escaping  above  the  aforesaid 
number,  the  sum  of  £10."^  And  again,  on  the  9th  of  Oc- 
tober, there  is  this  order:  "That  so  many  of  the  Scottish 
prisoners,  private  soldiers,  as  are  in  Tothill  Fields,  and  also 
at  York,  and  are  sound  and  fit  for  labour,  be  delivered  over 
for  the  draining  of  the  Fens."^ 

It  appears,  from  the  following  minutes,  that  some  of  the 
English  prisoners  were  kept  at  St.  James's.  On  the  16th 
of  October  Colonel  Berkstead  is  ordered  to  choose  twenty 
out  of  the  English  private  soldiers,  now  prisoners  at  St. 
James's,  to  be  proceeded  against  by  a  Council  of  War  or 
Court  Martial  ;  the  Court  Martial  to  be  held  on  Thursday, 
25th  of  October,  in  the  Court  of  Star  Chamber,  at  West- 
minster, by  9  o'clock  in  the  forenoon.^  And,  from  the 
following  minute,  it  appears  that  steps  were  certainly  taken 
for  transporting  to  the  plantations  some  of  the  Scots  pri- 
soners. On  the  25th  of  October  the  Council  of  State  ordered, 
"  That  the  Committee  for  Prisoners  do,  upon  usual  security, 
give  license  for  the  transporting  of  some  Scots  prisoners  to 
the  Bermudas."^ 

There  are  various  orders  of  the  Council  of  State  respecting 
the  treatment  of  the  prisoners.  An  allowance  was  crdeied 
of  2d,  per  diem  to  each  of  the  Scots  prisoners,  "for  provision 
of  victuals,"  at  Chester,  and  of  2^d.  per  diem  in  London. 
There  are  orders  on  the  16th  of  September  for  112  bags  of 
biscuits  for  the  Scots  prisoners,  at  16s.  per  cwt.;  for  payment 
of  the  "  bakers  and  cheesemongers,  which  have  furnished 
provisions  to  the  Scots  prisoners,  at  £56.  5s.  per  diem  and 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  October  1,  1651,  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 


«  Ihid.  October  9,  1651. 
»  Ibid.  October  16,  1651. 
*  Bid.  October  21,  1651. 


206 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XI. 


1C51.] 


RELEASE   OF  THE  E^VRL  OF  LEVEN. 


207 


upwards ;  and  that  a  warrant  be  issued  to  the  Master  and 
Wardens  of  the  Company  of  Chirurgeons,  to  appoint  some 
skilful  chirurgeons  to  dress  constantly  such  of  the   Scots 
prisoners  as  are  wounded.'"     The  humanity  of  this  last 
order  would  be  creditable  to  the  Council,  were  it  not  for  its 
lateness— thirteen  days  after  the  battle.  But  there  may  have 
been  reasons  for  this  apparent  delay  which  we  do  not  know. 
On  the  same  day,  the  16th  of  September,  the  Lord -General 
[Cromwell]  is  "desired  to  give  order  that  the  Earl  of  Lauder- 
dale, Sir  David  Leslie,  Lieutenant-General,  Lieutenant- Gen- 
eral David  Middleton,  Sir  William  Fleming,  Sir  David  Cun- 
ningham, Lieutenant-Colonel  Sir  William  Hart,  Sir  William 
Douglas,  now  prisoners  at  Chester,  be  brought  up  in  safe 
custody,  under  a  sufficient  guard,  to  London."^     On  the  1st 
of  October  it  is  ordered,  "That  Ealph  Delavall,  of  Seaton  De- 
lavall,  in  the  county  of  Northumberland,  Esquire,  desiring 
leave  to  visit  the  Earl  of  Leven,^  now  prisoner  in  the 
Tower,  in  order  to  supply  him  with  some  necessaries,  be 
permitted,  according  to  his  said  desire,  to  come  unto  the 
Earl  of  Leven  in  the  Tower."^    And  on  the  3rd  of  October, 
"  Upon  the  motion  of  the  Lord-General  [Cromwell],  it  is 
ordered  that  General  Leven  [the  Earl  of  Leven]  shall  have 
the  liberty  of  the  Tower,  and  that  his  servant  may  come 
to  him,  to  do  him  such  service  as  is  necessary  to  him."^ 
On  the  11th  of  November,  the  Council  of  State  ordered, 
"  That  the  Order  of  Parliament  concerning  the  Earl  of 
Leven  be  issued  to  the  Committee  for  Irish  and  Scottish 


•  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Tuesday,  September  16,  1651, 
MS.  State  Paper  Office. 

*  Ibid,  same  day. 

'  The  Earls  of  Leven  and  Crawford- 
Lindsay,  Lord  Ogleby,  and  others, 
had  been  surprised  by  Monk  in  Scot- 
land, and  sent  prisoners  to  London. 
The  old  Earl  of  Leven  had  been  left 


General  in  Scotland  by  the  King,  and 

Crau-ford-Lindsay  Lieutenant-General. 
— Lord  Leicester's  Journal,  p.  117; 
Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  i.  p.  366. 

*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  October  1,  1651,  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 

*  Pnd.  October  3,  1651. 


Affairs,  who  are  to  consider  of  what  secm^ity  is  fit  to  be 
taken  of  him  for  his  abode  at  Mr.  Delavall  his  house  in 
the  county  of  Northumberland,  and  to  report  their  opinions 
to  the  Council."^  On  the  13th  of  November  1651,  the  ar- 
rangement for  enlarging  the  old  Earl  of  Leven,  the  veteran 
general  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  from  the  Tower  was  com- 
pleted :  the  Earl  of  Leven  to  give  his  parole,  under  his  hand 
and  seal :  Ealph  Delavall,  of  Seaton  Delavall  in  the  countv 
of  Northumberland,  Esquire;  John  Delavall,  of  Peter- 
borough, in  the  county  of  Northampton,  and  John  Dela- 
vall of  &c.,  recognizance  of  £20,000  before  the  Lords 
Commissioners  of  the  Great  Seal :  the  Earl  of  Leven  to  be 
confined  to  the  said  house  of  Seaton  Delavall,  or  within 
twelve  miles  thereof."  ^ 

On  the  7th  of  October  it  is  ordered,  "  That  the  Scots 
prisoners  in  the  Tower  shall  have  liberty  to  write  into 

>  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  "  From  Tynemouth  his  Lordship,  by 
State,  November  11,  1651,  MS.  State  invitation,  went  to  dine  at  Seaton 
Paper  Office.— On  the  same  day  there  Delaval.  Sir  Ralph  Delaval  enter- 
is  an  order  for  Colonel  Keith,  pri-  tained  us  exceeding  well.  The  chief 
soner  in  Windsor  Castle,  to  have  liberty  remarkable  there  was  a  little  port, 
for  three  months  on  parole,  for  the  which  that  gentleman,  with  great  con- 
recovery  of  his  health ;  tlie  Earl  of 
Rothes  and  the  Earl  Mareschal  of 
Scotland  to  have  each  a  servant  allowed 
to  attend  upon  him  in  the  Tower,  pro- 
vided such  servant  be  kept  a  prisoner 
in  the  Tower  also.  —  Ibid.  November 
10,  1651.  "Thata  letter  be  wTitten  to 
the  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower,  to  secure  at  the  mouth  of  a  rill  of  water,  which, 
the  Earl  Mareschal  of  Scotland  by  running  from  the  hills,  had  excavated 
himself  alone,  apart  from  the  rest,  and  a  great  hollow  in  the  fall  as  it  ran. 
to  keep  him  close  prisoner  in  order  to  a  Sir  Ralph  had  built,  or  rather  often 
further  examination." — Ibid.  Novem-  rebuilt,  a  pier  of  stone,  that  fenced  off 
ber  11,  1651.  the   surge  to   the  north-east,  and,  at 

2  Ibid.  November  13,  1651. — Roger  high-water,  gave  entrance  near  a  little 

North,  in   liis  Life  of  his  brother  the  promontory  of  the  shore ;  and  at  h-w 

Lord-Keeper  Guilford  (vol.  i.  p.  266,  water,  the  vessels  lay  dry  upon   the 

3rd  edition,  London,  1819),  gives  an  in-  rock." 
teresting  descript  ion  of  Seaton  Delaval : 


trivance  and  after  many  disappoint- 
ments, made  for  securing  small  craft, 
that  carried  out  his  salt  and  coal ;  and 
he  had  been  encouraged  in  it  by  King 
Charles  II.,  who  made  him  collector 
and  surveyor  of  his  own  port,  and  no 
officer  to  intermeddle  there.    It  stands 


/ 


208 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XL 


Scotland :  the  letters  to  be  sent  open  to  the  Lieutenant  of 
the  Tower,  who,  if  he  find  they  write  only  concerning  their 
own  condition,  shall  seal  the  letters  and  deliver  them  to 
such  person  as  they  shall  appoint  to  carry  theni."^  And  on 
the  same  day  an  order  is  made,  "  That  Lieutenant-General 
David  Leslie,  now  prisoner  in  the  Tower,  shall  have  liberty 
to  have  his  servant  come  to  him  to  attend  upon  him."^ 
And  on  the  3rd  of  December  1651,  a  further  order  was 
made,  "  That  liberty  be  given  to  the  wife  of  Lieutenant- 
General  David  Leslie,  with  two  maidservants,  to  go  in  and 
come  out  of  the  Tower  as  they  shall  have  occasion."^ 

On  the  17th  of  December  1651,  the  Council  of  State 
ordered,  "  That  the  Earl  of  Carnwath  shall  have  the  liberty 
of  the  Tower,  to  walk  for  the  preservation  of  his  health," 
and  "  That  the  Lord  Crawford-Lindsey  [sic]  shall  have  a 
servant  allowed  to  attend  upon  him  in  the  Tower ;  "^  and 
on  the  24th  of  the  same  December,  they  ordered,  "  That 
Sir  David  Leslie,  Alexander  Earl  of  Kellie,  John  Lord 
Bargany  [sic] ,  and  the  Lord  Oglebie,  shall  have  the  liberty 
of  the  Tower."^ 

There  is  a  strange  and  painful  contrast  between  these 
indulgences,  granted  to  the  Scottish  officers  of  rank,  and 
the  harsh  treatment  of  the  private  soldiers  and  the  officers 
below  the  rank  of  field-officers— a  treatment  which  ap- 
pears to  be  exactly  the  reverse  of  what  justice  would  seem 
to  require,  since  the  soldiers  and  the  officers  below  field-offi- 
cers could  not  possibly  have  had  any  share  in  the  counsels 
which  caused  the  invasion  of  England  that  led  to  the 
Battle  of  Worcester.     On  the  day  following  that  on  which 


*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  October  7,  1651,  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 

'  Ibid,  same  day. 


*  lUd.  December  3,  1651. 

*  Ibid.  December  17,  1651. 

*  Ibid.  Wednesday,   December   24, 
1651. 


1651.] 


DISPOSAL  OF   THE  PRISONERS. 


209 


the  last  order  above  mentioned  was  made  respecting 
David  Leslie  (namely,  on  the  4th  of  December,  1651),  an 
order  was  made,  that  a  Committee,  composed  of  upwards  of 
20  members  of  the  Council  of  State,  and  including  Sir 
Henry  Vane  and  the  Lord-General  [Cromwell],  "or  any 
three  or  more  of  them,  shall  have  power  to  dispose  to  plan- 
tations all  the  prisoners  under  the  degree  of  field-officer  taken 
at  Worcester,  or  in  any  other  place,  since  the  invasion  by 
the  Scots'  armv,  as  well  those  abroad  in  several  erarrisons 
as  those  that  are  brought  to  London.  And  that  they 
report  to  the  Council  how  they  shall  so  dispose  of  them. 
And  that  the  said  Committee  do  also  report  to  the  Council 
what  they  conceive  fit  to  be  done  with  the  field-ofiicers 
that  are  prisoners."  ^ 

According  to  Yattel,  it  is  lawful  to  condemn  prisoners  of 
war  to  slavery  only  in  cases  which  give  a  right  to  kill 
them — when  they  have  rendered  themselves  personally 
guilty  of  some  crime  deserving  of  death.  The  ancients 
used  to  seU  their  prisoners  of  war  for  slaves  ;  but  they 
thought  they  had  a  right  to  put  them  to  death.  "Li 
every  circumstance,"  says  Yattel,  "  when  I  cannot  inno- 
cently take  away  my  prisoner's  life,  I  have  no  right  to 
make  him  a  slave."  ^  As  the  orders  for  re2rulatin<r  the 
proceedings  of  the  Council  of  State  required  that  "  nothing 
of  any  debate  or  argimient  shall  be  entered  into  the  book, 
but  only  the  result  thereof  declared  in  the  vote,"  we  know 
not  on  what  ground  this  harsh  measure  was  adopted. 
But  it  was  probably  a  ground  similar  to  that  which  in- 
duced the  Czar  Peter  to  send  into  Siberia  all  the  prisoneis 
he  took  at  Pultowa.  Charles  XXL,  after  the  Battle  of 
Narva,  only  disarmed  his  prisoners  and  set  them  at  liberty. 

•  Order   Book    of    the    Council   of        *  Vattel's  Law   of   Nations,  b.    iii. 
State,    December  4,   1651,  MS.  State     ch.  vii.  §  152. 
Paper  Office. 

VOL.  II.  P 


{ 
i 

i 


.H 


210 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XL 


I60L] 


DISPOSAL   OF  THE  PRISONERS. 


211 


r 

1 


») 


The  English  Parliament  might  think,  with  the  Eussian 
Czar,  that  generosity  is  a  luxury  too  expensive  to  be 
indulged  in  by  statesmen.  "  The  Swedish  hero,"  says 
Vattel,  "  confided  too  much  in  his  own  generosity ;  the 
sagacious  monarch  of  Russia  united,  perhaps,  too  great  a 
degree  of  severity  with  his  prudence :  but  necessity  fur- 
nishes an  apology  for  severity,  or  rather  throws  a  veil  over 
it  altogether."^  Such  statesmen  as  Vane  and  Cromwell 
.  might  probably  have  shown  that  a  necessity  existed,  had 
their  arguments  in  the  Council  of  State  been  preserved. 
But,  as  they  have  not  been  preserved,  I  will  not  attempt  to 
conjecture  what  they  might  have  been.  And  I  will  only 
add,  in  the  words  of  Vattel — "  I  shall  dwell  no  longer  on 
the  subject:  and,  indeed,  that  disgrace  to  humanity  is 
happily  banished  from  Europe."  ^ 

There  is  another  very  important  minute,  relating  to  the 
Scots  prisoners,  made  about  a  fortnight  after  that  just 
quoted,  which,  if  it  can  be  considered  as  comprehending 
all  the  prisoners,  and  not  merely  those  who  remained  after 
the  disposal  of  the  others  to  the  plantations,  would  speak 
strongly  in  favour  of  the  humane  treatment  of  those  pri- 
soners by  the  English  Parliament  and  Council  of  State. 
The  following  is  this  order,  made  on  Wednesday,  17th  of 
December,  1651  : — 

"  That  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  for  Prisoners  to 
take  into  consideration  the  discharging  of  the  Scots 
prisoners  remaining  now  in  TothiU  Fields  and  about  Lon- 
don, which  were  taken  at  the  Battle  of  Worcester ;  and 
also  what  allowance  is  fit  to  be  made  of  clothing  and 
money,  for  the  enabling  of  them  to  return  into  their  own 
country,  the  sum  of  which  is  to  be  paid  by  Mr.  Frost  out 


'  Vattel's  Law  of  Nations,  b.  iii.  ch. 
viii.  §  52. 


Ibid.  §  152. 


of  the  exigent  moneys  of  the  Council,  and  also  what  time 
is  fit  to  be  given  for  their  performing  of  the  journey."  ^ 

There  is  another  order  of  the  same  date,  "  That  it  be 
referred  to  the  Committee  for  Prisoners  to  consider  of  the 
disposing  of  such  of  the  Scots  prisoners  as  are  now  at 
Newcastle,  or  in  any  other  place  of  this  nation,  and  report 
what  they  think  fit  to  be  done  therein."  ^ 

On  the  same  day,  the  Council  of  State  made  the  folloAv- 
ing  order  with  regard  to  the  English  prisoners  taken  at 
the  Battle  of  Worcester  : — 

"  That  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  for  Irish  and 
Scottish  Afiairs,  in  pursuance  of  an  Order  of  Parliament  of 
the  28tli  of  November,  to  consider  of  the  sending:  of  the 
English  prisoners,  now  at  James  House  and  in  the  Mews, 
which  were  taken  at  the  Battle  of  Worcester,  over  into 
Ireland,  there  to  be  disposed  of  for  the  advantage  of  the 
Commonwealth."  ^ 

The  following  minutes  show  that  the  former  minute  for 
sending  home  some  of  the  Scots  prisoners  remaining  in 
TothiU  Fields  and  about  London  was  not  meant  to  include 
those  of  the  higher  rank  : — 

"  That  Lieutenant-General  Fleetwood,  Colonel  Blake, 
Mr.  Scot,  Mr.  Herbert,  Sir  William  Masham,  and  Mr. 
Nevill,  or  any  two  of  them,  be  appointed  a  Committee 
to  consider  of  the  disposing  of  the  Scots  prisoners  now 
in  the  Tower,  to  such  other  places  of  restraint,  where  those 
that  are  of  most  consideration  and  best  able  to  act  anything 
prejudicial,  may  be  separated  one  from  another,  and  yet 
all  may  have  the  liberty  of  the  respective  prisons  to 
which  they  shall  be  committed."* 

■  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  -  Ihid.  same  day. 
State,  Wednesday,  December  17,  1651,  ^  Ihid.  same  day. 
MS.  State  Paper  Office.  *  Bid.  December  21,  1651. 


r  2 


212 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XI. 


1651.] 


EXECUTION   OE  THREE  ROYALISTS. 


213 


66 


)< 


'■! 


That  notice  be  given  to  the  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower, 
that  he  is  to  take  care  that  all  those  persons  of  quality 
of  the  Scottish  nation  who  have  had  the  liberty  of  the 
Tower  granted  unto  them,  may  (notwithstanding  the 
said  liberty  given)  have  keepers  appointed  to  them,  to 
take  especial  care  of  them,  that  they  make  not  their 
escape."^ 

"  That  the  Lord  Viscount  Lisle  be  added  to  the  Com- 
mittee for  Prisoners ;  and  they  desired  to  take  care  of 
such  of  the  Scottish  prisoners  as  are  now  at  the  Mews."^ 

"  That  Major  Andrew  Carr  and  Captain  James  Keyth 
[sic],  now  prisoners  in  Chelsey  College,  be  permitted  to 
go  into  Scotland  for  four  or  five  months  on  their  parols, 
on  behalf  of  the  rest  of  the  prisoners  in  Chelsey  College, 
to  fetch  them  some  relief  from  their  friends,  for  their 
better  accommodation  and  subsistence  during  their  im- 
prisonment here."^ 

On  the  same  day  the  Council  of  State  also  made  the 
following  order  :  "  That  the  seven  inferior  servants  of  the 
Scotch  King,  which  [sic]  are  now  prisoners  in  the  Fleet, 
be  forthwith  discharged,  upon  their  taking  the  engage- 
ment, and  giving  their  own  bonds,  that  they  will  act 
nothing  prejudicial  to  the  Commonwealth.""* 

On  the  1st  of  July  1652,  the  Council  of  State  ordered, 
"  That  the  private  soldiers  of  the  Scottish  nation  who  are 
now  prisoners  at  Durham  and  Gloucester  be  released,  and 
permitted  to  return  into  their  own  country."^  And  on 
the  30th  of  the  same  month  the  Council  ordered,  "  That 
the  sum  of  £39  3s.,  laid  out  for  the  clothing  of  some  Scots 
prisoner sbe fore  they  went  home,  be  paid  out  of  the  con- 

'  Order   Book    of    the    Council   of  '  3id.  same  day. 

Stat<*,  December  24,  1651,  MS.  State  *  Ibid,  same  day. 

Paper  Office.  *  Ibid.  Thursday  afternoon,  July  1, 

'  Ibid,  same  day.  1652. 


tingent  moneys  of  the  Council."  ^  And  on  the  3rd  of  Feb- 
ruary and  1st  of  March,  165  J,  the  Council  of  State  ordered, 
"  That  the  private  soldiers  now  remaining  in  the  gaol  of 
Shrewsbury,  of  those  that  were  sent  thither  after  the  fight 
at  Worcester,  be  set  at  liberty,  and  have  20  days  allowed 
them  to  go  into  their  own  country,  they  first  takmg  the 
engagement."  ^  "  That  Sir  Arthur  Haselrig  have  i)ower  to 
discharge  all  the  Scotch  prisoners  not  Highlanders  now  at 
Durham,  who  are  under  the  degree  of  a  captain,  and  give 
them  passes  to  go  into  Scotland,  and  take  from  them  an 
engagement  that  they  will  never  more  bear  arms  against 
the  Commonwealth  of  England."  ^ 

Upon  the  whole,  from  the  preceding  and  various  other 
minutes,  I  should  infer  that  only  a  small  proportion  of  the 
Scottish  prisoners,  taken  not  only  at  Worcester  but  at 
Dunbar,  were  sent  to  the  English  plantations. 

On  the  11th  of  September  Mr.  Scott,  from  the  Council 
of  State,  reported  to  the  House  the  names  of  nine  persons 
they  thought  proper  to  be  made  examples  of  justice,  and 
tried  by  court-martial : — the  Duke  of  Hamilton ;  the  Earls 
of  Derby,  Lauderdale,  and  Cleveland ;  Sir  Timothy  Fea- 
therstonhaugh.  Colonel  Massey,  Captain  Benbow,  and 
the  Mayor  and  Sheriff  of  Worcester.^  As  already  men- 
tioned, the  Duke  of  Hamilton  died  of  his  wounds  four  days 
after  the  battle.  The  Earl  of  Derby  was  beheaded  at 
Bolton,  in  Lancashire,  on  the  15th  of  October ;  Sir  Timothy 
Featherstonhaugh  was  beheaded  at  Chester,  on  the  22nd 
of  October ;  and  Captain  Benbow  was  shot  at  Shrews- 
bury, on  the  15th  of  the   same  month.^      These    three 

^  Order  Book    of    the   Council   of  '  Ibid.  Monday,  March  1,  165^. 

State,  Friday,  July  30,  1652,  MS.  State  *  Pari.  Hist,  vol,  iii.  p.  1372. 

Paper  Office.  *  Ibid.  pp.  1373,  1374;  Lord  Leices- 

2  /Jic/.  TueJ^day,  February  3,  165^.  ter's  Journal,  pp.  119,  120,  122. 


*% 


214 


COMMONWEALTH  OP  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XI. 


165L] 


DUNDEE  TAKEN  BY  STORM. 


215 


appear  to  have  been  all  who  were  executed.^  The  Earls 
of  Lauderdale  and  Cleveland  were  committed  to  the 
Tower,  as  also  was  Colonel  Massey. 

There  were  other  prisoners  in  the  Tower  besides  Laud- 
erdale, whose  lives  might  have  well  appeared,  to  many  of 
their  countrymen  in  after-days,  to  have  been  saved  from 
the  hard  doom  of  Derby  and  Benbow  by  some  evil  rather 
than  good  fate.     On  the  9th  of  January  165^,  the  Council 
of  State  ordered,  "  That  Major-General  Dalyell  [sic],  now 
prisoner  in  the  Tower,  be  allowed  5s.  per  week  for  his 
subsistence  during  his  imprisonment  in  the  Tower."  ^     j^ 
may  be  inferred  that  this  was  the  same  person  who,  in 
after-years,  figured  with  Lauderdale  and  Claverhouse'  in 
the  inhuman  persecution  of  the  unfortunate  Covenanters  of 
Scotland.  In  the  slaughter  of  BothweU  Bridge,  in  striking 
a  prisoner  on  the  face  with  the  hilt  of  his  dagger  till  the 
blood  sprang,  in  the  business  of  the  torture-chamber  of  the 
Privy  Council  of  Scotland,  General  Thomas  Dalzell  took 
such  vengeance  as  was  suited  to  the  nature  of  the  man,  or 
rather  the  beast,  for  the  terrible  defeats  he  had  met  with,  in 
other  and  very  different  times,  from  Cromwell's  Ironsides. 
On  the  15th  of  August,  Stirling  Castle  surrendered  to 
Lieutenant-General  Monk.     On  Monday  the  1st  of  Sep- 
tember Monk  took  Dundee  by  storm,  put  500  or  600  of 


'  I  hare  not  been  able  to  ascertain 
the  fate  of  the  Mayor  and  SheriiF  of 
Worcester,  further  than  that,  from  the 
following  minute,  it  would  appear  that 
they  were  not  executed  at  the  time  the 
Earl  of  Derby  and  the  two  other  un- 
fortunate Koyalists  suffered  death.  It 
may  therefore  be  hoped  that  the  Mayor 
and  Sheriff  of  Worcester  were  not 
condemned  to  death :  "That  the  Judge 
Advocate  of  the  Army  be  sent  unto,  to 


deliver  unto  the  Committee  for  Ex- 
aminations, such  papers  as  he  hath  now 
in  his  hands  relating  to  the  carriage  of 
the  late  Mayor  and  Sheriff  of  Worces- 
ter in  the  business  of  admitting 
Charles  Stuart  and  his  adherents  into 
the  town  of  Worcester."— Orrt'^r  Book 
of  the  Council  of  State,  Monday 
■>ranuary  5,  165^,  MS.  State  Paper 
Office.  ^ 

"^  Ifnd.  Friday,  January  9,  165^. 


the  garrison  to  the  sword,  and,  according  to  Ludlow, 
"commanded  the  Governor,  with  divers  others,  to  be 
killed  in  cold  blood."  '  Attempts  have  been  made  to 
clear  Monk's  memory  from  this  atrocity,  and  to  show 
that  he  not  only  did  not  "  command  "  it,  but  that  "  it 
troubled  him  very  much."  ^ 


'  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  i.  p.  366. — 
Ludlow,  as  may  well  be  supposed,  had 
no  love  for  Monk,  of  whom  he  would 
be  apt  to  say,  "  Vendidit  hie  auro  pa- 
triam." 

*  Lord  Wharncliffe,  in  one  of  his 
notes  to  his  translation  of  M.  Guizot's 
Life  of  Monk,  gives  a  statement  from 
tlie  continuation  to  Baker's  Chronicle, 


that  as  "one  Captain  Kelly,  of  Colonel 
Morgan's  regiment,  was  carrying  the 
Governor  to  the  General,  one  Major 
Butler  barbarously  shot  him  dead." 
Lord  Wharncliffe  further  says,  "  that 
this  account  is  confirmed  by  Sir  Philip 
Warwick  in  his  Memoirs,  who  adds 
that  "  it  troubled  Monk  very  much." 


3 


1651.] 


THE  COUNCIL  DISBAND   THE  MILITIA. 


217 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  news  of  the  victory  won  by  tlieir  forces  at  Worcester 
reached  the  Council  of  State  in  a  few  hours.     On  the  day 
after   the  battle,  the  4th  of  September,   they  made  an 
order,  ''  That  Colonel  Berkstead  "  [who  commanded  the 
guard  of  the  Parliament]  "  do  shoot  off  the  guns  of  his 
regiment,  and  cause  a  bonfire  to  be  made  before  Whitehall 
Gate,  in  token  of  joy  for  the  good  news  of  the  routing  of 
the  Scots'  army  near   Worcester."  ^      On   the  same   day 
they  ordered  a  letter  to  be  written  to  the  Lord  Mayor, 
Major-General    Skippon,  and  the   Commissioners   of  the 
Militia   of  London,  "  to   acquaint   them   with   the   o-ood 
tidings  of  the  routing  of  the  enemy  about  Worcester ;  to 
let  them  know  their  horse  are  many  of  them  dispersed  ;  to 
desire   them,  therefore,  to   send   out   their  horse,  for  the 
gathering  up  of  such  of  the  enemies  as  shall  come  this 
way."  2     On  the  6th  of  September  the  Council   of  State 
ordered,  "  That  the  500  men  of  Middlesex  marched  out  to 
Uxbridge   be  ordered    every  man  to  return  to  his  own 
home."  3     On  the  same  day  (Saturday,  the  6th  of  Septem- 
ber), the  Council  of  State  also  made  this  order:— "That 
the  dispersing  of  the  militia  in  the   several  counties  be 
taken  into  consideration  on  Monday  morning  next,  after 
the  disposing  of  the  prisoners."'* 

Accordingly,  on  Monday  the  8th  of  September,  they 


•  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
Siate,  Thursday,  September  4,  1651, 
MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


^  Ibid,  same  day. 

^  Ibid.  September  6,  1651. 

*  Ibid,  same  day. 


made  the  following  order,  to  which  I  beg  to  direct  par- 
ticular attention,  for  reasons  which  I  will  state  presently. 
It  is  also  important  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that 
Cromwell,  the  Lord-General,  was  not  present  at  the  Council 
on  this  occasion — indeed,  he  did  not  enter  Londou  till  four 
days  after — and  that  the  meeting  consisted  of  Bradshaw 
the  President,  Sir  Henry  Vane,  and  nine  other  members 
of  the  Council  of  State.  The  following  is  the  order: — "  That 
a  letter  be  written  to  the  several  [Commissioners  of  the] 
Militias  of  the  Counties  in  England  who  have  sent  forces 
to  the  appointed  rendezvous  upon  the  occasion  of  the  Scots' 
army  coming  into  England,  to  return  them  thanks,  and 
also  to  the  officers  and  soldiers,  for  their  great  readiness  in 
the  public  service ;  and  to  let  them  know  that  they  are 
to  disband  their  forces,  and  cause  the  horses  and  arms  to  be 
delivered  unto  them  who  set  them  out."  ^ 

Now  there  is  a  statement  of  Ludlow^ — which  has  been 
adopted  by  even  eminent  modern  writers,  as  denoting 
Cromwell's  treacherous  purpose  at  this  period — that  the 


*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Monday,  September  8,  1651, 
MS.  State  Paper  Office. — And  on  the 
following  day,  the  Council  of  State 
ordered,  "  That  a  letter  be  written  to 
the  Lord-General,  to  let  him  know 
that  money  hath  been  ready  for  his 
army  for  some  days  past,  but  could 
not  conveniently  be  sent  unto  him,  in 
regard  of  the  motion  of  the  forces  and 
dispersing  of  the  regiments  into  seve- 
ral places,  for  the  greater  ease  both  of 
them  and  the  people.  That  the  Council 
hath  appointed  the  Treasurers  at  War 
to  wait  on  his  Lordship,  to  consider 
how  the  money  may  be  speedily  sent 
to  them,  that  there  be  not  free  quarter 
by  any  means  taken." — 3id.  Tuesday, 
September  9, 1651.   On  the  same  day  : 


"  That  Major-General  Skippon  be  de- 
sired to  dismiss  such  of  the  trained 
band  of  London  sis  are  upon  the 
guards."— /iic?.  On  the  10th  the 
Council  ordered,  "That  it  be  referred 
to  the  Committee  of  Scottish  and  Irish 
Affairs,  to  consider  how  the  orders  of 
the  House,  for  the  disbanding  of  the 
forces  lately  taken  into  pay,  may  be 
put  in  execution." — Ibid.  September  10, 
1651. 

2  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  i.  pp.  365, 
366:  2nd  edition,  London,  1721.— The 
inference  drawn  by  Ludlow  (vol.  ii.  p. 
447),  from  Cromwell's  calling  the  vic- 
tory at  Worcester  a  "  crowning  mercy," 
is  quite  unwarranted.  Cromwell  meant 
no  more  than  to  say  that  their  work 
was  done— Jinis  coronat  opus. 


I 


dii5iitekiMiaaiBMiiiai^i*MMBMi 


218 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


very  next  daj  after  the  fight  at  Worcester,  CromweU  dis- 
missed and  sent  home  the  militia.  This  is  not  only  a 
misstatement  of  the  fact,  but  a  confusion  of  ideas  in  the 
mind  of  Ludlow  respecting  the  very  rudiments  of  govern- 
ment. The  power  of  the  militia  was  that  which  formed 
the  main  dispute  between  King  Charles  and  the  Parlia- 
ment; and  for  a  very  good  reason,  because  it  was  the 
principal  characteristic  of  the  sovereign.  There  is  no 
question  that,  at  this  particular  time,  the  sovereign  in 
England  was  the  Parliament,  of  which  the  Council  of  State 
was  the  Executive;  and  in  that  capacity,  as  has  been 
shown  above  by  the  minute  extracted  from  their  own 
Order  Book,  the  Council  of  State,  on  the  8th  of  September, 
five  days  after  the  Battle  of  Worcester,  ordered  the 
militia  to  be  disbanded  in  the  several  counties  of  England, 
and  their  horses  and  arms  to  be  delivered  up. 

It  is  little  likely  that  the  character  and  the  designs, 
whatever  they  were,  of  Cromwell— who  wrapped  himself 
in  clouds  and  darkness,  so  that  not  even  his  most  intimate 
friends  knew  with  any  degree  of  certainty,  though  some  of 
them  might  suspect,  which  way  his  ambition  pointed— 
should  be  analysed  by  a  man  like  Ludlow,  who  had 
in  his  brain  such  a  jumble  as  this  about  the  power  of 
the  militia,  and  the  very  foundations  of  government  and 
sovereign  power.  The  whole  of  what  has  been  said,  too, 
about  Cromwell's  excitement  and  elation  after  the  Battle 
of  Worcester,  partakes  of  the  same  error ;  an  error  which 
Sir  Walter  Scott  has  also  fallen  into,  when  in  "Woodstock" 
he  represents  Cromwell  as  admitting  the  swearing,  swag- 
gering cavalier  Wildrake  (a  likely  sort  of  confidant  for 
such  a  man  as  Cromwell !)  into  his  views  for  ejecting  the 
Parliament,  and  putting  the  crown  on  his  own  head.  The 
sort  of  excited  self-assertion  attributed  by  some  writers  to 


165L]       INCONSISTENCIES   OF  CKOMWELL'S  CHARACTER.      219 

Cromwell  is  quite  as  much  out  of  keeping  with  all  that  we 
know  of  the  character  of  the  real  Cromwell,  as  the  absurd 
supposition  of  his  admitting  cavaliero  Wildrake  into  his 
inmost  thoughts.  The  haughty  exultation  ascribed  to 
Cromwell  on  this  occasion  belongs  to  the  character  of  a 
vain,  pompous,  ostentatious,  shallow  person.  Whatever 
vices  have  been  or  may  be  imputed  to  him,  the  real  Crom- 
well was,  assuredly,  neither  vain,  pompous,  ostentatious, 
nor  shallow.  Pride,  indeed — a  very  different  sort  of  thing 
from  vanity — the  sort  of  pride  which  the  consciousness  of 
great  talents  directed  by  an  iron  will  naturally  inspires, 
the  real  Cromwell  no  doubt  had.  It  was  a  great  error  in 
Scott's  conception  of  Cromwell's  character,  to  make  him 
babble  out  his  thoughts  to  a  stranger  as  he  does  to  Wild- 
rake. Vanity  indeed  is  communicative,  as  well  as  osten- 
tatious, and  infirm  of  purpose.  Cromwell  was  not  only 
unostentatious,  but,  though  not  cruel,  he  was  inexorable 
as  death,  and  inscrutable  as  the  grave. 

In  attempting  to  analyse  the  springs  of  action  of  such  a 
character  as  Cromwell's,  it  is  difficult  to  avoid  (and  I  do 
not  pretend  to  be  able  to  avoid)  some  apparent  or  even 
real  inconsistencies.  For  certain  points,  which  at  times 
seem  to  be  tolerably  clear,  again  become  involved  in  im- 
penetrable darkness,  and  what  seemed  the  clue  is  lost. 
Moreover,  as  regards  inconsistency,  may  not  there  be  incon- 
sistency in  the  actual  life  of  a  man  ?  In  attempting  to 
portray  an  actual  life,  we  must  not  condemn  a  part  of  that 
life  which  is  laudable,  because  we  know  the  end,  which  is 
not  so.  There  is  a  time  v/hen  we  only  see  and  reverence 
in  Cromwell  the  Wallace,  the  Tell,  the  Washington  of  his 
country — a  man  full  of  compassion  for  the  oppressed,  and 
indignation  against  the  oppressor — a  time  when  we  re- 
joice in  his  fortune,  and  honour  his  wisdom  and  valour. 


220 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


But,  of  all  this,  clouds  and  darkness  rest  upon  tlie  end. 
And  wliile  we  honour  the  valour  and  rejoice  in  the  fortune 
of  the  successful  champion  of  his  country's  liberties,  we 
need  not,  in  order  to  make  a  fancy  portrait  apparently 
consistent  and  complete,  but  really  untrue  to  nature  and 
fact,  drag  forward  the  end,  which  will  come  soon  enouP-h 
when  we  shall  have  to  pass  judgment  on  deeds,  which  he 
who  did  them  may  once  have  believed  it  impossible  for 
all  the  temptations  of  earth  and  hell  to  make  him  do. 

Dr.  Arnold,  in  speaking  of  the  almost  insurmountable 
difficulties  in  comprehending  such  a  character,  says  :  "  The 
genius  which  conceived  the  incomprehensible  character  of 
Hamlet,  would  alone  be  able  to  describe  with  intuitive 
truth  the  character  of  Scipio  or  of  Cromwell.     In  both 
these  great  men,  the  enthusiastic  element,  which  clearly 
existed  in  them,  did  but  inspire  a  resistless  energy  into 
their  actions,  \\hile  it  no  way  interfered  with  the  calmest 
and  keenest  judgment  in   the   choice  of  their  means.''^ 
What  is  said  about  the  "  enthusiastic  element "  may  be 
true  enough ;  but  I  dissent  from  the  assertion  that  the 
genius  which  conceived  the  character  of  Hamlet  would  be 
able  to  describe  with  truth  the  character  of  Cromwell.     I 
think  it  probable  that  Shakspeare's  Cromwell  would  not 
have  been  much  more  like  the  real  Cromwell  than  Scott's 
Cromwell  in  "  Woodst^ck."^  And  one  ground  of  my  opinion 

'  History  of  Rome,  vol.  iii.  p.  385.  T.  More.     See  Johnson's  Dictionary— 

2  The  mention  of  Shakspeare's  Ham-  '' Eisel."      Shakspeare  uses  the  very 

let  tempts  me  to  venture  a  small  criti-  same  word,  in  the  same  sense,  in  his 

cism  on  the  word  in  Act  V.,  scene  1,  CXIth  Sonnet  :— 

printed  "  Esil,"  and  which  some  com-  uwi-i^vi 

mentators      conjecture      should      be  ^^^^'i^^'ke  a  wJhng  patient,  I  will 

"  Weisel,"  a  river  which  runs  into  the         -p  4.-  r         „  ,     . 

Baltic.     I  think  there  can  be  no  douLt  infection  '-        ^'''''*  ""^  ''"'"^ 

that  Shakspeare  wrote  "  eisel,"  meaninsr     vr^  i -.^  \,    , -^    

.11  1 -.i.      J         1  .  .  No  bitterness  that  I  will  bitter  think " 

thereby  any  bitter  diaught,  as  vinegar,  tnmK. 

in  which  sense  "  eisel "  is  used  by  Sir    It  is  evident  from  this,  that  whatever 


1G51.] 


CROMWELL'S  ALLEGED  DESIGNS. 


is,  that  Shakspeare's  Julius  Cuesar  is  as  unlike  the  real 
Julius  Csesar  as  it  was  possible  to  make  him.     There  is  no 
point  of  Csesar's  character  better  known  than  his  aversion 
to  anything  like  either  menace  or  boasting.     He  gave  one 
remarkable  example  of  this,  when  he  entered  Rome  with 
his  army,  and   the  tribune  Metelius  twice  opposed  him. 
The  first  time  Csesar  said  to  him,  "  If  you  don't  like  what 
is  doing,  get  out  of  the  way,  for  war  needs  not  bold  words." 
When  Csesar,  as  the  keys  of  the  treasury  were  not  found, 
sent  for  smiths  and  ordered  them  to  break  the  doors,  and 
Metelius   again   opposed   him,  Csesar,  raising    his   voice, 
threatened  to  kill  him  if  he  did  not  desist  from  his  opposi- 
tion. "  And  this,"  said  he,  "  young  man,  you  well  know  is 
more  painful  for  me  to  have  said  than  to  do."^     This  is 
very  different  from  the  brag  and  bluster  about  courage 
and  fear,  which  form  the  burthen  of  what  Shakspeare  has 
put  into  the  mouth  of  his  as  much  a  pseudo-Csesar  as 
Scott's  is  a  pseudo-Cromwell. 

Most  of  the  writers  who  have  treated  this  particular 
period  of  English  History  have  assumed  that,  immediately 
after  the  Battle  of  Worcester,  Cromwell  had  fully  made  up 
his  mind  to  turn  out  the  Parliament,  and  concentrate  all 
their  powers  of  sovereignty  in  his  single  person.  As  one 
of  the  principal  evidentiary  facts  adduced  for  this  assump- 
tion—namely, Ludlow's  misstatement  above  mentioned, 
that  Cromwell  dismissed  the  militia  immediately  after  the 
Battle  of  Worcester — is  found  not  to  be  a  fact  at  all  (the 
militia  having,  as  has  been  shown,  been  regularly  dismissed 
by  the  Council  of  State,  when  the  Avork  for  which  they  had 
been  called  out  was  done),  I  think  it  can  by  no  means  be 

particular  liquid  Shakspeare  meant  to     river,  butswallowing a  partieuhirly  ))it- 
designate,    he    meant    a    draught    of    tor  or  nauseous  di-MUglit  of  medicine. 
"  eisel "  to   denote,  not  swallowing   a         '  Plutarch,  C.  Cjesjir,  c.  3 o. 


222 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


concluded  that  Cromwell  had  at  this  particular  time  made 
up  his  mind  to  pursue  such  a  course,  or  even  that  the  idea 
of  such  a  course  had  entered  into  his  mind  at  all. 

On  the  9th  of  September,  the  House  ordered  lands  of 
inheritance,  to  the  value  of  £1,000  per  annum,  to  be  settled 
on  Lambert ;  £500  each  on  Monk  and  Whallej ;  £300  on 
Okej ;  and  £200  on  Alured,  for  their  great  and  eminent 
services  to  the  Commonwealth.      The  House  also  ordered 
a  Bill  to  be  brought  in,  for  settling  so  much  of  Scotland  as 
is  now  under  the  power  of  their  forces,  "  under  the  govern- 
ment of  this  Commonwealth."    On  the  11th  of  September, 
the  House  resolved  "  That  lands  of  inheritance,  to  the 
yearly  value  of  £4,000,  belonging  to  the  State  [in  addition 
to  £2,500  per  annum  formerly  granted],  be  settled  upon  the 
Lord-General  Cromwell  and  his  heirs,  as  a  mark  of  favour 
from  the  Parliament,  for  his  great  and  eminent  services  to 
the  Commonwealth."   Apartments  were  also  ordered  to  be 
fitted  up  for  Cromwell  at  Hampton  Court.     The  House 
likewise  ordered  £2,000  yearly  rent  to  be  settled  on  Henry 
Ireton,  Esq.,  Lord-Deputy  of  Ireland,  Cromwell's  son-in- 
law.*     When  the  news  of  this  grant  was  brought  over  to 
Ireton,  he  said,  according  to  Ludlow,  that  the  Parliament 
ought  to  pay  their  debts  before  they  made  any  such  pre- 
sents ;  that  he  had  no  need  of  their  land,  and  therefore 
would  not  have  it.^ 

When  Cromwell  returned  to  London,  he  was  met  at 
Acton  by  the  Speaker,  the  Lord-President  Bradshaw,  and 
many  members  of  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of 
State,  with  the  Lord  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Sheriffs  of 
London.^     He  entered  the  city  in  a  coach  of  state,  and 

'  Pad.   Hist.   vol.     iii.    pp.    1371,     2nd  edition,  London,  1721.     • 
1372.  ^  3  pj^ri  j£i3j  ^,^1-  jjj_  p  j37j^  ^^^^^ 

^  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  i.  p.  371  : 


1651.]        RECEPTION   OF  CROMWELL  BY  PARLIAMENT.         223 

was  received,  says   a  cotemporary  journalist,  "  with   all 
possible  acclamations  of  joy."^ 

On  the  16th  of  September  Cromwell  appeared  in  the 
House ;  when  the  Speaker,  in  the  name  of  the  Parliament, 
made  an  oration  to  him,  and  gave  him  the  thanks  of  the 
Parliament  for  his  great  services  to  the  Commonwealth. 

On  the  very  same  day  the  "  Bill  for  an  Equal  Representa- 
tion in  Parliament" — that  is,  the  Bill  for  the  election  of  a 
New  Parliament,  in  which  the  people  should  be  fairly  repre- 
sented, and  consequently  putting  an  end  to  the  present 
Parliament,  called  the  Long  Parliament,  which  had  first 
met  on  the  3rd  of  November  1640 — was  ordered  to  be  taken 
into  debate  the  next  morning,  and  nothing  to  intervene. 
Accordingly,  on  the  following  day,  September  17,  this  Bill 
was  made  the  subject  of  debate  almost  the  whole  day. 
But  nothing  further  is  entered  in  the  Journals  of  the  House 
concerning  it,  than  that  it  was  adjourned  to  that  day  se'n- 
niglit ;  and  then  the  report  was  to  be  inade  to  the  House 
of  it,  the  first  business.  The  24th  and  25th  of  this  month 
of  September  were  almost  wholly  employed  in  debating  the 
grand  point  of  a  new  representative.  On  the  latter  of  these 
days,  the  25th  of  September,  the  question  being  put,  "  That 
a  Bill  be  brought  in  for  settling  a  time  certain  for  the  sit- 
ting" of  this  Parliament,  and  for  calling  a  new  one,  with  such 
fit  rules,  qualifications,  proportions,  and  other  circum- 
stances, as  this  Parliament  shall  think  fit,  and  shall  be  for 
the  good  and  safety  of  this  Commonwealth,"  the  House 
divided,  and  the  Yeas  went  forth,  when  the  Lord-General 


»  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  p.  1371.— The 
following  minute,  in  the  Order  Book 
of  the  Council  of  State,  has  reference 
to  this  occasion  : — "  That  40.s.  be  paid 
to  the  coachman  of  the  Earl  of  Pem- 
broke, and  30s.  to  the  postillion,  for 


their  attending  upon  tlie  Speaker  upon 
the  occasion  of  meeting  the  Lord- 
General  at  his  return  from  the  Battle 
of  Worcester." —  Order  Book  of  the 
Council  of  State,  Friday,  September 
26,  1651,  MS.  Stilt e  Paper  Office. 


tt; 


224 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIL 


1651.] 


COMMISSIONERS  SENT  TO  SCOTLAND. 


225 


[Cromwell]  and  Mr.  Scott,  the  tellers  of  them,  brought  in 
the  numbers,  33  ;  Sir  H.  Mildmay  and  Sir  James  Harring- 
ton, for  the  Noes,  26 ;  on  which  the  Bill  was  ordered  to  be 
brought  in,  and  a  Committee  appointed  for  that  purpose.^ 
The  result  of  this  business  did  not  appear  till  November ; 
and  in  the  meantime  it  is  necessary  to  describe  some  im- 
portant measures,  carried  out  by  the  Parliament  in  the 
month  of  October. 

I  have,  in  a  former  chapter,  mentioned  that  the  Council 
of  State  had  received  several  letters  from  their  ambassadors 
in  Holland,  St.  John  and  Strickland,  relating  repeated 
affronts  offered  to  them  there ;  and  that,  in  consequence  of 
these  affronts,  the  English  ambassadors  were  recalled,  and 
abruptly  took  their  leave  and  came  home.  We  shall  now 
see  the  first  of  the  long  chain  of  disastrous  consequences 
to  the  Dutch,  that  flowed  from  the  affronts  offered  to  the 
Ensflish  ambassadors  in  Holland. 

In  little  more  than  a  month  after  the  Battle  of  Worces- 
ter, namely^  on  the  9th  of  October  1651,  the  English  Parlia- 
ment passed  the  famous  Navigation  Act ;  whereby  it  was 
enacted  that  no  goods  should  be  imported  into  England 
from  Asia,  Africa,  or  America,  except  in  English  ships,  nor 
from  any  part  of  Europe  except  in  ships  of  the  country  of 
which  the  goods  were  the  growth  or  manufacture :  that 
no  salt-fish,  whale-fins,  or  oil  should  be  imported,  but  what 
were  caught  or  made  by  the  people  of  England ;  nor  any 
salt-fish  exported,  or  carried  from  one  port  to  another  in 
England,  but  in  English  vessels.^ 

'  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  p.  1373.  Laws  were   enacted,  the  Dutch,  from 

^  Scobell,  part  ii.  p.  176. -^The  most  their  maritime  skill  and  their  low  rate 

eminent  political  economists  agree  as  of  profit  at  home,  were  able  to  carry 

to  the  policy  of  the  Navigation  La<vs.  for  other  nations,  England  included,  at 

I  have,  in  the  preceding  volume,  quoted  cheaper  rates  than  those  nations  could 

the  woixis  of  Adam  Smith.    I  will  here  carry  for  themselves,  which  placed  all 

quote  the  words  of  Mr.  John  Stuart  other  countries  at  a  great  comparative 

Mill:— "When  the  English  Navigation  disadvantage  in  obtaining  experienced 


On  the  22nd  of  October,  the  Council  of  State  ordered, 
*'  That  it  be  reported  to  the  Parliament  that  the  Council 
offer  the  following  to  be  sent  Commissioners  into  Scotland 
■ — Lord  Chief  Justice  St.  John,  Sir  Henry  Vane  (junior) 
Major  Richard  Salwey,  Colonel  George  Fenwick,  Major- 
General  Lambert,  Major- General  Deane,  Alderman  Robert 
Tichborne."  ^  These  Commissioners  proceeded  to  Scot- 
land, to  offer  to  unite  and  incorporate  Scotland  into  one 
Commonwealth  with  England  and  Ireland,  and  to  call 
upon  the  Scots  to  choose  their  knights  of  shires  and 
burgesses  of  towns,  and  send  them  to  Westminster.  But 
this  being  refused  by  the 'Presbyterian  party,  the  Par- 
liament of  England  enacted  the  union  of  the  two  nations, 
and  the  abolition  of  monarchy  in  Scotland,  in  spite 
of  their  opposition  On  the  21st  of  November,  1651, 
the  Council  of  State  made  the  following  minute  : — "  That 
Mr.  Lokier,  Mr.  Caryll,  Mr.  Arthur,  and  Mr.  Falcon- 
bridge  be  ordered  to  go  into  Scotland,  as  preachers 
with  the  Commissioners  that  are  now  going  thither 
from  the  Parliament ;  and  that  the  Commissioners  do 
speak  with  them  about  it,  and  signify  their  answer 
to  the  Council."  ^  Under  date  September  10,  1652, 
Whitelock  says  :  "  The  Judges  newly  made  and  sent 
from  England  went  their  circuit  in  Scotland ;  "  with  what 
effects  the  following  entry  in  Whitelock's  Journal  of 
October  4,  1652,   shows  : — "  Letters   that   sixty   persons, 

seamen  for  their  ships  of  war.     The  pedicnt." — Principles  of  Political  Eco- 

Navigation  Laws,  by  which  this  defi-  nomy,\o\.\\.-g.  bZb:  6tli  edition,  Lon- 

ciency  was  remedied,  and  at  the  same  don,  1865. 

time  a  blow  stmck  against  the  maritime  '  Order   Book    of    the    Council   of 

power  of  a  nation  with  which  England  State,    October  22,  1651,    MS.    State 

was  then  frequently  engaged  in  hostili-  Paper  Office. 

ties,  were  probably,  though  economi-  '^  Ibid.  Friday,  November  21,  1651. 

cally  disadvantageous,   politically  ex- 

VOL.  II.  Q 


I 


226 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


men  and  women,  were  accused  before  the  Commissioners 
for  Administration  of  Justice  in  Scotland,  at  the  last  cir- 
cuit, for  witches ;  but  they  found  so  much  malice  and  so 
little  proof  against  them,  that  none  were  condemned."  ^ 
If  tried  before  their  own  Judges,  most  of  those  poor  crea- 
tures would  have  been  condemned  and  burnt  alive.  Such 
was  one  result  of  the  charge  of  Cromwell's  pikemen  at 
Dunbar  ! 

Under  date  27th  of  October  1651,  the  following  minutes 
appear  in  the  Order  Book :  "  That  £50  be  paid  by  Mr. 
Frost  to  Mr.  White,  in  consideration  of  his  pains  in  writing 

the  Treatise  of  the  Life  and  Reign  of  the  late  King." 

"  That  the  Lord-General,  Lord-Commissioner  Wliitelock, 
Lord-Commissioner  Lisle,  Sir  Gilbert  Pickering,  and 
Major-General  Harrison,  or  any  two  or  more  of  them,  be 
appointed  a  Committee,  to  consider  of  some  fit  person  or 
persons  to  write  the  history  of  these  times,  and  to  take  the 
care  and  oversight  thereof;  and  to  consider  likewise  of  a 
fit  encouragement  for  such  person  or  persons  as  shall  be  so 
employed,  and  how  it  may  be  raised   and  paid   to   this 


use. 


"2 


The  appearance  of  Cromwell's  name  on  this  Committee 
seems  to  confirm  the  remark  of  Waller  the  poet,  Cromwell's 
relation,  that  Cromwell  was  not  so  wholly  illiterate  as  was 
commonly  imagined.  Indeed,  his  letters  of  advice  to  his 
son  Eichard  show  that  he  had  a  just  appreciation  of  the 
usefulness  in  particular  of  historical  studies.  In  one  letter 
he  advises  him  to  read  history,  study  the  mathematics  and 
geography ;  and  in  another  letter,  he  recommends  to  his 
paiiicular  attention  Sir  Walter  Ealeigh's  History,  as  "  a 
bodyof  history  which  would  give  him  comprehensive  views." 

»  Whitelock,  p.  545.  State,    October  27,   1651,  MS.   State 

'  Order   Book    of  the   Council    of    Paper  Office. 


)• 


* 


1651.] 


"THE  HISTOHY   OF  THESE  TIMES." 


227 


This  shows  that  Cromwell  had  himself  read  books  that 
required  long  and  continued  study  and  attention. 

Unfortunately  for  the  Council  of  State,  however,  this 
care  to  have  the  story  of  their  times  written  by  a  friendly 
pen  would  seem  to  have  been  fruitless ;  for  their  story  was 
told  mostly  by  their  deadly  enemies,  so  that,  after  all  the 
toils  and  perils  they  had  passed,  they  left  behind  them 
an  execrated  name,  and  a  scorched  and  blackened  memory. 
As  they  sat  round  that  council-table  on  that  27th  day  of 
October  1651,  and  "appointed  a  Committee  to  consider  of 
somxc  fit  person  or  persons  to  write  the  history  of  these 
times,"  they  must  have  been  fully  aware  that  they  had 
done  deeds  which,  whether  for  good  or  evil,  would  be  long 
remembered  among  mankind  :  but  they  could  hardly  have 
contemplated  the  fate  that  awaited  some  of  them  living, 
and  all  of  them  dead— the  tortures  of  the  old  barbarous 
law  of  treason,  inflicted  on  the  living,  which  they  never  in- 
flicted when  they  inflicted  death— the   gibbeting  of  the 
mortal  remains  of  the  dead-and  after  that  the  gibbeting 
of  their  memories,  by  writers  who,  in  their  scurril  jest-books 
told  the  Stuart  King  that  the  men  before  whom  he  had 
only  distinguished  himself  by  being  the  foremost  in  flight, 
and  by  whom  his  best  and  bravest  had  been  scattered  and 
destroyed  in  so  many  battles  and  sieges,  were  not  only 
villains  but  cowards ! 

On  the  28th  of  October  an  order  was  made  by  the 
Council  of  State,  "  That  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  of 
the  Admiralty,  to  consider  of  the  ordering  of  the  oflices  of 
Gunner,  Boatswain,  and  Carpenter,  in  every  of  the  State's 
ships,  in  such  manner  that  the  State  may  not  be  abused  in 
the  passing  of  their  accounts,  in  which  they  pretend  fre- 
quently to  greater  expenses  than  have  really  been  made 

q2 


228 


C0MM0NWE.4LTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


1651.] 


NAVAL  ABUSES. 


for  the  public  service."^  It  appears  that  all  the  care  taken 
by  Sir  Henry  Vane  and  the  Committee  of  the  Admiralty 
was  unable  wholly  to  prevent  abuses  in  the  details  of  the 
naval  service.  Mr.  Dixon,  in  his  "  Life  of  Admiral  Blake," 
quoting  from  Blake's  letter  to  the  Navy  Commissioners 
about   this   time,  with  enclosures,  preserved  among   the 
Deptford  MSS.,  says  :  "  From  the  extracts  of  letters  written 
by  various  captains  of  vessels,  which  he  submitted  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  authorities  in  London,  it  is  still  possible 
to  gather  some  idea  of  the  extreme  poverty  of  means  with 
which  Blake  had  to  perform  his  wondrous  exploits.     An 
example   or   two   will  suffice  for  this  purpose:    Captain 
Pearce,  he  [Blake]  says,  writing  from  Londonderry,  on  the 
27th  of  August  of  this  year  [1651], '  complains  that  the 
fleets  on  that  coast  generally  stand  in  great  need  of  victuals, 
desires  speedy  supplies  thereof,  otherwise  must  greatly 
suffer ;  goes  to  half  allowance,  drinks  water ;  hath  but 
seven  days'  provisions,  most  of  it  stinks  ;  butter  and  cheese 
not    edible.'  "  ^      And   yet,  so   far  back   as  the  21st  of 
March  164|,  the  Council  of  State  had  made  an  order,  "  That 
justice  may  be  done  upon  such  as  have  furnished  stinking 
victuals  to  the  fleet."  ^     And  the   care  of  the  Council  of 
State  is  further  shown  by  the  following  orders  :  "  That 
an  order  be  sent  to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy,  to  make 
sale  of  such  beef  and  pork  as  hath  been  returned  from  the 
State's  ships  as  too  short  cut  in  respect  to  the  allowance 
usually  given  to  the  mariners  to  the  best  advantage  to  the 
State." — "That  order  be   sent   to  the  Commissioners  of 
the  Navy,  to  give  order  to  the  victualler  at  Portsmouth,  in 

»  OrderBookofthe  Council  of  State,         ^  Qrder  Book    of   the    Council   of 

October  28,   1651,    MS.   State   Paper  State,    March    21,    164|,    MS.    Stat^ 

Office.  Paper  Office. 

2  Dixon's  Robert  Bkko,  p.  1 74. 


229 


\ 


regard  to  the  great  scarcity  of  pork,  to  allow  three  pounds 
of  beef  in  lieu  of  two  pounds  of  pork."^ 

Another  abuse  was  the  custom  of  paying  all  the  seamen's 
wages  in  London,  on  which  Mr.  Dixon  has  published,  in 
his  "  Life  of  Blake,"  a  letter  written  by  Blake  from  Ply- 
mouth, on  the  28th  of  August  1651,  to  the  Commissioners  of 
the  Navy,  which  runs  thus  :  "Gentlemen, — There  hath  been 
this  summer  divers  mariners  pressed  in  this  and  other 
western  ports  into  the  State's  ships  ;  and  in  respect  their 
habitations  are  so  far  distant  from  London,  many  of  them 
have,  upon  the  going  in  of  the  ships  they  served  in,  been 
discharged  here ;  and  one  Mr.  Edward  Pattison  of  this 
town,  out  of  charity,  hath  paid  them  their  tickets,  they 
being  poor  people,  and  not  able  to  look  after  it  alone.  This 
man  acquaints  me  that,  for  some  tickets,  notwithstanding 
he  hath  been  without  his  money  a  good  while,  he  is  in 
danger  to  lose  it  through  delay.  I  know  not  what  the 
reason  is,  but  I  believe  what  he  did  was  merely  to  relieve 
and  ease  the  poor  men.  I  therefore  make  it  my  desire  to 
you,  that  you  will  give  orders  for  the  payment  of  such  tickets 
as  he  hath  or  shall  present  unto  you,  they  agreeing,  both  in 
entries  and  discharges,  with  the  muster-books,  and  thereby 
Mr.  Pattison  not  put  to  unnecessary  attendance.  Therein 
you  will  not  only  oblige  him,  but  also  your  affectionate 
friend,  Robert  Blake. "^ 

Such  things  as  this  enable  us  to  see  the  reason  why, 
when  Blake  died,  the  seamen  lamented  his  loss  as  that 
of  a  father;  even  as,  when  Turenne  fell,  the  French 
soldiers  cried,  "  Our  father  is  dead  !  "  If  the  Council 
of  State  and  their  Admiral  (Blake)  had  been  immortal, 

'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,         ^  pixon's  Robert  Blake,  p.  175,  from 
March    23,   164|,   MS.    State    Pape      the  Deptford  MSS. 
Office. 


230 


COMMONWEALTH   OE  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


it  would  not  have  been  possible  for  any  satirist  to  give 
such  a  picture  of  the  British  Navy  90  years  after  this 
time  as  Smollett  has  done ;  to  describe  such  captains  as 
Oakham  and  Whiffle,  and  such  midshipmen  as  Crampley ; 
nor,  in  regard  to  this  very  matter  of  tickets,  to  say — "I  got 
leave  to  go  on  shore  next  day  with  the  gunner,  who  re- 
commended me  to  a  Jew,  that  bought  my  ticket  at  the  rate 
of  40  per  cent,  discount !"  It  may  be  certainly  inferred, 
from  the  terms  which  Blake  uses,  "  paid  them  their  tickets 
out  of  charity,''  that  his  seamen  were  not  robbed  of  nearly 
half  their  hard-earned  money,  under  the  name  of  discount. 

On  the  26th  of  October  "  a  letter  came  from  General 
Blake,  that  all  the  Isle  of  Jersey  was  reduced  by  the  Par- 
liament's forces,  under  him  and  Colonel  Heynes,  except  the 
castles  of  Elizabeth  (to  which  Sir  George  Carteret  was  re- 
tired) and  Mont  Orgueil,  the  latter  of  which  was  soon 
after  taken.'"  On  the  15th  of  December,  "  Elizabeth 
Castle  was  surrendered  by  Sir  George  Carteret,  Governor 
thereof,  to  Colonel  James  Neave,  commander  of  the  Par- 
liament's forces  in  the  said  island,  upon  composition,  the 
articles  whereof  were  very  favourable.  "^ 

On  the  31st  of  October,  Castle  Eughen  and  Peele  Castle 
were  delivered  up,  on  articles,  to  the  Parliament's  forces  by 
the  Countess  of  Derby.  ."  And  so  the  whole  of  the  Isle  of 
Man  was  reduced  to  the  power  of  the  Parliament,  the  said 
Countess  having  only  leave  with  herself  and  children  to 
go  into  England,  and  make  addresses  to  the  Parliament  • 
and  hopes  to  go  into  France  or  Holland."^ 

We  must  now  return  to  the  vital  question  of  the  time 
of  the  continuance  of  the  Parliament. 

■  Perfect  Diurnal,   from  November  Leicester's  Journal,  p.  128. 
3   to    10,  quoted  in  Lord  Leicester's  »  Politicus,  from  November  6  to  1 7, 

Journal,  p.  125.  quoted   in   Lord   Leicester's   Journal, 

^  General  Proceedings,  from  Decern-  p.  125. 
Iht  24  to  January  1,  quoted  in  Lord 


I 


1651.] 


PLKIS   FOR  THE  LONG   PARLIAMENT. 


231 


Since,  after  the  Battle  of  Worcester,  all  the  Eoyalist  pai-ty, 
as  Clarendon  remarks,  lay  prostrate,  the  war  which  the 
Parliament  had  upon  their  hands  may  be  fairly  considered 
as  ended  ;  and  the  plea  aftei^ards  set  up  by  some  of  them, 
that  they  "  stayed  to  end  the  Dutch  war,  and  that  they 
never  bid  fairer  for  being  masters  of  the  whole  world,  "^  is 
a  strange  plea  indeed,  and  forms  one  of  the  strongest 
grounds  of  justification  for  Cromwell's  expulsion  of  them. 
In  the  first  place,  it  is  quite  evident  that  this  plea  was 
totally  inapplicable  to  the  year  1651.  The  Dutch  war 
might,  indeed,  be  then  looming  in  the  distance ;  but  it 
did  not  break  out  till  May  1652,  and  the  plea  of  staying 
to  be  "  masters  of  the  whole  world"  is  equivalent  to  staying 
for  an  unlimited  time.  And  yet  the  man  who  made  use 
of  these  pleas  was,  I  believe,  besides  being  a  man  of  great 
eloquence  and  great  administrative  talent,  as  honest  and 
as  brave  a  man  as  ever  lived,  and  as  ever  died  for  what 
he  considered  justice  and  truth. 

There  is  another  curious  plea  put  forward  by  Henry 
Marten,  in  the  course  of  a  debate  during  the  time  of 
the  Dutch  war.  He  told  the  House,  "  That  he  thought 
they  might  find  the  best  advice  from  the  Scripture 
what  they  were  to  do  in  this  particular :  that  when  Moses 
was  found  upon  the  river,  and  brought  to  Pharaoh's 
daughter,  she  took  care  that  the  mother  might  be  found 
out,  to  whose  care  he  might  be  committed  to  be  nursed 
—which  succeeded  very  happily.  Their  Commonwealth 
was  yet  an  infant,  of  a  weak  growth,  and  a  very  tender 
constitution ;  and  therefore  his  opinion  was,  that  nobody 
could  be  so  fit  to  nurse  it,  as  the  mother  who  brouo-ht 
it  forth;  and  that  they  should  not  think  of  putting  it 
under  any  other  hands,  until  it  had  obtained  more  years 

>  Scot's    Speeches,   in   Richard   Cromwell's   first   Parliament,   repoited   in 
Burton's  Diary. 


232 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


and  vigour.    That  they  had  another  infant  too  under  their 
hands,  the  war  with  Holland,  which  had  thrived  wonderfully 
under  their  conduct ;  but  he  much  doubted  that  it  would 
be  quickly  strangied,  if  it  were  taken  out  of  their  care,  who 
had  hitherto  governed  it."^  This,  as  far  as  it  can  be  called 
an  argument,  must  depend  on  the  exactness  of  the  analogy 
between  a  young  child  and  a  young  Commonwealth,  and 
IS  open  to  the  objections  applicable  to  arguments  drawn 
from  metaphors.     The  latter  part  of  it,  however,  relating 
to  the  Dutch  war,  is  not  without  force  ;  for  though,  after 
CromweU   expelled   the  Parliament,  the  Dutch  war  was 
brought  to  a  successful  issue  on  the  part  of  the  English, 
the  peace  made  with  Holland  by  Cromwell  was  neither  so 
honourable  nor  so  advantageous  as  it  would  have  been  if 
the  Long  Parliament  had  made  it.     Cromwell,  Scot  says 
in  one  of  his  speeches,  "  was  never  so  successful  as  when 
he  was  a  servant  to  the  Commonwealth.     What  a  dis- 
honourable peace  he  made,  and  what  an  unprofitable  and 
dangerous  war  !  "  * 

More  than  two  years  after  the  Parliament  had  neglected 
Ireton's  plan  for  a  New  Parliament,  called  the  "  Agreement 
of  the  People,"  and  prosecuted  John  Lilburne  for  his,  we 
find  that  Cromwell  himself  had  taken  up  the  matter 
almost  immediately  after  the  Battle  of  Worcester— in 
fact,  on  the  very  first  day  he  took  his  seat,  the  16th  of 
September,  as  we  have  seen.  We  have  also  seen  that,  on 
the  25th  of  September,  the  House  voted  upon  a  division 
(Cromwell  and  Scot  being  tellers  for  the  majority),  that 
a  Bill  should  be  brought  in,  for  fixing  a  certain  time 
for  putting  an  end  to  the  present  Parliament,  and  calling 
another.     A  Committee   was   appointed,  in  which  were 

'  Clarendon,  vol.  vi.  pp.  4,  5. 

2  Meaning  the  peace  with  Holland  and  the  war  with  Spain. 


1651.1 


QUESTION   OF  A  NEW  PARLIAMENT 


included  St.  John,  Whitelock,  Vane,  and  Crofowell.  A  Bill 
was  brought  in  and  read  a  first  time,  and  two  days  after  a 
second  time.  It  was  then  committed  to  a  Committee  of 
the  whole  House.  The  result  appears  from  the  following 
entry  in  the  Journals  : — 

"Friday,  the  14th  of  November,  1651.— The  question 
being  propounded.  That  it  is  now  a  convenient  time  to  de- 
clare a  certain  time  for  the  continuance  of  this  Parliament, 
beyond  which  it  shall  not  sit :  and  the  question  being  put, 
That  this  question  be  now  put. 

The  House  was  divided : 
The  Noes  went  forth. 
''  Lord-General  [Cromwell],    f  Tellers  for  the  Yeas  "I 
"  Lord  Chief  Justice,  I  With  the  Yeas  J    ^^ 

"  Colonel  Morley,  f  Tellers  for  the  Noes  j 

''Mr.  Bond,  I  With  the  Noes  J    ^^ 


96 


"  On  the  main  question  : 
"  The  Yeas  went  forth. 
"  Lord-General,  f  Tellers  for  the  Yeas  1 

"  Lord  Chief  Justice,  1  With  the  Yeas  J 

"  Colonel  Morley,  [  Tellers  for  the  Noe 

"  Mr.  Bond,  I  With  the  Noes 


49 


47 


96 

''Resolved,  That  this  business  .be  resumed  again  on 
Tuesday  next."^ 

"  Tuesday,  the  ISth  of  November,  16^1. —Resolved,  That 
the  time  for  the  continuance  of  this  Parliament,  beyond 
which  they  resolve  not  to  sit,  shall  be  the  Third  day  of 
November,  One  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty-four."^ "  So 


»  Commons'   Journals,  Friday,  No-         ^  Ibid.     Tuesday,     November     18, 
veraber  14,  1651.  1651. 


234 


COMMONV/E.\LTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


they  have  three  years  yet,"  writes  Lord  Leicester  in  his 
Journal.^ 

Thus,  as  this  Parliament  met  on  the  3rd  of  JSTovember 
1640,  its  duration,  to  the  3rd  of  November  1654,  would  be 
14  years  ;  or,  according  to  a  later  resolution  of  the  House, 
appointing  the  3rd  of  November  1653,  instead  of  the  3rd  of 
November  1654,  before  fixed  on,  its  duration  would  be  13 
years. 

The  Parliament  thought  fit  to  proceed  to  the  election  of 
a  Council  of  State  for  the  fourth  time,  for  the  fourth  year 
of  the  new  Government,  in  November  instead  of  in  Febru- 
ary ;  and  on  Monday  the  24th  of  November  1651,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  plan  they  had  pursued  the  preceding 
year,  they  chose  21  of  the  Council  for  the  past  year,  and 
20  who  were  not  members  the  preceding  year.  Among 
these  new  members  was  Eobert  Blake.^  Lord  Leicester 
says,  in  his  Journal,  under  date  Monday,  November  24, 
1651:  "And  it  was  thought  strange  that  Sir  Henry  Mildmay 
and  Colonel  Hanison,  who  were  so  active  and  painful  the 
last  year,  should  now  be  of  the  20  which  were  of  the  Coun- 
cil and  now  left  out."^  I  transcribe  from  the  Journals  of 
the  House  the  following  names,  as  having  the  greatest  and 
least  number  of  votes  or  subscriptions,  as  it  is  called  in  the 
Journals : — 

Lord-General  [Cromwell]        .         .     '    .         ng 


Lord-Commissioner  Whitelock 
Lord  Chief  Justice  St.  John    . 
Sir  Henry  Vane  (jun.)     . 
John  Gurdon,  Esq. 


113 

108 
104 
103 


'  Journal  of  the  Earl  of  Leicester,     vember  24,  1651. 

P-  ^^^-  '  Journal  of  the  Earl  of  Leicester, 

2  Commons'  Journals,  Monday,  No-     p.  126. 


i 


l> 


1651.]  THE  NEW   COUNCIL  OF  STATE.  235 

Lieutenant-General  Fleetwood        .         .  102 

Lord  Chief  Justice  Eolle  ...  95 

Lord-Commissioner  Lisle         .         .         .  91 

Serjeant  Bradshaw  ....  89 

Sir  Arthur  Haselrig         ....  89 

Dennis  Bond,  Esq.  ....  88 

Thomas  Scott,  Esq 86 

Colonel  Purefoy      .         .         .         .         .  82 

Colonel  Wauton     .....  78 

&c.  &c.  &c. 

Eobert  Blake,  Esq.  ....  42 

Earl  of  Pembroke  .....  42 

Henry   Marten,  Esq.  (the  last   and  lowest  of 

this  year) 41  * 

On  the  26th  of  November  it  was  resolved  by  the  Parlia- 
ment, that  henceforth  no  Chairman  of  any  Committee  shall 
continue  longer  in  the  chair  than  the  space  of  one  month, 
and  that  this  vote  shall  extend  likewise  to  the  President- 
ship of  the  Council  of  Stata.  "  It  was  said,"  wiites  Lord 
Leicester  in  his  Journal,  under  date  November  26,  1651, 
"  that  Serjeant  Bradshaw,  who  had  been  President  of  the 
Council  from  their  beginning,^  was  much  troubled  at  this 
vote,  by  which  he  lost  his  Lordship,  and  came  to  be  plain 
Serjeant  Bradshaw ;  and  that  he  endeavoured  to  bring  the 
matter  again  into  debate  into  the  House,  upon  the  point 
of  what  was  meant  by  a  month :  but  this  for  the  present 
was  stopped  at  the  Council,  and  Seijeant  Bradshaw  was 

>  Commons'  Journals,  Monday,  No-  State  appointed  a  President  at   each 

vember  24,  1651.  meeting.    But  on  March  10  they  made 

2  This  is  not  strictly  accurate.  For  the  an  order,  "  That  Mr.  Serjeant  Bradshaw 

first  three  weeks  of  their  existence,  or  shall  be  the  President  of  this  Council." 

rather  more — namely,  from  February  (See  Vol.  I.  p.  38.) 
17  to  March  10.  164|-the  Council  of 


236 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


165L] 


THE  OLD  ENGLISH   NOBILITY. 


237 


desired  to  take  the  chair,  and  his  time  limited  to  that  day 
month,  from  Monday  the  1st  of  December."^ 

At  this  time  two  events  happened,  both  of  them  very 
unfavourable  to  the  Parliament.  The  first  of  these  was 
the  death  of  Ireton,  who  died  of  the  plague  at  Limerick,  on 
the  26th  of  November  1651,  at  the  age  of  41.2  The  other 
event  was  the  Parliament  drawing  on  themselves  the 
bitter  hostility  of  Lambert,  who  was  appointed  by  them 
Ireton's  successor  in  Ireland ;  but  soon  after,  thinking  him- 
self unworthily  treated  by  them,  threw  up  the  appointment. 

Henry  L-eton,  whose  career  was  thus  prematurely  cut 
short,  and  who,  had  he  lived,  must  have  been  one  of  the 
most  powerful  opponents  or  supporters  of  the  Government 
of  Cromwell,  belonged  to  that  class  of  ancient  gentry 
whose  names  had  been  unsullied  by  the  honours  of  the 
Stuarts.  He  was  born  in  1610,  and  was  the  eldest  son  of 
German  Ireton  of  Attenton,  Esq.,  in  the  county  of  Notting- 
ham. His  family  was  related  to  that  of  Colonel  Hutchin- 
son, also  a  Nottinghamshire  family,  and  through  them  to 
the  Byrons  of  Newstead  ;  but  how  long  they  had  possessed 
estates  there  I  do  not  undertake  to  say,  nor  whether,  like 
the  Hampdens  and  others,  they  professed  to  go  beyond  the 
Conquest. 

It  was  much  the  fashion  at  that  time  to  trace  de- 
scents, either  from  those  who  had  come  in  with  William 
or  (as  Christopher  Sly  puts  it)  with  "  Richard  Conqueror," 
or  had  been  "  there  when  the  Conqueror  came."  No  doubt 
the  pedigree  of  all  families  extends,  in  some  way  or  other, 

'  Journal  of  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  Ireton  died  of  a  fever;  but    Ludlow 

P-  127.  (vol.   i.  p.  383),  who  was  with  him 

2  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  i.  p.  382 :  till  within  two  days  of  his  death,  states 
2nd  edition,  London,  1721.— Lord  that  his  condition,  *' a  burning  fever, 
Leicester,  in  his  Journal  (p.  127,  in  rendered  him  more  liable  to  the  con- 
Sydney   Papers    by   Blencowe),    says  tagion." 


beyond  the  Conquest,  the  pedigree  of  the  Slys  no  less  than 
the  pedigree  of  the  De  Veres.  But  the  way  is  the  question. 
Mrs.  Hutchinson — who,  with  many  noble  qualities,  was  not 
exempt  from  human  infirmities — traces  her  descent,  by  her 
mother's  side,  from  those  who  came  in  with  the  Conqueror, 
and  by  her  father's  side  from  those  who  were  "  there  when 
the  Conqueror  came  ;  "  and  says  of  the  Mayor  of  Notting- 
ham and  his  wife — "  He  was  a  very  honest  bold  man,  but 
had  no  more  than  a  burgher's  discretion ;  he  was  yet  very 
well  assisted  by  his  wife,  a  woman  of  great  zeal  and  cour- 
age, and  with  more  understanding  than  women  of  her 
rank  usually  have  :  "  overlooking  the  fact  that  there  lived 
at  that  time  an  Englishman,  named  Thomas  Hobbes,  to 
whom  Mrs.  Hutchinson  would  hardly  have  allowed  more 
than  a  burgher's  pedigree,^  but  who  possessed  an  under- 
standing considerably  more  powerful  than  all  the  under- 
standings of  all  the  Apsleys,  of  all  the  St.  Johns,  and  of 
all  the  Hutchinsons  put  together. 

Besides,  these  sweeping  assertions  respecting  pedigree — 
assertions  assuming  an  uninterrupted  male  descent  for 
600  years — are,  prima  facie,  always  improbable,  and, 
though  within  the  limits  of  the  possible,  extremely 
difficult  to  prove  strictly.  It  is  easy  to  assert  of  an 
obscure  family,  as  Mrs.  Hutchinson  and  Mr.  Hyde  have 
asserted,  that  they  had  possessed  an  estate,  which  "  had 
continued  in  their  family,  and  descended  from  father  to 
son,  from  before  the  Conquest."  But  it  is  not  so  easy 
to  produce  the  evidence  necessary  to  satisfy  a  competent 
tribunal  of  the  absolute  truth  of  such  assertions.     The 

*  Hobbes's  fjither,  vicar  of  Charlton  a  glover,  which  is  a  great  trade  there, 

and  West-port,  near  Malmesbury,  had  and  in  times  past  much  greater." — Life 

an  elder  brother,  Francis,  Alderman  of  of  Mr.    Thomas     Hobbes  of  Malmcs- 

Malmesbury,  which  is  the  title  of  the  bury,  in  Aubrey's  Lives,  vol.  ii.p.  506: 

chief  magistrate  there,  "  by  profession  London,  1813. 


238 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIL 


best  test  of  this  is  to  take  a  given  number  of  families,  re- 
specting which,  from  their  conspicuous  position,  a  satisfac- 
tory body  of  evidence  is  not  only  known  to  exist,  but  is 
open  to  public  inspection.     Such  a  given  number  of  fami- 
lies is  furnished  by  the  Peerage  of  England,  from  the  Nor- 
man Conquest  to  the  present  time.     Now,  in  all  that  con- 
siderable number  of  families,  there  is,  I  believe,  but  one,  of 
which  the  name  as  well  as  the  lands  and  honours  descended, 
through  successive  generations,  from  male  heir  to  male 
heir,  from  the  1 1th  to  the  1 7th  century.    This  family  is  that 
of  the  De  Veres,  Earls  of  Oxford.     There  are  one  or  two 
others  (for  example,  the  Percys  and   the   Berkeleys)  that 
in  name  existed  as  long ;  but  their  lands  and  honours  had, 
in  the  course  of  time,  passed  by  a  female  into   another 
family,  which  had  assumed  their  name.     It  will  be  found, 
on  a  close  examination,  that  in  a  large  proportion  of  the 
families  referred  to,  the  line  has  ended  in  a  daughter  or 
daughters,  through  whom  their  estates  have  passed  into 
other  families,  and  have  not  reverted  to  the  sons  of  younger 
branches  of  such  families.     The  result  is  well  expressed  in 
the  words  of  Lord  Chief  Justice  Crew,  in  his  eloquent  exor- 
dium  in   delivering  the   opinion  of  the  Judges   on  the 
case  referred  to  them  by  the  House  of  Lords  in  the  time  of 
Charles  I.,  respecting  the  right  to  the  Earldom  of  Oxford  : 
"  And  yet  Time  hath  his  revolutions;  there  must  be  a  period 
and  an  end  to  all  temporal  things,  finis  reriim :  an  end  of 
names  and  dignities,  and  whatsoever  is  terrene ;  and  why 
not  of  De  Yere  ?     For  where  is  Bohun  ?     Where  is  Mow- 
bray ?     Where    is   Mortimer  ?     Nay— which  is  more  and 
most  of  all— where  is  Plantagenet  ?     They  are  entombed 
in  the  urns  and  sepulchres  of  mortality  ?  "  ^ 


'  3  Cru.  Dig.,  p.  170. 


1651.] 


THE  NEW  ENGLISH  NOBILITY. 


239 


Tliere  was  a  certain  family,  by  name  Burun,  which  held 
certain  lordships  in  the  county  of  Nottingham,  in  the 
reigns  of  William  II.,  of  Stephen,  and  of  Henry  II.  The 
last  of  these  was  Eoger  de  Burun,  whose  barony  was 
given  by  King  John  to  William  de  Briwere.  After  an 
interval  of  more  than  300  years,  Henry  YIII.  gave  New- 
stead  Abbey,  in  the  same  county,  to  a  family  of  the  name  of 
Byron,  which  family  is  described  as  "  descended  from  the 
above  family  of  Burun."  Lord  Byron,  the  poet,  loudly 
boasted  of  his  Norman  descent,  and  of  the  power  and  great- 
ness of  his  Norman  ancestors,  the  Buruns.  But,  besides 
the  change  in  the  vowels  of  the  name,  there  would  need  a 
long  and  strong  chain  of  proof  to  bridge  over  that  chasm  of 
300  years,  between  Henry  II.  and  Henry  YIII.  It  is  also 
notorious  that  Henry  VIIL,  like  other  despots,  granted  his 
favours  to  new  men  and  new  women  ;  for  he  gave  the  whole 
revenue  of  a  religious  house,  of  considerable  value,  to  a 
woman,  as  a  reward  for  making  a  pudding  which  happened 
to  gratify  his  palate.'  The  descendant  of  this  fortunate 
woman-cook,  when  boasting  of  his  "  father's  hall — a  vast 
and  venerable  pile,"  so  old  that  itwould  have  fallen  had  not 
"  strength  been  pillared  in  each  massive  aisle" — would  be 
apt  to  keep  the  "pudding  "  in  the  background.  Lord  Byron, 
perhaps,  meant  emphatically  to  disclaim  descent  from  the 
lady  above  referred  to,  when  he  said,  on  selling  Newstead 
Abbey :  "  I  have  parted  with  an  estate  which  has  been  in  my 
family  for  nearly  300  years,  and  was  never  disgraced  by 
being  in  possession  of  a  lawyer,  a  churchman,  or  a  woman 
during  that  period."'^  According  to  Fuller,  "  not  only  all 
the  cooks,  but  the  meanest  turnbroach,  in  the  Kind's 
kitchen,  did  lick  his  fingers." 

'  Fuller's  Church  History,  p.  337. 

2  Moore's  Life  of  Byron  vol.  i.  p.  4  79. 


240 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


1651.] 


OXFOKD  AND   CAMBRIDGE   STATESMEN. 


241 


Socrates,  in  the  "  Gorgias  "  of  Plato,  divides  adulation 
into  several  branches,  of  which,  he  sajs,  Ehetoric  is  one, 
and  Cookery  another.     The  cases  above  mentioned  are  apt 
examples  of  the  way  in  which  the  latter  branch  of  adulation 
performs  its  work,  and  attains  its  object.     It  might  be  an 
enquiry  neither  altogether  uninteresting  nor  unimportant, 
to  investigate  the  proportions  in  which  Cookery  and  Ehe- 
toric have  contributed  to  the  formation  of  "  noble  families." 
But,  by  whatever  branch  of  adulation  an  abbey  was  obtained 
from  Henry  VIII.,  there  could  hardly  be  a  more  strange 
ethical  phenomenon,  than  that  a  man  should  boast,  and  be 
not  merely  tolerated  but  admired  for  boasting,  that  he  in- 
herited an  abbey  which  had  been  given  to  his  ancestor  by 
Henry  VIII.     It  might  be  a  just  ground  of  pride  to  be  the 
inheritor  of  a  "  Castle  Dangerous."     It  might  even  be 
matter  of  satisfaction  to  be  descended  from  those  who  had 
founded  an  abbey  or  a  priory ;  such  foundation  being  a 
proof  of  ancient  power  and  wealth,  and  of  a  zeal  sincere,  if 
blind  and  misdirected,  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  well- 
being  of  man.     But  public  morality  must  have  reached  a 
strange  state  of  confusion,  when  the  possession  of  property 
which  has  the  mark  on   ifc  of  public  robbery^ —performed 
too,  without  personal  risk,  on  women,  and  on  unarmed, 
unwarlike  men— should  be  esteemed  an  honourable  distinc- 
tion.    Poets  may  challenge  our  sympathy  for  bold  cow- 
stealers  and  bold  buccaneers.     Hardihood  and  courage, 
even  when  employed  in  a  bad  cause,  are  still  hardihood 
and  courage.     But  a  man  has  no   more    cause   to   boast 
of  the   possession    of  the   most    picturesque    or    richest 

^  '  This  terra  belongs  to  the  transac-  use  :  but  that  it  should  be  used  for  the 

t ion,  because  this  property  was  appro-  necessary   expenses    of   government; 

priated  in  direct  violation  of  the  King's  and  the  subject  never  afterwards  charged 

promise,  solemnly  declared  in  Parlia-  either  with  taxes  or  loans.— See  Coke, 

ment,  that  none  of  it  for  ever,  in  time  4  Inst.  43,  44. 
to  come,  should  be  converted  to  private 


abbey  in  England,  than  of  that  of  Crossraguel  in  Ayrshire, 
obtained  by  roasting  a  man  alive  ;  or  than  of  any  trinkets 
he  may  have  inherited  from  his  ancestors  the  beadles,  who, 
in  the  performance  of  their  duty,  hauled  Hostess  Quickly 
and  Mistress  Doll  Tearsheet  to  what  were  termed  by 
Ancient  Pistol  "base  durance  and  contagious  prison,"  and 
who,  by  somewhat  overstepping  the  exact  limits  of  their 
function,  may  have  obtained  the  said  trinkets  from  the 
persons  of  those  ladies.  The  analogy  seems  nearly  com- 
plete. In  both  cases  some  antiquity  of  family  is  proved. 
And  if  the  office  of  beadle  temp,  Henry  V.  should  be  con- 
sidered as  not  quite  equal  in  dignity  to  that  of  lackey 
temp.  Henry  VIII.,  the  greater  antiquity  of  the  beadle 
descent  may,  perhaps,  make  up  the  difference. 

In  1626  Henry  Ire  ton  went  to  Oxford,  as  a  gentleman- 
commoiler"or"TfImty  College,  and  in  1629  he  took  his 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.     Lord  Macaulay,  in  his  essay 
on  Lord  Bacon,  mentions  it  as  a  remarkable  fact,  that  the 
statesmen  of  Queen  Elizabeth  were  all  members^ of  the 
University  of  Cambridge.     He  adds  that  Cambridge  had 
the    honour   of    educating   those    celebrated    Protestant 
bishops  whom  Oxford  had  the  honour  of  burning  ;  and  at 
Cambridge  were  formed  the  minds  of  aU  those  statesmen, 
to  whom  chiefly  is  to  be  attributed  the  secure  establish- 
ment of  the  Eeformed  religion  in  the  North  of  Europe. 
But  of  the  men  most  distinguished  on  the  side  of  the  Par- 
liament in  the  great  struggle  of  the  17th  century,  Oxford 
produced   as   many  as    Cambridge ;  for  while  Cromwell 
Fairfax,  Milton,  Hutchinson,  and  Marvell  wCTTtTainbridge 
men,  Hampden,  Pym,  Vane,  Blak^,andrreton  were  Oxford 
men.     Of  the  men  most  distinguished  on  the  side  of  the 
King,  Cambridge  produced  nearly  as  many  as  Oxford ;  for 
while  Laud  and  Hyde  were  Oxford  men,  Strafford   and 


VOL.  II. 


R 


\ 


■^ 


242 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIL 


Falkland  were  Cambridge  men.  Hobbes  also  was  an 
Oxford  man,  but  Oxford  repudiated  him ;  and  if  she  could 
not  burn  him,  as^^hetedbtTrned  the  Protestant  bishops  a 
century  before^ 'sIieT)urned  his  works.  For  on*  the  21st  of 
July,  1683,  the  "Leviathan,"  at  the  same  time  with  a  book 
"  Of  Purgatory,"  had  the  honour  to  be  condemned  by  the 
Convocation  to  be  publicly  burned  in  the  "school- court  or 
quadrangle."*  ~*"  ~ 

But  'ffiough  the  men  educated  at  the  two  great 
English  Universities  do  not  afford  any  indication  of  the 
spirit  of  those  Universities,  the  order  of  the  Council  of 
State,  mentioned  in  the  preceding  volume,  that  a  letter  be 
written  to  Dr.  Hill,  Master  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge, 
respecting  the  students  of  that  society  willing  to  go  to  sea  in 
the  summer's  fleet,^  shows  that  the  Parliament  considered 
that  they  had  friends  among  the  Cambridge  students.  I 
may  add  here,  that  no  argument  in  favour  of  public  schools 
can  be  drawn  from  the  men  of  that  time  ;  neither  Hamp- 
den, nor  Clarendon,  nor  Fairfax,  nor  Cromwell,  nor  Blake, 
having  been  educated  at  a  public  school.  But  of  the 
public  schools,  Westminster  would  appear  to  have  been 
then  particularly  conspicuous;  and  this  was  before  the 
time  of  Busby,  who  was  appointed  head-master  in  1640. 
Anthony  Wood,  speaking  of  Yane's  early  life,  says  he 
"was  bred  at  Westminster  School,  with  Sir  Arthur  Ha- 
selrig,  Thomas  Scot  the  regicide,  and  other  notorious  anti- 
monarchists."^ 

From  Oxford,  Ireton  removed  to  the  Middle  Temple, 
where,  as  appears  by  the  Society^s  books,  he  entered  as  a 
student  on  the  24th  of  November  1629 ;  but  he  was  never 
called  to  the  bar.     I  have  already  mentioned  the  important 


*  Wood's  Ath.  Oxon.,  art. 
Hobbes." 


Tliomas        »  Vol.  I.  p.  59. 

2  Ibid.  art.  "Vane." 


165L] 


THE  INNS  OF  COURT  LIFE-GUARD. 


243 


part  which  the  gentlemen  of  the  Inns  of  Cou]-t  took  in  the 
war  between  the  King  and  the^  Parliament.  I  would  add 
here,  that  besides  Ireton,  Lambert,  Ludlow,  and  Michael 
Jones,  the  colonels  of  some  of  the  most  distinguished  of 
the  Ironside  regiments  had  been  members  of  the  Inns  of 
Court,  as  appears  from  the  following  passage  of  Ludlow^s 
Memoirs,  which  may  be  found  to  possess  some  interest,  as 
giving  an  account  of  the  origin  of  a  corps  of  gentlemen 
forming  a  life-guard  for  the  General  of  the  Parliament, 

many  of  whom  became  afterwards  distinguished  officers  : 

"  Soon  after  my  engagement  in  this  cause,"  says  Ludlow, 
"  I  met  with  Mr.  Richard  Fiennes,  son  to  the  Lord  Say, 
and  Mr.  Charles  Fleetwood,'  son  to  Sir  Miles  Fleetwood, 
then  a  Member  of  the  House  of  Commons  ;  with  whom  con- 
sulting, it  was  resolved  by  us  to  assemble  as  many  young 
gentlemen  of  the  Inns  of  Court  (of  which  we  then  were), 
and  others,  as  should  be  found  disposed  to  this  service,  in 
order  to  be  instructed  together  in  the  use  of  arms,  to  ren- 
der ourselves  fit  and  capable  of  acting,  in  case  there  should 
be  occasion  to  make  use  of  us.  To  this  end  we  procured 
a  person  experienced  in  military  affairs,  to  instruct  us  in 
the  use  of  arms  ;  and  for  some  time  we  frequently  met  to 
exercise  at  the  Artillery  Ground  in  London.  And  being 
informed  that  the  Parliament  had  resolved  to  raise  a  life- 
guard for  the  Earl  of  Essex,  to  consist  of  a  hundred  gentle- 
men, under  the  command  of  Sir  Philip  Stapleton,  a  Mem- 
ber of  Parliament,  most  of  our  company  entered  themselves 


^  It  may  be  mentioned,  as  an  in- 
stance of  the  inaccuracy  of  Noble 
{Memoirs  of  the  House  of  Cromwell), 
that  he  describes  Charles  Fleetwood 
as  having  risen  from  the  rank  of  a 
trooper  in  the  Earl  of  Essex's  forces ; 
whereas,  as  appears  from  what  Lud- 


low here  says,  he  was  only  one  of 
a  number  of  young  gentlemen  of  the 
Inns  of  Court,  who  Tolunteered  to 
form  the  Earl  of  Essex's  life-guard, 
which  was  to  consist  of  a  hundred 
gentlemen. 


B  2 


244 


COMMONWEALTH   OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


therein,  and  made  up  the  greatest  part  of  the  said  gnard  ; 
amongst  whom  were  Mr.  Richard  Fiennes,  Mr.  Charles 
Fleetwood  (afterwards  Lieutenant-General),Major-General 
Harrison/  Colonel  Nathaniel  Rich,  Colonel  Thomlinson, 
Colonel  Twisleton  "  [who,  as  we  have  seen,  as  well  as  Fleet- 
wood, commanded  a  regiment  of  horse  at  Dunbar^] ,  "Colonel 
Bos  well.  Major  Whitby,  and  myself,  with  divers  others."^ 
Ludlow  was  ten  years  younger  than  Ireton,  who,  after 
having  devoted  some  time  and  attention  to  the  study  of  the 
law,  left  the  Inns  of  Court  long  before  Ludlow  came  there, 
and  went  to  reside  on  his  family  estate  in  Nottinghamshire, 
where  he  was  the  neighbour  as  well  as  friend  of  his  kinsman 
Colonel  Hutchinson,  and,  according  to  Mrs  Hutchinson,  "  a 
very  grave,  serious,  religious  person."  When  the  Civil  War 
broke  out,  Ireton  was  one  of  the  very  few  gentlemen  of 
Nottinghamshire  (Sir  Thomas  Hutchinson  and  his  son,  the 
Colonel,  being  others)  who  undertook  each  to  raise  a  troop 
of  horse  for  the  Parliament.  Almost  all  the  nobility  and 
gentry  of  that  county — including  the  Lord  Chaworth  and 
Sir  John  Byron  of  Newstead  (afterwards  Lord  Byron),  and 
all  his  brothers — were,  says  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  "passionately 
the  King's."^  Ireton  was  major  of  a  Nottinghamshire 
regiment  of  horse,  of  which  Thornhagh  was  colonel,  which 
joined  Colonel  Oliver  Cromwell's  regiment  of  horse  before 
the  skirmish  near  Gainsborough,  when  the  King's  troops 
were  routed,  and  their  commander.  Sir  Charles  Cavendish, 
was  killed.      After  this,  Mrs.  Hutchinson  says,  "  Major 

'  This  appears  to  contradict   com-  Member  for  Wiltshire  in  the  Long  Par- 

pletely  the  Royalist  stories  of  Harrison's  liament;  and  his  honesty  and  veracity 

low  origin ;  since  he  here  is  enrolled  have  never  been  impeached, 

first  in   a   company  of  gentlemen  of  ^  See  Vol.  I.  p.  365  of  this  History, 

the  Inns  of  Court,   and  then   in   the  ^  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  i.  pp.  43, 

General's  Life-guard,  consisting  of  a  44  :  2nd  edition,  London,  I72L 

hundred     gentlemen.        Ludlow    was  *  Memoirs  of  Colonel  Hutchinson, 

himself  the  son  of  Sir  Henry  Ludlow,  p.  117  :  Bohn's  edition,  London,  1854. 


1651.] 


IRETONS  MILITARY  CAREER. 


245 


Ireton  quite  left  Colonel  Thornhagh's  regiment,  and  began 
an  inseparable  league  with  Colonel  Cromwell,  whose  son- 
in-law  he  afterwards  was."  ^ 

Under  the  "  New  Model  "  of  the  army,  Ireton  accepted 
the  appointment  of  captain  in  the  regiment  of  horse  com- 
manded by  Algernon  Sydney,  who  was  at  least  ten  years 
younger  than  himself;  but  he  soon  rose  to  be  a  colonel  of 
horse,  and,  at  Cromwell's  express  request,  was  nominated 
Commissary- General  of  the  Horse,  being  the  next  officer  in 
authority  under  Cromwell,  who  was  Lieutenant- General  of 
the  Horse.      Ireton  also,  by  Cromwell's  express  desire, 
commanded  the  left  wing  of  the  Parliamentary  army  at 
Naseby.    Here  fortune  went  against  him,  for  his  wing  was 
defeated  by  Prince  Rupert,  and  he  himself  wounded  and 
taken  prisoner ;  though,  when  Fairfax  and  Cromwell  had 
gained  the  battle,  he  made  his  escape  from  his  captors. 
Some  modern  writers  have  asserted  that  Ireton's  military 
knowledge  was  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  Cromwell's.  What- 
ever his  military  knowledge  might  be,  he  certainly  was  not 
anything  like  so  fortunate  a  soldier,  not  only  as  Cromwell, 
but  as  Lambert.     For  here,  when  Ireton  had  a  splendid 
opportunity,  fortune,  which  is    everything  in  war,  went 
against  him  ;  while  fortime  never  went  against  Cromwell, 
and,  as  has  been   shown   in  the  preceding  volume,  the 
victory  at  Dunbar  was    due  very  much  to  Lambert,  to 
whom  Cromwell  gave   the  command   of  the   army   that 
morning  ;  but,  much  or  little,  it  was  more  due  to  Lambert 
than  the  victory  at  Naseby  was  to  Ireton.     In  fact,  Lam- 
bert showed  at  Dunbar  something  of  that  rare  qualit}^, 
military  genius,  which  Ireton,  though  he  may  have  pos- 
sessed it,  never,  as  far  as  I  know,  had  any  opportunity 
of  showing. 

'  Memoirs  of  Colonel  Hutchinson,  p.  161  :  Bohn's  edition,  London,  1854. 


246 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


I  am  not  making  these  remarks  for  the  purpose,  in 
the  least,  of  running  down  Ireton ;  but  I  wish  to  obtain, 
as  far  as  I  can,  a  correct  estimate  of  Ireton's  abilities, 
with  a  view  to  the  elucidation  of  the  question  of  his 
influence  upon  the  mind  of  Cromwell. 

Whitelock's  criticism  of  Ireton's  "  Agreement  of  the 
People  "  was  probably  influenced  by  the  clause  excluding 
practising  lawyers  from  Parliament.  "  The  frame  of  this 
'Agreement  of  the  People,'"  says  Whitelock,  "was 
thought  to  be,  for  the  most  part,  made  by  Commissary- 
General  Ireton,  a  man  full  of  invention  and  industry, 
who  had  a  little  knowledge  of  the  law,  which  led  him 
into  the  more  errors."  ^  But  when  the  fear  lest  Ireton 
should  bring  about  those  reforms  which  the  lawyers 
were  averse  to  was  removed  by  his  death,  Whitelock 
speaks  of  him  without  disparagement,  for  he  says : 
"  This  gentleman  was  a  person  very  active,  industrious, 
and  stiff  in  his  ways  and  purposes ;  he  was  of  good 
abilities  for  council  as  well  as  action,  made  much  use 
of  his  pen,  and  was  very  forward  to  reform  the  pro- 
ceedings in  law,  wherein  his  having  been  bred  a  lawyer 
was  a  great  help  to  him.  He  was  stout  in  the  field, 
and  wary  and  prudent  in  councils ;  exceedingly  forward 
as  to  the  business  of  a  Commonwealth.  Cromwell  had 
a  great  opinion  of  him,  and  no  man  could  prevail  so 
much,  nor  order  him  so  far,  as  Ireton  could."  ^  In 
regard  to  what  is  said  above  respecting  Ireton's  making 
much  use  of  his  pen,  the  numerous  papers  dravm  up  by 
Ireton  are  written  in  a  clear,  terse,  and  masculine  style, 
and  display  a  skilful  command  of  language,  as  well  as 
great  knowledge  and  sagacity. 


*  Whitelock's  Memorials,  p.  356. 


Ibid.  p.  516. 


16oL]    THE  ARMY'S  REPBESENTATION  TO  PARLIAMENT.     247 

The  "  Representation  from  His  Excellency  Sir  Thomas 
Fairfax  and  the  Army  under  his  command,  humbly  ten- 
dered to  the  Parliament,  concerning  the  just  and  fun- 
damental rights  and  liberties  of  themselves  and  the 
kingdom,  with  some  humble  proposals  and  desires  in 
order  thereunto,  and  for  settling  the  peace  of  the  king- 
dom," ^  was  chiefly  the  production  of  Ireton ;  and  shows 
that,  as  early  as  June  1647,  those  who  led  the  opinions 
of  the  army  desii'ed,  on  grounds  which  are  very  clearly 
stated,  "  That  some  determinate  period  of  time  may  be 
set  for  the  continuance  of  this  and  future  Parliaments, 
beyond  which  none  shall  continue,  and  upon  which  new 
writs  may  of  course  issue  out,  and  new  elections  suc- 
cessively take  place,  accordmg  to  the  intent  of  the  Bill 
for  Triennial  Parliaments.  And  herein  we  would  not 
be  misunderstood  to  desire  a  present  or  sudden  dissolu- 
tion of  this  Parliament ;  but  only,  as  is  expressed  before, 
that  some  certain  period  may  be  set  for  the  determining 
of  it,  so  that  it  may  not  remain,  as  now,  continuable  for 
ever,  or  during  the  pleasure  of  the  present  members. 
And  we  should  desire  that  the  period  to  be  now  set 
for  ending  this  Parliament  may  be  such  as  may  give 
sufiicient  time  for  provision  of  what  is  wanting,  and 
necessary  to  be  passed  in  point  of  just  reformation, 
and  for  further  securing  the  rights  and  liberties,  and 
settling  the  peace  of  the  kingdom."  ^ 

Now  the  grounds  on  which  this  is  put  are  so  clearly 
stated,   that  the   fact   of  Cromwell's   being   a   party   to 


*  Printed  at  Cambridge,  by  Roger  OflRcers  and  Soldiery  under  his  coin- 
Daniel,  printer  to  the  University,  with  mand  :     J.    Rush  worth.  Secretary." — 
the  following  tiat:  "St.  Albans,  June  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  pp.  615-625. 
14,  1647.— By  the  appointment  of  his  •  Ibid.  p.  622. 
Excellency  Sir  Tho.  Fairfax,  with  the 


248 


COMMONWE.y.TH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XJI. 


them  becomes  a  most  important  element  in  the  solution 
of  that  complicated  problem,  the  character  of  Cromwell. 
The  grounds  are  these :  "  We  are  so  far  from  designing 
or  complying  to  have  any  absolute  arbitrary  power  fixed 
or   settled,  for   continuance,  in    any  persons  whatsoever, 
as  that,  if  we  might  be  sure  to  obtain  it,  we  cannot  wish 
to   have  it  so  in  the  persons  of  any  whom  we  might  best 
confide  in,  or  who  should  appear  most  of  our  own  opinions 
or  principles,  or  whom  we  might  have  most  personal  assu- 
rance of,  or  interest  in ;  but  we  do  and  shall  much  rather 
wish  that  the  authority  of  this  kingdom,  in  a  Parliament 
rightly    constituted,  free,    equally,  and  successively  chosen, 
according    to    its   original   intention,  may  ever   stand   and 
have  its  course ;  and  therefore  we  shall  apply  our  desires 
chiefly  to  such  things,  as  (by  having  Parliaments  settled 
in    such   a  right  constitution)  may  give   more   hopes    of 
justice  and  righteousness  to  flow  down  equally  to  all  in 
that  its  antient  channel,  without  any  overtures  tending 
either  to  overthrow  that  foundation   either  of  order  or 
government  in  this  kingdom,  or  to  ingross  that   power 
for  perpetuity  into   the  hands  of  any  particular  person 
or  party  whatsoever. ^^ 

The  paper  then  meets  the  objection,  that  the  change 
of  the  present  Parliament  may  prove  for  the  worse,  as 
to  the  persons  elected,  with  this  argument — that  the 
supreme  power,  or  sovereignty,  being  "  unlimited,  unless 
in  point  of  time,  is  most  unfit  and  dangerous,  as  to  the 
people's  interest,  to  be  fixed  in  the  persons  of  the  same 
men,  during  life  or  their  own  pleasures ;  "  but  that  a 
change  or  new  election  is  required,  in  order  "  that  the 
people  may  have  an  equal  hope  or  possibility,  if  they 
have  made  an  ill  choice  at  one  time,  to  mend  it  in 
another ;  and  the  members  themselves  may  be  in  a  capacity 


1661.]     THE  ARMY'S  REPRESENTATION   TO   PARLIAMENT.    249 

to  taste  of  subjection  as  well  as  rule,  and  may  be  so  inclined 
to  consider  of  other  men^s  cases,  as  what  may  come  to  be 
their  own,'' 

The  paper  then  declares  that  in  England,  "  by  many 
positive  laws  and  antient  constant  custom,  the  people 
have  a  right  to  new  and  successive  elections  unto  that 
great  and  supreme  trust,  at  certain  periods  of  time ; 
which  is  so  essential  and  fundamental  to  their  freedom, 
as  it  cannot  or  ought  not  to  be  denied  them,  and 
without  which  the  House  of  Commons  is  of  very  little 
concernment  to  the  interest  of  the  commons  of  England : 
yet  in  this  we  would  not  be  misunderstood  to  blame 
those  worthies  of  both  Houses  whose  zeal  to  vindicate 
bhe  liberties  of  this  nation  did  procure  that  Act  for  the 
continuance  of  this  Parliament,  whereby  it  was  secured 
from  being  dissolved  at  the  King's  pleasure,  as  former 
Parliaments  have  been,  and  reduced  to  such  a  certainty 
as  might  enable  them  the  better  to  assist  and  vindicate 
the  liberties  of  this  nation  (immediately  before  so  highly 
invaded,  and  then  also  so  much  endangered) ;  and  this 
we  take  to  be  the  principal  ends  and  grounds  for  which, 
in  that  exigency  of  time  and  affairs,  it  was  procured, 
and  to  which  we  acknowledge  it  hath  happily  been 
made  use  of;  but  we  cannot  think  it  was  by  those 
worthies  intended,  or  ought  to  be  made  use  of,  to  the 
perpetuating  of  that  supreme  trust  and  pouter  in  the  persons 
of  any,  during  their  own  pleasures,  or  to  the  debarring  of 
the  people  from  their  right  of  elections  totally,  now  when 
those  dangers  or  exigencies  were  past,  and  the  affairs  and 
safety  of  the  Commonwealth  would  admit  of  such  a 
change,''^ 

The   testimony  of  Whitelock  as  to  the  authorship   of 

'  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  pp.  620-623. 


l 


250 


COMJVIONAVEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


this   paper   is  very  important.     "In   these   declarations 
and   transactions   of  the   armj/'  says  Whitelock,  under 
date  June    16,    1647,   "Colonel   Ireton  was  chiefly   em- 
ployed, or  took  upon  him  the  business  of  the  pen ;   and 
having   been   bred   in   the   Middle  Temple,  and   learned 
some    grounds   of  the   laws   of  England,    and   being   of 
working  and  laborious  brain  and  fancy,  he  set  himself 
much  upon  these  businesses,  and  therein  was  encouraged 
and  assisted  by  Lieutenant-General  Cromwell,  his    father- 
in-law,^   and    by    Colonel    Lambert,   who    had    likewise 
studied  in  the  Inns  of  Court,  a.nd  was  of  a  subtle  and 
working  brain."  ^ 

We  have  in  these  two  extracts,  taken  together^  some  ex- 
ceedingly important  evidence  bearing  on  the  characters 
of  Ireton,  of  CromweU,  of  Lambert,  and  of  that  portion 
of  the  members  of  the  Eump  who  pertinaciously  resisted 
the  dissolution  of  that  remnant  of  the  Long  Parliament. 

The  first  things  that  must  suggest  themselves  to  the 
reader  of  the  preceding  extracts  from  the  "  Eepresenta- 
tion  "  of  the  army  of  the  Parliament  are,  the  cfearness  and 
masculine  force  of  the  language,  and  the  soundness  of  the 
constitutional  knowledge,  the  more  remarkable  as  coming 
from  a  body  of  soldiers— soldiers  who  formed  a  strange 
contrast  to  the  cavalier  Wildrakes  who  were  their  cotem- 
poraries,  and  a  still  stranger  contrast  to  the  Ensign 
Northertons  who  were  their  successors.  And  yet,  the 
very  same  state  of  things  which  produced  the  illiterate 

'  Exactly  one  year  before  this  time,  daughter  to  Oliver  Cromwell,  Lieute- 

Ireton   was    married    to    the     eldest  rant-General  of  the  Horse  to  the  said 

daughter   of    Cromwell ;     as   appears  Sir  Thomas  Fairf;tx,  were  married  by 

from   the  following  extract  from  the  Mr.  Dell,  in  the  Lady  Whorwood  her 

Kegister  of  Marriages  in  the  parish  of  house  in  Holton,  June  15  1646  " 

Holtou,  near  Oxforl:  "Henry  Ireton.  '^  Whitelock's  Memorials,  Jime  16 

Commissary-General   to    Sir   Thomas  1647.                                                        ' 
Fairfax,   and   Bridget,      ♦     *     #     # 


1651.]       GENIUS   OF  CROMWELL  AND   MARLBOROUGH.  251 

brutality  of  such  military  men  as  Ensign  Northerton,  and 
the  captain  in  Hamilton's  Bawn — who  announced  his 
opinion  to  be  that 

Your  Noveds,  and  Bluturks,  and  Omurs,  and  stuff, 
By  G —  they  don't  signify  this  pinch  of  snuff  ! 

— produced   a  certain   officer,  by  name  John  Churchill, 
nearly  as  illiterate  as  they ;  who,  even  late  in  life,  owned 
that  for  his  knowledge  of  English  History  he  was  chiefly 
indebted  to  Shakspeare ;  but  who,  nevertheless,  performed 
military  achievements  which  proved  him  to  be  a  man  of 
the  greatest  genius,  for  they  furnished  examples  of  the 
successftd  exertion  of  some  of  the  highest  of  man's  reason- 
ing and   inventive  faculties.     Men  have    sat  on  thrones, 
on    woolsacks,    in   professors'    chairs ;    men   have    shone 
in   pulpits,    in    senates,  in   courts  of  justice,  in  popular 
assemblies  ;  men  have  been  commanders  of  armies,  leaders 
of  political  parties,  shrewd  and  energetic  organisers  of 
great  popular   movements ;   nay   more,  men   have   for  a 
time   been   oracles,  dictators  in   philosophy  and   letters, 
without   possessing   any   extraordinary   portion   of   what 
is  highest   in  human  intellect.     But   to   win   great   and 
decisive  battles,  in  the  face  of  such  disadvantages  and 
difficulties  as  were  met  and  overcome  by  Cromwell  and 
Marlborough,  and  to  make  a  proper  use  of  those  battles 
when  won,  implies  the  possession,  in  a  preeminent  degree, 
of  some  of  the  higher  faculties  that  distinguish  man  as 
man.     And  yet  neither  Cromwell  nor  Marlborough  could 
have  written  the  passages  I  have  quoted  from  the  "  Repre- 
sentation "  of  the  army  of  the  Parliament ;  while  he  who 
wrote  it,  though  an  able  and  well-educated  man,  and  a 
good  soldier,  probably  could  not  have  won  the  battles  won 
by  Cromwell  and  by  Marlborough. 

How  then  is  the  extraordinary  influence  which,  by  the 


252 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


/ 


concurrent  testimony  of  many  witnesses,  Ireton  possessed 
over  the  mind  of  Cromwell  to  be  accounted  lor  P     I  think 
it  may,  without  injustice  to  either  of  them,  be  accounted 
for  by  the  sincere  respect  entertained  by  Cromwell  for 
Ireton's  4iistorical  and  legal  knowledge,  so  much  greater 
than  his  own,  as  weU  as  for  his  capacity,  'honesty,  and 
singleness  of  purpose.     The  mode  of  accounting  for  this 
influence  adopted   by  Clarendon  and  others,  that  Ireton 
prevailed  over  Cromwell  by  his  obstinacy,  is  childish.     It 
is   only   weak   people  who  are  vanquished  by  the  mere 
obstinacy  of  others.     A  strong,  brave,  clearsighted  man 
like  Cromwell  would  treat  what  is  commonly  understood 
by  obstinacy  with  very  little  ceremony  ;  but  he  would  treat 
with  respect  opinions  formed  deliberately  and  conscien- 
tiously, and  supported  by  sound  knowledge  and  clear  and 
cogent  arguments. 

Another  thing  that  distinctly  appears,  from  several 
passages  in  the  extract  given  above  from  the  paper  which, 
though  penned  by  Ireton,  was  penned,  as  Whitelock  ex- 
pressly declares,  with  Cromwell's  encouragement  and  assis- 
tance, is  that  Cromwell  was  at  that  time  decidedly  averse 
to  the  perpetuating  of  the  supreme  power  in  any  man  or 
body  of  men  during  their  own  pleasure;  that  therefore 
Cromwell's  seizing  upon  that  supreme  power  by  force,  and 
treating  it  so  far  as  his  own  private  property  as  to  assume 
that  he  had  a  right  to  leave  it,  whether  as  an  inheritance, 
or  a  gift  by  will,^  was  a  direct  contradiction  of  his  own 


'  It   is   commonly   stated,    on    the 
authority  of  Secretary  Thurloe — who, 
in  his  letter  to  Henry  Cromwell,  an- 
nouncing the  death  of  his  father,  the 
Protector,  says,   "  His  Highness  was 
pleased  before  his  death  to  declare  my 
lord  Richard  successor," — that  Crom- 
well appointed  his  eldest  surviving  .^on 


Richard  his  successor.  But  in  a  pre- 
ceding letter  of  August  25,  to  Henry 
Cromwell,  Thurloe  says:  "  He  did  by 
himself  declare  a  successor,  in  a  paper, 
before  he  was  installed  by  the  Parlia- 
ment, and  sealed  it  up  in  the  form  of 
a  letter,  directing  it  to  me,  but  kept 
both  the  name  of  the  person  and  the 


1651.]      IRETON  A  CHECK  ON   CROMWELL'S   AMBITION.         253 

opinions,  in  this  writing  deliberately  and  solemnly  ex- 
pressed. These  observations  apply  to  Lambert  equally  as  to 
Cromwell.  In  fact,  the  whole  of  Lambert's  subsequent 
career  shows  him  to  have  been  a  man  devoid  of  principle, 
and,  except  as  a  mere  soldier,  devoid  of  talent  for  action. 
Cromwell  and  Lambert  were  thus  both,  to  a  certain  extent, 
in  the  power  of  Ireton,  who — having  been  assisted  by  them 
in  those  papers,  which  so  clearly  set  forth  the  grounds  of 
constitutional  government,  and  being  known  to  both  of 
them  as  a  man  not  to  be  turned  aside  from  what  he  deemed 
the  path  of  his  duty  either  by  interest  or  fear — formed  an 
obstacle,  which,  if  not  insurmountable,  was  at  least  formid- 
able, to  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  either  to  concentrate 
the  supreme  power  in  his  own  person.  Besides,  Cromwell, 
who  was  a  man  in  whom  the  family  affections  appear  to 
have  been  strong,  liked  as  well  as  esteemed  Ireton,  and 
took  a  warm  interest  in  his  wellbeing  and  advancement. 
Mrs.  Hutchinson  tells  a  story  which  is  illustrative  of  this. 
She  says  that  Cromwell  used  his  utmost  endeavours  to 
persuade  Colonel  Saunders  into  the  sale  of  a  place  of  his 

paper  to  himself.     After  he  fell  sick  in  such  a  drawer  of  a  cabinet  in  his 

at  Hampton  Court,  he  sent  Mr.  John  closet  they  should  find  his  will.     But 

Barrington  to  London  for  it,  telling  his  daughter  had  disposed  of  it  else- 

him  it  lay  upon    his   study-table   at  where,  and  so  they  never  came  to  the 

Whitehall ;  but  it  was  not  to  be  found  sight  of  it:'— Memoirs  of  Boger  Earl 

there,  nor  elsewhere,  though  it  hath  of  Orrery,  prefixed  to   Orrery  s  State 

been  very  narrowly  looked  for."     This  Letters,  vol.  i.    pp.  53,  54:    Dublin, 

account  appears  to  me  to  confirm  the  1743.     Though  many  of  Mr.  Morrice's 

statement  made  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  statements  are  of  little  value,   even 

Morrice,  chaplain  of  Roger  Boyle,  Lord  when  made  on  the  authority  of  the 

Broghill,andfirstEarlof  Orrery.  This  Earl   of   Orrery,  who   had  a  case  to 

statement  is  : — "  Cromwell  had  made  make  out  for  himself,  there  can  be  no 

Eleetwood   his  heir ;  but  one  of  his  doubt  that  Lord  Orrery  had  the  means 

daughters,    knowing   where    his    will  of  being  better  informed  than  most  per- 

was,   took    it    and    burnt   it,    before  sons,  in  regard  to  some  matters  relating 

Fleetwood  could  come    at   it.     When  to  Cromwell  and  his  family ;  and  his 

Cromwell  was  asked  who  should  sue-  version  of  the  matter  above  mentioned 

ceed  him,  he  made  no  reply ;  but  said,  may  very  possibly  be  the  true  account. 


4 


254 


COMIVIONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


called  Ireton,  "  which  Cromwell  earnestly  desired  to  buy  for 
Major-General  Ireton,  who  had  married  his  daughter."^ 

These  facts  furnish,  of  themselves,  a  sufficient  answer 
to   those   modern  writers,  who  treat  with  contempt  the 
notion  of  Cromwell's  being  influenced  by  Ireton  in  this 
matter.     But  the  case  is  yet   stronger:    for  it  is   to   be 
remembered  that  Ireton  was  at  the  head  of  a  powerful 
army  in  Ireland,  and  that  Ludlow,^  his  second  in  command, 
was  both  an  able  and  hardy  soldier,  and  as  firmly  opposed 
as  Ireton  to  the  domination  of  Cromwell,  or  of  anybody 
else.     It  is  true  that,  if  the  matter  came  to  the  arbitrament 
of  the  sword — as  a  somewhat  similar  question  had  come, 
some  1,700  years  before,  also  between  a  father-in-law  and  a 
son-in-law,  at  the  Battle  of  Pharsalia — Ireton  and  Ludlow 
would  have  had  to  fight  two  men,  Cromwell  and  Lambert, 
who  were  probably  greater  soldiers  than  they.     Yet,  in  the 
great  game  of  war,  it  is  impossible  for  any  human  foresight 
to  foretell  the  issue.     And  though  Csesar  thoroughly  de- 
feated Pompey  at  Pharsalia,  it  was  the  opinion  of  General 
Sir  William  Napier,  and  of  a  greater  authority,  Napoleon 
Bonaparte,  that  at  Dyrrachium,  only  a  short  time  before 
the  Battle  of  Pharsalia,  Pompey  had  quite  outgeneralled 
Csesar.     When  all  these  things  are  borne  in  mind,  it  will 
appear  that  it  is  a  very  shallow  view  of  the  question  to 
treat  with  contempt  the  notion  of  Cromwell's  being  in- 
fluenced by  Ireton.     Cromwell  knew  his  situation  a  little 
better  than  these  modern  writers,  and  would  have  regarded 
this  mode  of  explaining  him  and  his  schemes  as  something 
even  below  contempt.     I  therefore  consider  it  beyond  a 
doubt,  that  Ireton  was  a  check,  and  a  very  powerful  check 

»  Memoirs  of  Colonel   Hutchinson,     his  appointment  in  Ireland  to  Crom- 

p.  324  :  Bohn's  edition,  London,  1854.     well.      See   Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  i. 

2  Ludlow,  as  well  as  Ireton,  owed     pp.321, 322:  2ndedition, London,  172 L 


1651.] 


IRETON'S  SUCCESSOR  APPOINTED. 


155 


upon  Cromwell's  restless  ambition,  and  lust  of  domination 
and  seTf^aggrandisement.  But  by*^Ireton's  death  Cromwell 
was  at  liberty  to  pursue  the  instincts  of  his  nature,  in 
which  the  most  profound  human  calculation  was  combined 
with  the  fierce,  quick,  restless,  ravenous  instincts  of  a 
beast  of  prey.  "  Kean's  Eichard  the  Third,"  says  a 
writer  who  had  had  an  opportunity  of  observing  Napoleon 
Bonaparte,  "  reminded  me  constantly  of  Bonaparte — that 
restless  quickness,  that  Catiline  inquietude,  that  fearful 
somewhat,  resembling  the  impatience  of  a  lion  in  his 
cage." 

The  other  event,  unfavourable  to  the  Parliament,  which 
I  have  mentioned  as  happening  about  this  time,  was 
connected  with  the  appointment  of  a  successor  to  Ireton 
in  Ireland.  On  Wednesday,  the  21st  of  January  165^, 
the  Council  of  State  ordered,  "  That  it  be  humbly  oflPered 
to  the  Parliament  as  the  opinion  of  this  Council,  that 
Major-General  Lambert  may  be  appointed  Commander  of 
the  military  forces  in  Ireland,  under  the  Lord-Lieutenant 
of  Ireland,  if  the  Parliament  shall  so  think  fit ;  and  the 
Lord  President  of  the  Council  is  desired  to  offer  this  to 
the  Parliament  accordingly."^  On  Friday  the  31st  of 
January,  the  Council  ordered,  "  That  a  letter  be  prepared, 
in  pursuance  of  an  Order  of  Parliament  of  this  day,  to  be 
sent  to  Major-General  Lambert ;  to  inclose  the  vote  of 
Parliament  unto  him,  and  to  desire  him  to  repair  hither 
in  pursuance  of  the  said  vote."^ 

There  is  so  much  difference  between  the  account  of  this 
business  given  in  the  Memoirs  of  Ludlow,  and  the  account 
of  it  given  in  the  Memoirs  of  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  that 
probably  either  Lambert  or  his  wife — who  was,  says  Mrs. 

*  Order  Book   of    the   Council   of    MS.  State  Paper  Office. 
State,  Wednesday,  January  21,  165^,         *  Ihid.  Friday,  January'  31,  105^. 


256 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


Hutchinson,  "  as  proud  as  her  husband  "—had  given  some 
offence  to  that  austere  and  haughty  matron.     And  as  we 
know  little  of  Lambert's  pedigree,  a  matter  of  immense 
weight  with  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  further  than  that  he  "  is  said 
to  have  been  born  of  a  good  family,  and  to  have  been  edu- 
cated for  the  bar,"  Mrs.  Hutchinson  probably  considered  it 
a  piece  of  high  presumption  for  a  man,  whom  she  might 
consider   as   only,  at  best,  belonging   to   the   "  underling 
gentry,'"  to  aspire  to  the  high  place  of  Deputy  of  Ireland, 
while  her  husband.  Colonel  Hutchinson,  was  never  thought 
of  for  such  a  post.     Be  that  as  it  may,  Mrs.  Hutchinson 
tells  a  rather  long  story,  in  which  Lambert's  "  pride  "  and 
"heart  full  of  spite,  malice,  and  revenge,"  are  made  to 
bear  a  very  prominent  part.     But  though  Mrs.  Hutchin- 
son's story  is  somewhat  long,  it  fails  to  state  the  facts  cor- 
rectly, and  therefore  need  not  be  repeated.     Two  sentences 
of  it,  however,  as  characteristic  of  Cromwell's  desire  of 
missing   no   opportunity   of  advancing   himself  and   his 
family,  I  quote  :— 

"There  went  a  story  that,  as  my  Lady  Ireton  was 
walking  in  St.  James's  Park,  the  Lady  Lambert,  as  proud 
as  her  husband,  came  by  where  she  was;  and  as  the 
present  princess  always  hath  precedency  of  the  relict 
of  the  dead  prince,  so  she  put  my  Lady  Ireton  below ; 
who,  notwithstanding  her  piety  and  humility,  was  a  little 
grieved  at  the  affront.  Colonel  Fleetwood  "  [he  was  then 
Lieutenant-General  Fleetwood]  "being  then  present,  in 
mourning  for  his  wife,  who  died  at  the  same  time  her 
lord  did,  took  occasion  to  introduce  himself,  and  was  im- 
mediately accepted  by  the  lady  and  her  father,  who  de- 
signed thus  to  restore  his  daughter  to  the  honour  she  had 

•  A  plirase  of  Mrs.  Hutchinson.  See  Memoirs  of  Colonel  Hutchinson,  p.  130  • 
Bohn's  edition,  London,  1854. 


f 


;l 


^oiMamiSitmita 


1651.] 


CROMWELL'S  CHILDREN. 


257 


fallen  from.">  It  is  observable  that,  whatever  truth  or 
falsehood  there  may  be  in  this  story,  which  Mrs.  Hutch- 
inson gives  as  she  heard  it,  she  mentions  "  piety  and  hu- 
mility "  as  virtues  really  belonging  to  the  widow  of  Ireton. 
And  she  is  consistent  in  her  account  of  Cromwell's  children. 
She  says  afterwards  :  "  His  [Cromwell's]  wife  and  children 
were  setting  up  for  principality,  which  suited  no  better 
with  any  of  them  than  scarlet  on  the  ape.  His  daughter 
Fleetwood  "  [the  lady  mentioned  above  as  Ireton's  widow] 
"  was  humbled  and  not  exalted  with  these  things ;  but  the 
rest  were  insolent  fools."  She  afterwards  says  :  "Richard 
was  a  peasant  in  his  nature,  yet  gentle  and  virtuous — a 
meek,  temperate,  and  quiet  man,  but  became  not  great- 
ness."^ 

Mrs.  Hutchinson's  testimony  on  some  of  these  points  is 
very  valuable,  inasmuch  as  she,  with  a  woman's  instinct,  has 
observed  and  recorded  certain  shades  of  character,  which 
writers  like  Ludlow,  whose  attention  was  wholly  directed 
to  political  and  military  matters,  did  not  notice,  or  did 
not  think  worth  recording.  Her  remark  that  Cromwell's 
children,  with  the  exception  of  his  daughter  Bridget  and 
his  son  Eichard  (his  eldest  son  Oliver,  who  was  killed  when 
young,  must  also  be  excepted),  "were  insolent  fools,"  con- 
firms the  stories  told  about  his  youngest  daughter,  Frances, 
who  appears  to  have  belonged  strictly  to  that  class  of 
women,  in  whom  two  ruling  passions  predominate — 

The  love  of  pleasure,  and  the  love  of  sway.' 

Her  love  of  pleasure  was  manifested  in  carrying  on  a 

»  Mrs.   Hutchinson's    Memoirs    of  of  Marston  Moor,  would  appear,  from 

Colonel    Hutchinson,    pp.    360,    361:  his  father's  estimate  of  him,  to  have 

Bohn's  edition,  London,  1854.  been  a  youth  of  promise. 

*  3id.   pp.    370,  376.— His    eldest  s  The  idea  of  Pope,  that,  while  men 

son,  Oliver,  who  was  killed  when  very  engage  in  the  career  of  ambition  partly 

young  in  a  skirmish  before  the  Battle  from  the  love  of  its  very  trials  and 
VOL.   [I.                                            S 


258 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


flirtation  with  Jerry  White,  one  of  her  father's  chaplains, 
who  was  discovered  by  Cromwell  "  in  the  lady's  chamber, 
on  his  knees,  kissing  the  lady's  hand."  When  Cromwell, 
in  a  fary,  asked  "  what  was  the  meaning  of  that  posture 
before  his  daughter  Frank,"  Jerry,  with  wonderful  presence 
of  mind,  said,  "  May  it  please  your  Highness,  I  have  a 
long  time  courted  that  young  gentlewoman  there,  my 
lady's  woman,  and  cannot  prevail ;  I  was  therefore  humbly 
praying  her  ladyship  to  intercede  for  me."  The  result  is 
so  characteristic  of  Cromwell  that  the  story  may  be  true, 
though  Oldmixon,  who  tells  it,  is  no  great  authority  :  yet  he 
says,  "  I  knew  them  both,  and  heard  this  story  told  when 
Mrs.  Wliite  was  present,  who  did  not  contradict  it,  but 
owned  there  was  something  in  it."  The  Protector  (the 
story  says),  turning  to  the  young  woman,  cried,  "  What's 
the  meaning  of  this,  hussy?  Why  do  you  refuse  the 
honour  Mr.  White  would  do  you  ?  He  is  my  friend,  and  I 
expect  you  should  treat  him  as  such."  The  young  woman, 
with  a  very  low  curtsey,  replied,  "  If  Mr.  White  intends 
me  that  honour,  I  shall  not  be  against  him."  "  Say'st  thou 
so,  my  lass  ?  "  cried  Cromwell.  "  Call  Goodwyn ;  this  busi- 
ness shall  be  done  presently,  before  I  go  out  of  the  room." 
Goodwyn  came  :  Jerry  and  "  my  lady's  woman  "  were  mar- 
ried in  presence  of  the  Protector,  who  gave  her  £500  for 
her  portion ;  and  that,  with  the  money  she  had  saved  be- 
fore, made  Mr.  White  easy  in  his  circumstances ;  "  except 
in  one  thing,"  adds  the  nairator,  "  which  was,  that  he 


perils,  and  are  then  glad  to  escape 
from  it  to  the  quiet  and  repose  of  ob- 
scurity, 

—"every  lady  would  be  queen  for  life," 
irom  the  mere  love  of  domineering, 
agrees  somewhat  with  the  distinction 
of  Plato  in  applying  the  word  fryefiovi- 
Khs  to  Zeus,  and  &aat\iKhs  to  Juno. — 
See  Ast's  note   to   Plato's  Phadrus, 


p.  110  : — " 'Hye fioviKhv  est  sensu  quem 
Sloici  posthac  nobilitdrunt,  idea  re- 
gons,  quae  principatum  omnium  rerum 
tenet,  contra  fiacriXiKhv,  id  quod  potes- 
tatem  suam  regiam  manifestat,  im- 
perio  exercendo ;  ut  dominationis  cu- 
jusdam  significatio  in  hac  voce  insit. 
Imperiosa  enim  Juno  est." — Ast. 


1651.]      LAMBERT'S   QUARREL  WITH   THE  PARLIAMENT.      259 

never  loved  his  wife,  nor  she  him,  though  they  lived  to- 
gether near  fifty  years  afterwards." 

The  love  of  sway  of  this  daughter  of  Cromwell  was 
manifested  in  the  eagerness  she  displayed  to  become 
the  wife  of  Charles  II.  Lord  Broghill,  afterwards  Earl 
of  Orrery — who,  while  living  with  Cromwell,  carried  on 
a  secret  correspondence  with  some  persons  about  the 
King — had  discovered  that  Charles  was  favourable  to 
a  design  "  of  making  a  match  betwixt  His  Majesty  and 
one  of  Cromwell's  daughters,  the  Lady  Frances."  But  Lord 
Broghill  failed  in  all  his  attempts  to  obtain  Cromwell's 
consent  to  it.  "  Upon  this  my  Lord  withdrew,  and  meet- 
ing Cromwell's  wife  and  daughter,  they  enquired  how  he 
had  succeeded ;  of  which  having  given  them  an  account, 
he  added,  they  must  try  their  interest  in  him ;  but  none 
could  prevail."^  If  "  the  Lady  Frances  "  had  accomplished 
her  wish  of  becoming  the  wife  of  Charles  Stuart,  she  would, 
most  probably,  have  become  acquainted  with  a  somewhat 
disagreeable  illustration  of  the  vanity  of  human  wishes. 

While,  in  jpnrsuance  of  the  Order  of  Parliament  above 
mentioned,  Major-General  Lambert  was  making  great 
preparations  to  go  over  to  Ireland,  in  the  quality  of 
Deputy  to  General  Cromwell,  the  commission  of  the 
latter,  as  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  expired.  There- 
upon the  Parliament  took  that  affair  into  consideration ; 
and  many  of  the  members  affirmed  that  the  title  and 
office  of  Lieutenant  of  Ireland  was  more  suitable  to  a 
monarchy  than  to  a  "  free  commonwealth."  Neverthe- 
less, the  question  was  likely  to  have  been  carried  for  the 

*  Memoirs  of  Roger,  Earl  of  Orrery,  Boyle,  the  first  Earl  of  Orrery,  Lord 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thomas  Morrice,  his  President  of  Munster  in  Ireland:" 
Lordship's  chaplain  (pp.  40-43),  pre-  2  vols.,  Dublin,  1743. — Burnet  also 
fixed  to  "a  Collection  of  the  State  Let-  states  that  he  had  the  story  from  Lord 
ters  of  the  Right  Honourable  Roger     Broghill's  own  lips. 

8  2 


260 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


1G5L] 


CHAEACTER  OF  LAMBERT. 


261 


renewing  of  Cromwell's  commission  under  the  same  title. 
But  CromweU,  says  Ludlow,  "  having  at  that  time  another 
part  to  act,  stood  up,  and  declared  his  satisfaction  with 
what  had  been  said  against  constituting  a  Lieutenant  in 
Ireland,  desiring  that  thej  would  not  continue  him  with 
that  character.     Upon  which,  the  question  being  put,  the 
Parliament,  willing  to  believe  him  in  earnest,  ordered  it 
according  to  his  motion.     He  further  moved  that,  though 
they  had  not  thought  fit  to  continue  a  Lieutenant  of  Ire- 
land, they  would  be  pleased,  in  consideration  of  the  worthy 
person  whom  they  had  formerly  approved  to  go  over  with 
the  title  of  Deputy,  to  continue  that  character  to  him. 
But  the  Parliament,  having  suppressed  the  title  and  office 
of  a  Lieutenant  in  Ireland,  thought  it  altogether  improper 
to  constitute  a  Deputy,  who  was  no  more  than  the  substi- 
tute of  a  Lieutenant ;  and  therefore  refused  to  consent  to 
that  proposal,  ordering  that  he  should  be  inserted  one  of 
the  Commissioners  for  Civil  Affairs,  and  constituted  Com- 
mander-in-Chief of  the  Forces  in  Ireland.  In  the  manao-e- 
ment  of  this  affair,  Mr.  Weaver,  who  was  one  of  the  Com- 
missioners of  Ireland,  but  then  at  London  and  sitting  in 
Parliament,  was  very  active,  to  the  great  discontent  of 
General  Cromwell,  who  endeavoured  to  persuade  the  Par- 
liament that  the  army  in  Ireland  would  not  be  satisfied, 
unless  their  Commander-in-Chief  came  over  qualified  as 
.Deputy.     Mr.  Weaver  assured  them  that,  upon  his  know- 
ledge, all  the  sober  people  of  Ireland,  and  the  whole  army 
there  except  a  few  factious  persons,  were  not  only  weU  satis- 
fied with  the  present  Government,  both  civil  and  military,  of 
that  nation,  but  also  with  the  governors  who  managed  the 
same;  and   therefore  moved  that   they  would   make   no 
alteration  in  either,  and  renew  their  commissions  for  a 
longer  time.     This  discourse  of  Mr.  Weaver,  tending  to 


' 


persuade  the  Parliament  to  continue  me  in  the  military 
command "  [the  command-in-chief,  which  he  had  held 
since  the  death  of  Ireton,  his  own  command  being  that  of 
Lieutenant-General  of  the  Horse],  "  increased  the  jealousy 
which  General  Cromwell  had  conceived  of  me,  that  I 
might  prove  an  obstruction  to  the  design  he  was  carrying 
on  to  advance  himself  by  the  ruin  of  the  Commonwealth. 
And  therefore,  since  Major-General  Lambert  refused  to  go 
over  with  any  character  less  than  that  of  Deputy,  he  re- 
solved, by  any  means,  to  place  Lieutenant-General  Fleet- 
wood at  the  head  of  affairs  in  Ireland.  By  which  conduct 
he  procured  two  great  advantages  to  himself,  thereby  put- 
ting the  army  in  Ireland  into  the  hands  of  a  person  secured 
to  his  interest  by  the  marriage  of  his  daughter;  and, 
drawing  Major-General  Lambert  into  an  enmity  towards 
the  Parliament,  prepared  the  latter  to  join  with  him  in 
opposition  to  them,  when  he  should  find  it  convenient  to 
put  his  design  in  execution."^ 

By  the  proceeding  above  described,  CromweU  secured  the 
assistance  of  the  ablest  officer  in  the  army,  whom  he,  ac- 
cording to  some  accounts,  further  bound  to  his  interest  by 
"  deluding  him  with  hopes  and  promises  of  succession  "  to 
his  place  and  power  on  his  [Cromwell's]  death;  though  Lam- 
][)ert — who,  though  an  able  soldier,  was  a  weak  politician — 
discovered  somewhat  late  that  Cromwell "  intended  to  con- 
firm the  Government  in  his  own  family."^  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  in  "  Woodstock,"  has  well  expressed  the  opinion  en- 
tertained of  Lambert  by  the  army  :  "  If  Lambert  had  been 
here,"  said  Pearson  boldly,  "  there  had  been  less  speaking 
and   more   action."     "Lambert!    What    of    Lambert?" 

•  Ludlow's    Memoirs,    vol.    i.    pp.     Colonel  Hutchinson,  p.   372  :  Bohn's 
412-415:  2nd  edition,  London,  1721.      edition,  London,  1854. 
2  Mrs.    Hutchinson's    Memoirs    of 


262 


COMx^ONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


said  CromweU,  sharply.  "Only,"  said  Pearson,  "tliat  I 
long  since  hesitated  whether  I  should  foUow  your  Excel- 
lency or  him ;  and  I  begin  to  be  uncertain  whether  I  have 
made  the  best  choice— that's  all."  "  Lambert ! "  exclaimed 
Cromwell,  impatiently,  yet  softening  his  voice,  lest  he 
should  be  overheard  descanting  on  the  character  of  his 
rival,— '' What  is  Lambert?— a  tulip-fancying  fellow, 
whom  nature  intended  for  a  Dutch  gardener  at  Delft  or 
Rotterdam ! " 

The  horticultural  tastes  of  Lambert  are  noticed  by  Mrs. 
Hutchinson,  who  never  misses  an  opportunity  of  having  a 
fling  at  him.     "  Lambert,"  she  says,  "  was  turned  out  of 
aU  his  places  by  CromweU  "  [when  he  showed  his  indig- 
nation on  finding  how  he  had  been  swindled],  "and  re- 
turned again  to  plot  new  vengeance  at  his  house  at  Wim- 
bledon, where  he  fell  to  dress  his  flowers  in  his  garden, 
and  work  at  the  needle  with  his  wife  and  his  maids."^ 
Cromwell,  having  thus  secured  Lambert,  then  set  himself 
to  obtain  the  concurrence  of  Major-General  Harrison,  who, 
as  well  as  Lambert,  had  a  great  interest  in  the  'army! 
This  he  did  by  working  upon  Harrison's  fanatical  delusions, 
teUing  him  that  the  course  he  was  pursuing  was  the  only 
course  for  securing  the  speedy  advent  of  the  reign  of  the 
saints.^ 

We  are  now  in  a  position  to  see  the  extraordinary  sig- 
nificance of  those  proceedings  of  Cromwell  which  imme- 
diately followed  Ireton's  death. 

'  IVIrs.   Hutcliinson's    Memoirs    of  the  North  of  England  ;  that  his  horti- 

Colonel   Hutchinson,  p.   372,  Bohn's  culture  is  much  spoken  of,  and  that 

edition  -The  editor  of  Mrs.  Hutchin-  he  is  said  to  have  painted  flowers  not 

son  s  Memoirs,  in  a  note  to  this  pas-  to  have  embroidered  them 
sage,  says  that,  from  a  Life  of  Lambert        =^  Mrs.   Hutchinson's    Memoirs    of 

which  had  been  put  into  his  hands,  it  Colonel   Hutchinson,  p.  262    Bohn's 

appears  that  Lambert  enjoyed  a  good  edition ;  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol  ii  pp 

reputation  among  his  countrymen  in  563-566:   2nd  edition,  London   1721 


1651.] 


MEETING  AT  THE  SPEAKER'S  HOUSE. 


263 


About  a  week  after  the  execution  of  King  Charles,  it 
had  been  settled,  Cromwell  being  one  of  the  consenting 
parties  to  that  settlement,  that  the  "  office  of  a  King  in 
this  nation  was  unnecessary,  burthensome,  and  dangerous," 
and  the  abolition  of  that  office  was  voted  accordingly.*  It 
appears,  however,  that  between  February  1649  and  De- 
cember 1651,  Oliver  Cromwell  saw  reason  to  change  his 
opinions  on  this  important  point.  For  on  the  10th  of 
December  1651— and,  what  is  very  remarkable,  only  two 
days  after  he  received  the  news  of  Ireton's  death,  which 
reached  London  on  the  8th  of  December — "  Cromwell," 
says  Whitelock,  "  desired  a  meeting  with  divers  Members 
of  Parliament,  and  some  chief  officers  of  the  army,  at  the 
Speaker's  house ;  and,  a  great  many  being  there,  he  pro- 
posed to  them,  that  now,  the  old  King  being  dead,  and 
his  son  being  defeated,  he  held  it  necessary  to  come 
to  a  settlement  of  the  nation.  And  in  order  thereunto, 
he  had  requested  this  meeting,  that  they  together  might 
consider  and  advise  what  was  fit  to  be  done,  and  to  be 
presented  to  the  Parliament." 

"  He  held  it  necessary  to  come  to  a  settlement  of  the 
nation."  Wliy?  He  and  his  brethren  of  the  Rump  had 
abeady  fully  settled  the  nation,  two  years  before,  in  the  way 
of  what  they  called  "  a  free  Commonwealth."  Why  seek  to 
reopen  the  question  of  settling  the  nation  ?  was  a  question 
that,  if  any  of  the  abler  men  had  been  present — Blake,  or 
Vane,  or  Ireton,  who  could  never  ask  question  more — would 
naturally  have  been  asked.  But  it  is  a  most  significant 
feature  of  the  business  that  this  meeting  was  called  within 
fourteen  days  after  Ireton's  death,  and  just  two  days  after 
the  news  of  that  event  had  reached  London ;  and  that  none 


Commons'  Journals,  February  7,  1 64|. 


264  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Ch^^p.  XII. 

of  the  statesmen  of  the  Council  of  State  were  present  at 
it,  as  appears  by  the  names  of  those  who  spoke,  P'iven  bv 
Whiteloek.  ^ 

On  the  proposition,  thus  propounded  bj  CromweU,  a 
discussion  took  place ;  and  it  is  remarkable  that  the  point 
of  importance  in  this  discussion  is  a  totally  distinct  one 
from  that  which  formed  the  subject  of  the  division  of  the 
House  on  the  18th  of  November,  just  twenty-two  days 
before.     The  point  is  raised  thus  :— 

Whiteloch.—"  I  should  humbly  offer,  in  the  first  place, 
whether  it  be  not  requisite  to  be  understood  in  what  way 
this  settlement  is  desired— whether  of  an  absolute  republic, 
or  with  any  mixture  of  monarchy  ?  " 

Cromwell.— "  Mj  Lord-Commissioner  Whiteloek  hath 
put  us  upon  the  right  point ;  and,  indeed,  it  is  my  meaning 
that  we  should  consider  whether  a  republic,  or  a  mixed 
monarchical  government,  wiU  be  best  to  be  settled ;  and 
if  anything  monarchical,  then  in  whom  that  power  shall 
be  placed  ?  " 

Whiteloek—"  There  may  be  a  day  given  for  the  King's 
eldest  son,  or  for  the  Duke  of  York,  his  brother,  to  come 
in  to  the  Parliament ;  and,  upon  such  terms  as  shall  be 
thought  fit  and  agreeable  both  to  our  civil  and  spiritual 
liberties,  a  settlement  may  be  made  with  them." 

Cromwell— "T\^^i  will  be  a  business  of  more  than  ordi- 
nary difficulty  ;  but  really,  I  think,  if  it  may  be  done  with 
safety,  and  preservation  of  our  rights,  both  as  Englishmen 
and  as  Christians,  that  a  settlement  of  somewhat  with 
monarchical  power  in  it  would  be  very  effectual." 

"  Generally,"  adds  Whiteloek,  "  the  soldiers  were  against 
anything  of  monarchy ;  the  lawyers  were  generally  for  a 
mixed  monarchical  government,  and  many  were  for  the 
Duke  of  Gloucester  to  be  made  King.     But  CromweU  still 


165L] 


A  SETTLED  QUESTION  EEOPENED. 


265 


put  off  that  debate,  and  came  off  to  some  other  point ;  and 
in  conclusion,  after  a  long  debate,  the  company  parted 
without  coming  to  any  result  at  all ;  only  Cromwell  dis- 
covered, by  this  meeting,  the  inclinations  of  the  persons 
that  spake,  for  which  he  fished,  and  made  use  of  what  he 
then  discovered."^ 

Now,  it  is  certainly  a  strange  proceeding  that,  not  two 
years  after  the  Government  had  been  settled  as  what  they 
called  "  an  absolute  republic  without  any  mixture  of  mon- 
archy," one  of  those  who  had  been  a  party  to  that  settle- 
ment, and  who  in  his  individual  character  was  certainly 
not  a  limb  of  the  sovereign  power  in  England,  which  sove- 
reign power  was  then  the  Parliament,  should  take  upon  him 
to  call  a  meeting  for  the  express  purpose  of  considering 
the  expediency  of  changing  the  Government.  Was  not 
this  proceeding,  in  itself,  an  act  of  high  treason  against  the 
State  ?  It  was  open  to  Cromwell  to  have  propounded  his 
question  in  the  Parliament :  but  to  propound  it  at  a  i3rivate 
meeting — for  such  this  was,  though  held  at  the  Speaker's 
house — was,  to  say  the  least,  a  most  questionable  proceed- 
ing. In  fact,  what  Yane  said  on  a  subsequent  occasion  seems 
quite  applicable  to  this  proceeding — "  This  is  not  honest ! 
Yea,  it  is  against  morality  and  common  honesty !  " 

There  are  certain  important  considerations,  connected 
with  this  matter,  which  a  man  so  clearsighted  and  saga- 
cious as  Cromwell  could  hardly  have  overlooked,  had  not 
his  mind  been,  as  it  were,  fascinated  by  the  idea  which  had 
taken  possession  of  it — the  idea  of  transferring  the  king- 
ship of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland  from  the  family  of 
Stuart  to  the  family  of  Cromwell.  Coleridge,  in  the  course 
of  his  admirable  analysis  of  the  character  of  Pitt,  says  : 


•  Whitelock's  Memorials,  p.  516. 


266 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


"  The  influencer  of  his  country  and  of  his  species  was  a 
young  man,  the  creature  of  another's  predetermination, 
sheltered  and  weather-fended  from  all  the  elements  of  ex- 
perience ;  a  young  man  whose  feet  had  never  wandered, 
whose  eye  had  never  turned  to  the  right  or  to  the  left, 
whose  whole  track  had  been  as  curveless  as  the  motion  of 
a  fascinated  reptile."  Great  as  was  the  difference,  in  other 
respects,  between  the  characters  and  the  careers  of  Pitt 
and  Cromwell,  in  this  one  momentous  particular  the  fate 
of  the  veteran  statesman-soldier — the  man  who  had  fought 
his  way  to  power,  in  a  long  series  of  battles,  won  by  daring 
that  never  failed  in  the  hour  of  trial,  and  by  sagacity  that 
was  never  at  fault — resembled  that  of  the  man  who,  by  an 
education  which,  according  to  Coleridge,  though  it  des- 
troys genius  will  often  foster  talent,  acquired  a  premature 
and  unnatural  dexterity  in  the  combination  of  words — a 
dexterity  diverting  his  attention  from  things,  from  present 
objects,  obscuring  his  impressions,  and  deadening  his 
genuine  feelings — and  who  persuaded  himself  and  the 
nation,  that  extemporaneous  arrangement  of  sentences  was 
eloquence,  and  that  eloquence  implied  wisdom.  Thus,  by 
becoming  the  slave  of  one  tyrant  idea,  the  man  whose  life 
had  been  so  stormy,  so  diversified,  so  full  of  experience, 
died,  as  it  were,  to  his  former  self ;  so  that  the  experience 
of  all  that  stormy  and  eventful  past  was  lost  to  him,  and  he 
became  like  a  man  "  to  whom  the  light  of  nature  had 
penetrated  only  through  glasses  and  covers ;  who  had  had 
the  sun  without  the  breeze  ;  whom  no  storm  had  shaken  ; 
on  whom  no  rain  had  pattered ;  on  whom  the  dews  of 
Heaven  had  not  fallen ; — whose  whole  track  had  been  as 
curveless  as  the  motion  of  a  fascinated  reptile." 

How    otherwise    could    a   man    like    Cromwell    have 
overlooked  the  consequences  of  such  actions  as  he  now 


1 


165L]        COMMITTEE  OF   THE  ADMIRALTY   OR  NAA^.  267 

meditated  ?  The  army  and  navy  had  sworn  to  the  terms  of 
the  Covenant,  which  bound  them  equally  to  the  King  and 
to  the  Parliament.  If  therefore  the  Parliament,  to  which 
they  had  pledged  obedience,  should  be  destroyed,  there 
still  remained  the  royal  party  to  that  engagement,  which 
party  would  then  have  no  rival  claimant  on  their  duty ; 
for  Cromwell  was  neither  of  the  two  parties  specified  in  it. 
The  state  of  the  controversy  would  thereby  be  totally 
changed,  as  Whitelock  very  fairly  told  Cromwell ;  though 
without  effect,  as  might  be  expected,  on  a  man  who  was 
infatuated — whose  mind  was,  as  I  have  said,  fascinated — by 
one  idea,  which  had  obtained  uncontrollable  dominion 
over  him. 

On  Monday  the  1st  of  December  1651  the  members  of 
the  Council  of  State  present  were  the  following.  I  tran- 
scribe the  list  in  the  form  and  order  given  in  the  Order 
Book : — 


y 


Mr.  Sergeant  Bradshaw 

Sir  Peter  Wentworth 

Colonel  Stapeley 

Mr.  Masham 

Colonel  Downes 

General  Blake 
^    Sir  Henry  Yane 
/  Mr.  Scott 

Colonel  Morley 

Mr.  Holland 

Earl  of  Pembroke 

Lord  Viscount  Lisle 

Mr.  Martyn 

Mr.  Challoner 

Mr.  Bond 


Sir  Gilbert  Pickering 

Mr.  Carew 
.y       Mr.  Burrell 

Mr.  Herbert 

Mr.  Salwey 

Mr.  Hay 

Mr.  Gurdon 

Colonel  Wauton 

Colonel  Purefoy 

Mr.  NeviU 

Mr.  Dixwell 

Sir  William  Masham 

Sir  William  Constable 

Lord-General  Cromwell 
y     (In  all  twenty-nine.) 


268 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


The  following  were  their  first  proceedings  :— 
"  That  there   shall  be  now  chosen  a  President  of  the 
Council." 

"  That  a  President  shall  now  be  chosen,  to  continue 
until  this  day  month." 

"  That  Mr.  Sergeant^  Bradshaw  be  President  of  the 
Council  for  the  time  expressed  in  the  former  vote" — L  e,, 
"  un^l  this  day  month." 

"  That  Mr.  Scott  do  acquaint  Colonel  Blake^  with  the 
intelligence  which  he  hath  received,  concerning  the  sending 
of  some  ammunition  from  Holland  to  the  rebels  in  Ireland, 
to  the  end  he  may  appoint  some  ships  to  prevent  it,  if 
possibly  they  can." 

"  Memorandum. — All  the  members  of  the  Council  who 
were  here  present  this  day  did  take  the  oath  of 
secrecy."^ 

On  the  following  day,  the  2nd  of  December  1651,  the 
number  present  was  twenty-eight.  The  business  on  that 
day  consisted  chiefly  of  the  appointment  of  the  various 
Committees,  and  settling  the  "  Orders  for  regulating  the 
Council,  made  2nd  December  1651,"  some  of  which 
were  the  same  as  those  before  given.  Those  which  were 
new  I  will  give  in  a  subsequent  page. 

On  Thursday,  the  4th  of  December,  the  Committee  for 
carrying  on  the  Affairs  of  the  Admiralty  was  appointed. 
As  this  Committee  may  be  considered  the  governing  body 
which  laid  the  foundation  of  the  naval  power  o?  England, 
so  great  was  the  importance  of  the  actions  of  the  English 

\           >  This  word    is  written  sometimes  only  "  Colonel,"  although  he  was  "  Ge- 

with  a  g,  sometimes  with  a  ;.  neral-at-sea." 

'^  It  will  be  observed  that  Blake  is  ^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 

sometimes  styled  "Colonel,"  sometimes  Monday,  December  1,  1651,  MS.  State 

"  General ; "  his  rank  in  the  army  being  Paper  Office. 


1651.] 


AN  ASSISTANT  TO   MILTON   APPOINTED. 


navy  during  the  ensuing  year,  I  will  transcribe  the  minute 
of  the  Order  of  the  Council  of  State  appointing  the  Com- 
mittee, and  containing  the  names  of  the  members  com- 
posing it :  — 

"  That  Sir  Henry  Vane,  Mr.  Chaloner,  Mr.  Bond,  Lord- 
Commissioner  Wliitlocke,  Lord-Commissioner  Lisle, 
Colonel  Wauton,  Colonel  Purefoy,  Lord-General  [Crom- 
well], Colonel  Blake,  Colonel  Martin,  Mr.  Nevill,  Colonel 
Morley,  Mr.  Masham,  Mr.  Burrell,  and  Colonel  Stapley, 
or  any  three  or  more  of  them,  be  a  Committee  for  carrying 
on  the  Affairs  of  the  Admiralty,  according  to  the  powers 
formerly  given  to  that  Committee."  ^     -  -^^ 

The  following  names  are  added  in  the  margin  of  the 
Order  Book:  "  Sir  William  Masham,  added  17th  August; 
Sir  Peter  Wentworth,  Mr.  Scott,  added  19th  August." 

On  the  following  day  (Friday,  the  5th  of  December, 
1651),  the  Council  of  State  made  the  following  order, 
which  I  transcribe,  as  an  example  of  their  unremitting 
vigilance  in  the  performance  of  their  duties,  and  their 
attention  to  minute  details  : — • " 

"  That  CEree  small  vessels,  not  exceeding  120  tons  each 
vessel,  be  built  to  ply  among  the  sands  and  the  flats,  for 
the  securing  those  parts  from  pirates  and  sea-rovers, 
which  do  much  infest  and  annoy  the  merchant-ships 
there  trading."  ^ 

On  Thursday  the  11th  of  March  165|,  the  Council  of 
State  ordered,  "  That  Mr.  Weckerlyn  be  appointed  Secre- 
tary Assistant  for  the  business  of  Foreign  Aflairs,  and  shall 
have  the  sum  of  £200  per  annum  allowed  unto  him."^ 

There  are  various  minutes  expressive  of  the  Council  of 


1 

j 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,         *  /7^?W.  December  5,  1651. 
Tuesday,  Decemher  4,  1651,  MS.  State        =»  Bid.  Thursday,  March  11, 16oi. 
Paper  Office. 


V 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


i 


/ 


.State's  sense  of  the  services  of  Milton,  to  whom  an  assist- 
ant was  here  appointed,  though  the  designation  is  usually 
"  Secretary  for  Foreign  Languages,"  not  (as  in  the  minute 
given  above)  "for  the  Fusmess^oTToreign  Affairs."  Thus, 
on  the  18th  of  June  1651,  tlie'Councffiha<5^  the  following 
minute  : — "  The  Council,  taking  notice  of  the  many  good 
services  performed  by  Mr.  John  Mylton  [s^c] ,  their  Secretary 
for  Foreign  Languages  to  this  State  and  Commonwealth, 
particularly  of  his  Book  in  vindication  of  the  Parliament 
and  people  of  England  against  the  calumnies  and  inven- 
tions of  Salmasius,  have  thought  fit  to  declare  their  re- 
sentment [sense]  and  good  acceptance  of  the  same  ;'and 
U  that  the  thanks  of  the  Council  be  returned  to  Mr.  Mylton, 
il  and  their  sense  represented  in  that  behalf."^ 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1652,  John  Lilburne  again 
makes  his  appearance  for  a  moment.     Lilburne  havino- 
joined  in  a  petition  with  Josiah  Prymate  to  the  House, 
against  Sir  Arthur  Haselrig— complaining  of  Haselrig's 
great  oppression  and  tyranny,  in  seizing  on  certain  col- 
lieries  in   the    county   of  Durham,    and   overawing   and 
directing  the  Commissioners  to  whom  he  had  applied  for 
relief— the  said  petition  was,  on  the  16th  of  January  165^, 
voted  false,  malicious,  and  scandalous,  and  ordered  to  be 
burnt  by  the  common  hangman.     Prymate  and  Lilburne 
were  fined  each  £3,000,  for  the  use  of  the  Commonwealth  ; 
£2,000  to  Sir  A.  Haselrig,  for  damages ;  and  £500  apiece 
to  the  Commissioners  before  whom  the  cause  had  been 
heard.     Prymate  was  also  committed  to  the  Fleet  till  pay- 
ment should  be  made ;  and  Lilburne  was  ordered  to  be 
banished  out  of  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  the  terri- 
tories thereto  belonging,  and  to  suffer  death  in  case  of  his 

•  Order  Book  of   the   Council  of  State,   June  18,  1651,  MS.  State  Paper 
Office.  ^ 


1652.] 


JOHN  LILBURNE. 


271 


return.^  The  Parliament  had  thus  got  rid  of  their  formid- 
able enemy  Lilburne  for  the  present,  or,  as  they  perhaps 
thought,  for  ever.  But  in  that  point  they  found  themselves 
mistaken.  For  the  unconquerable  Lilburne  returned,  in 
defiance  of  their  penalty  of  death,  was  again  tried,  and 
again  acquitted.  But,  notwithstanding  his  acquittal,  he 
was  sent  a  prisoner  by  Cromwell  to  Elizabeth  Castle,  in 
the  Isle  of  Jersey ;  from  which,  being  far  gone  in  a  con- 
sumption, he  was  finally  liberated,  but  only  to  die.  He 
died  in  August  1657,  at  the  age  of  39 — a  memorable  exam- 
ple of  integrity,  ability,  and  courage^  which,  from  the  want 
of  certain  other  qualities,  may  almost  appear  to  have  been 
bestowed  in  vain. 

In  March  1652  the  Island  of  Barbadoes,  which  had 
adhered  ta-^'-fche  royal  cause,  and  hadf  also  protested 
against  and  determined  to  resist  the  Navigation  Act, 
was  reduced  to  the  obedience  of  the  Parliament  by  Sir 
George  Ayscue.  The  fleet  under  Sir  George  Ayscue, 
appointed  for  this  purpose,  was  for  a  short  time  diverted 
from  its  original  destination,  and  ordered  to  make  a 
part  of  the  force  under  Blake  for  the  reduction  of  the 
Scilly  Islands.  The  words  of  the  Order  Book  of  the 
Council  of  State  thus  set  forth  the  proceeding  : — 

"  That  it  be  reported  to  the  Parliament,  that  this 
Council,  in  pursuance  of  the  Act  of  Parliament  for  the 
reducing  of  the  Barbadoes,  did  cause  to  be  prepared  a  fleet 
of  ships  for  that  service,  consisting  of  seven  sail,  under 
the  command  of  Sir  George  Ayscue." 

"  That  when  the  flefet  aforesaid  was  ready  to  set  sail, 
in  prosecution  of  the  said  voyage,  there  being  an  023por- 
tunity  offered  for  the  reduction  of  Scillies,  the   Council 

1  Pari.  Hist.  voL  iii.  p.  1377. 


/ 


d' 


i^ 


\ 


272 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XII. 


^ 


1  r 


I 


thought  fit  to  make  use  of  that  fleet  for  the  said  service 
J  at  Scillies.  And  were  instrumental  for  effecting  the 
*•  same." 

"That  there  are  aboard  the  said  fleet  many  persons 
that  were  banished  thence,  and  who  had  suffered  much 
for  their  fidelity  and  good  affection  to  this  Commonwealth, 
who  expect  their  passage  thither  in  the  said  fleet.  "^ 

The  character  which  Clarendon  has  given  of  this  Sir 
George  Ayscue  (or  Ascue,  as  he  writes  it)  may  be  taken 
as  an  example  of  that  vrriter's  maiiher  of  drawing  cha- 
racters.    "  Ascue,"  he  says,  "  was  a  gentleman,  but  had 
kept  iU  company  too  long,  which  had  blunted  his  under- 
standing, if  it  had  been  ever  sharp ;  he  wari5f  few  words, 
yet  spake  to  the  purpose,  and  to  BreasiTy  understood. ' '  ^ 
ObseiTe  the  contradiction  here.     Lord  ClarencTon  doubts 
if  Ayscue's  understanding  had  been  ever  sharp ;  yet  he 
describes    him    as    a    man    of    few    words,    who    spoke 
to  the  purpose.     And  he  was,  on  the  whole,  a  very  suc- 
cessful commander.     The  inference  then  is,  that  he  was 
a  very  able  man,  whose  understanding  was  not  blunted 
by  the   '^  ill  company  "  he  kept;    as  if  the    company  of 
Blake,  and  Vane,  and  Cromwell  would  have  been  more 
likely  to  blunt  a  man's  understanding  than  the  company 
of   King   Charles,   James   Duke    of  Tork,   and    Prince 
Eupert !— which  were  surely  a  strange  conclusion. 

•  Order  Book    of   the   Council    of  State,  June  12,  1651,  MS.  State  Paper 
Oince. 

^  Continuation,  vol.  ii.  p.  354,  8to.  Oxford. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

It   has   been   shown,  in   a  preceding  chapter,  •  that   the 
Council  of  State  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  in 
their   selection  of  Oliver  St.  John  as  their  Ambassador 
Extraordinary   to   the   United  Provinces,  were   as   much 
aware  of  the  importance  of  that  part  of  their  duty  which 
was  (to   use   the  words  of  Blake)    "  to   keep   foreigners 
from  fooling  us,"  as  they  showed  themselves  awake,  in 
the    selection    of  Blake  as   their  Admiral,  to  that  other 
and  still   more  important   branch   of  their  duty,  which 
was  "  to  keep  foreigners  from  thrashing  us."     The  con- 
summate falsehood  of  the  Italian  and  Spanish  politicians 
of  the  16th  century  was  by  no  means  extinct  in  the  17tli 
century.     The  power  of  that  Spanish  monarchy,  indeed, 
which  had  formed  the  design  of  becoming  master  of  the 
whole  world,  by  the  systematic  use  of  disciplined  brigands, 
colossal  falsehoods,  and  sacerdotal  cruelty,  had  fallen,  as 
it  would  seem,  to  rise  no  more.     A  part  of  its  power, 
and  a  part  also  of  its    ambition,  had   passed   to    those 
tenants  of  the  Netherland   swamps,  who  had  fought  so 
long  and  so  bravely  against  its  tyranny,  and  now  formed 
the  Dutch   Republic.       Some   sixty   years  before,   when 
Elizabeth  Tudor  was  Queen  of  England,  and  was  engaged 
in    a   war   against   the    Spanish    oyrant,    "English    sol- 
diers   and   negotiators  " — to   borrow  the  apt  words  of  a 
modern   historian,  whose  laborious  researches   have   laid 
open   many  mysteries  of  iniquity — "went  naked   into  a 


VOL.  II. 


'  Chapter  IX, 
T 


274 


COMMONWEALTH   OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  Xni. 


1651.] 


THE   DUTCH  AMBASSADORS. 


275 


^ 


contest  with  enemies  armed  in  a  panoply  of  lies."*  I 
do  not  believe  that  the  17th  century  differed  much  from 
the  16th,  generally,  as  regards  the  matter  of  falsehood. 
A  considerable  resemblance  might,  indeed,  probably  be 
shown  to  exist  between  the  character  of  Louis  XIV.  of 
France  and  that  of  PhiKp  11.  of  Spain.  But  during  those 
years  of  the  1 7th  century  in  which  England  was  under  that 
Government  called  the  Commonwealth,  neither  Dutchman, 
nor  Frenchman,  nor  Spaniard,  nor  Italian  could  gain  any 
advantage,  either  in  diplomacy  or  war,  against  those  states- 
men, so  skilful 

'-  to  unfold, 

Tlie  drift  of  hollow  States,  hard  to  be  spell'd, 
Then  to  advise  how  war  may  best  upheld 
Move  by  her  two  main  nerves,  iron  and  gold.^ 

i 

The  statesmen  who  composed  the  English  Council 
of  State  were  men  far  too  clearsighted  to  be  deceived 
by  the  expedient  resorted  to  by  the  Dutch,  of  sending 
over  to  England  ambassadors-extraordinary  under  the 
pretence  of  treating  about  peace.  The  Dutch  writers 
themselves  admit  that  this  measure  of  sending  ambas- 
sadors-extraordinary was  but  an  expedient  to  gain  time, 
in  order  to  make  better  preparation  for  war.  "  But," 
says  the  author  of  the  "  Life  of  Cornelius  Yan  Tromp," 
son  of  the  great  Dutch  Admiral,  Martin  Harpertz  Tromp, 
"  in  regard  the  late  long  war  they  had  had  with  Spain, 
had   not  yet   given  them  time  enough  to  recover  their 


>  Motley's  History  of  the  United 
Netherlands,  vol.  ii.  p.  356. 

^  Milton's  Sonnet  to  Sir  Henry 
Vane.— The  Wh'fertif  "  The  Life  and 
Death  of  Sir  Henry  Vane,  Kt." 
(printed  in  the  year  1662,  small  4to), 
who  was  a  personal  friend  of  Sir 
Henry   Vane,    at   p.  93    of  his  work, 


mentions  this  sonnet  as  having  been 
sent  to  Vane,  "July  3,  1652."  And 
the  words  he  uses  are  curious,  as 
showing  that  Milton  was  at  that  time 
really  a  "mute  inglorious  Milton." 
He  speaks  of  the  sonnet  as  "  a  paper 
of  verses,  composed  by  a  learned  gen- 
tleman, and  sent  him,  July  3,  1652." 


strength,  they  chose  rather  to  temporise  awhile  with 
England,  than  to  embroil  themselves  hastily  in  a  new 
war.  They,  therefore,  employed  all  sorts  of  means  ima- 
ginable to  divert  that  storm,  by  hastening  to  send  ambas- 
sadors into  England.  Accordingly,  Heers  Cats,  Schaap, 
and  Vanderperre  were  despatched  to  London  in  that 
quality,  who  were  received  there  with  great  honours, 
but  yet  in  such  a  manner  as  gave  no  promise  of  a  happy 
issue  of  their  negotiation."' 

The  admission  on  the  part  of  the  Dutch,  that  "  their 
ambassadors  were  received  with  great  honours,  but  yet 
in  such  a  manner  as  gave  no  promise  of  a*  happy  issue 
of  their  negotiation,"  proves  that,  in  the  punctilious 
courtesy  with  which  the  English  Council  of  State  treated 
the  Dutch  Ambassadors,  there  was  no  thought  of  imitating 
the  Spanish  falsehood  of  Philip  II.  of  Spain,  or  the  Italian 
falsehood  of  his  general,  Alexander  Farnese.  Not  that 
such  an  imitation  was  by  any  means  impossible  for  men 
born  in  England's  *'  cold  and  cloudy  clime,"  as  the  feats  of 
two  individuals,  by  name  George  Monk  and  Oliver  Crom- 
well, fully  proved.  These  two  men — like  those  members 
of  Charles  II. 's  Pension  Parliament,  who,  according  to 
Andrew  Marvell,  "  never  lied  more  than  when  they  pro- 
fessed to  speak  the  sincerity  of  their  hearts"^ — while 
wearing  the  demeanour  of  plain  blunt  soldiers,  could, 
and  habitually  did,  use  as  much  dissimulation  as  the 
greatest  Italian  or  Spanish  masters  of  the  art. 

Both  Cromwell  and  Monk  have  had  unqualified  ad- 
mirers; and  we  need  not  wonder  if  they  had,  since 
tyranny,  maintained  by  ability  and   courage,  has   never 

>  The  Life  of  Cornelius  Van  Tromp,  to  petition  for  a  New  Parliament." — 

p.  12:  London,  1697.  MarveWs   Works,  vol.  ii.  p.  555:  4to, 

'  "  A  Seasonable  Argument  to  per-  London,  1776, 
suade  all  the  Grand  Juries  in  England 

t2 


276  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XIIL 

wanted  panegyrists  ;  and  the  writers  who  applaud  strong 
energetic  tyrants  may,  like  the  Greek  sophist  who  wrote  a 
panegyric  on   Busiris,    indulge  the   ambition  of  soaring 
*bove  vulgar  prejudices.     But,  after  all,  truth  is  truth, 
and  honour  is  honour ;  and  it  will  not  be  ten  thousand 
treacherous  tyrants,  nor  ten  million   apologists  of  their 
crimes,  who  will  be  able  to  make  falsehood  pass  for  truth, 
villany  and   baseness  for  integrity  and   honour.     Monk, 
indeed,  has  no   pretensions  to  the  dignity  of  the   great 
gamesters  who  play  for  empire  with  loaded  dice.      He 
i^an  soar  no  higher  than  the  sale  of  a  nation  for  a  dukedom 
and  a  large  sum  of  money ;  and  the  honour  of  having 
inscribed  on  his  monument,  "  Vendidit  Uc  auro  patriam:' 
It  would  be  a  waste  of  time  to  argue  with  such  a  man's 
panegyrists— as  much  as  to  argue  the  question  of  selling 
one's  country,  with  that  profound  and  unprejudiced  poli- 
tician, who,  when  charged  with  selling  his  country,  replied 
by  thanking  God  that  he  had  a  country  to  sell  ! 

The  English  Parliament  having,  as  we  have  seen,  soon 
after  the  Battle  of  Worcester,  passed  an  Act  known  as  the 
Navigation  Act,i  forbidding  the  importation  of  merchan- 
dise in  other  than  English  ships,  the  Dutch— who,  as  being 
at  that  time  the  great  carriers  of  Europe,  saw  that  they 
would  be  thereby  losers  to  a  great  amount— resolved  to 
send  ambassadors  to  the  English  Parliament,  to  endeavour 


1651.] 


RECEIVED  WITH  PUNCTILIOUS  COURTESY. 


277 


'  It  may  be  mentioned,  as  one  ex- 
ample, amid  innumerable  others,  of  the 
ignorance  generally  prevalent  respect- 
ing this  period  of  English  History,  that 
the  Navigation  Act  is  cited  by  modern 
writers,  generally  well  informed,  as 
having  been  passed  under  the  Govern- 
ment of  tlie  Protector  Cromwell.  The 
writer  of  the  "  Life  of  Cornelius  Van 
Tromp"  (London,  1G97)— which  work, 


though  that  is  not  stated  either  in  the 
preface  or  on  the  titlepage,  appears  to 
be  a  loose  translation  of  the  Dutch 
"Leven  Van  Tromp,"  cited  by  Mr. 
Granville  Penn  (vol.  i.  p.  499)_speaks 
of  the  Government  of  England  as  if  it 
had  passed  at  once  from  the  tyranny  of 
the  Stuarts  to  that  of  the  Protector 
Cromwell.— i?/e  of.  Cornelius  Van 
Tromp,  p.  11. 


to  obtain  their  former  advantages,  and  to  desire  that 
alliance  with  the  English  Commonwealth  which,  before 
the  Battle  of  Worcester,  they  had  haughtily  refused. 
Their  object  in  sending  these  ambassadors  was,  however, 
chiefly  to  gain  time  to  complete  their  preparations  for 
war,  and,  according  to  a  cotemporary  writer,  "  partly 
also  to  inform  themselves  what  naval  forces  the  English 
had  ready,  and  how  the  people  here  were  contented  with 
the  Government."^  The  proceedings  of  the  Council  of 
State  contain  some  indications  ominous  of  what  was  to 
follow.  The  Dutch  Ambassadors  were,  however,  received 
with  punctilious  courtesy.^ 

On  the  16th  of  December  1651  the  Council  of  State 
made  an  order,  "  That  Sir  Oliver  Fleming,  Master  of  the 
Ceremonies,  do  repair  unto  Gravesend,  to  the  Lords  Am- 
bassadors from  the  high  and  mighty  Lords  the  States- 
General  of  the  United  Provinces,  and  bring  them  up 
to-morrow  to  Sir  Abraham  Williams's  house.  And  he 
is  to  give  notice  of  their  coming  to  the  Members  of 
the  Council  who  are  appointed  to  meet  them,  that  they 
may  accordingly  do  it."^ 

On  Tuesday  the  30th  of  December  1651,  the  Council 
of  State  ordered,  "  That  audience  shall  be  given  to  the 
Lords  Ambassadors  from  the  States-General  of  the  United 


'  Hobbes's  Behemoth,  p.  286  :  Lon- 
don, 1682. 

2  This  account  is  confirmed  by  the 
Dutch  author  of  the  "Life  of  Cornelius 
Van  Tromp,"  p.  12,  in  a  passage  which 
I  will  quote  presently. 

^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Tuesday,  December  16,  1651. 
MS.  State  Paper  Office. — On  January 
8,  165i,  there  is  an  order — "That the 
sum  of  £235  2,3.   9<?.,   due  unto  Mr. 


Starkey  upon  accompt,  for  the  enter- 
taining of  the  Lords  Ambassadors 
from  the  United  Provinces,  be  paid 
unto  him  by  Mr.  Frost."  On  the 
same  day,  the  Council  order  £20  to 
be  paid  for  Mr.  Starkey  for  his  own 
pains.  There  are  also  other  payments 
for  "  carriage  and  portage  of  goods, 
and  for  attendance,  &c.  on  the  said 
Dutch  ambassadors." — Ibid.  January 
8,  165^. 


« 


278  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.XIIL 

Provinces  upon  Thursday  next  in  the  afternoon,  and  Sir 
Oliver  Fleming  is  to  give  them  notice  hereof."^ 

On  the  1st  of  January  165^,  the  Parliament  had  agreed 
to  certain  Eesolutions  as  to  the  manner  of  giving  audience 
to  ambassadors,  agents,  and  other  public  ministers  from 
foreign  States.    The  first  of  these  Resolutions  was  :  "That 
Ambassadors,  ordinary  and  extraordinary,  sent  from  Com- 
monwealths, Kings,  Princes,  and  States,  be  admitted  to 
public  audience  in  Parliament,  go  often  as  the  Parliament 
shall  think  fit."    The  second  Resolution  was  :  "  That  all 
other  public  ministers,  under  the  quality  of  ambassadors, 
have  audience  by  a  Committee  of  Parliament,  sent  out  of 
the  Parliament  for  that  purpose,  who  are  to  return  and 
tender  their  report  before  the  House  rise."     The  third  Re- 
solution was,    "  That  the  day  and  hour  be  appointed  by 
Parliament."    But,  as  appears  by  the  Order  of  the  Council 
of  State  last  given,  the  Parliament    sometimes  left   the 
appointment  of  the  day  and  hour  to  the  Council  of  State. 
The  fourth  Resolution  was,  "  That  the  late  House  of  Lords 
be  the  place  for  the  Committees  of  Parliament  to  give 
audience  in,  and  to  be  fitted  up  for  that  purpose."     The 
fifth  Resolution  was  :  "  That  it  be  referred  to  the  Council 
of  State  to  take  especial  care  to  provide  convenient  hang- 
ings for  this  house  ;  and  that  the  suit  containing  the  story 
of  1588"  [the  Spanish  Armada]  "be  reserved  for  the  service 
of  the  State,  and  hung  up  in  the  late  House  of  Lords."^ 

In  accordance  with  the  Order  of  the  Council  of  State, 
given  above,  on  Thursday  the  1st  of  January  165^,  the  Am- 
bassadors from  the  States-General  of  the  United  Provinces 
arrived  in  Palace  Yard,  and  were  ushered  into  the  presence 
of  that  Assembly,  which  now  held  the  place  that,  when  their 

•  Order   Book    of    the   Council   of    Paper  Office. 
State,    December  3,  1651,    MS.  State         «  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  iii.  pp.  1360,  1361. 


1651.] 


AUDIENCE  GIVEN  TO  THE  AMBASSADORS. 


279 


countrymen  came  to  England  in  1585,  had  been  Med  by 
Elizabeth  Tudor, 

Girt  with  many  a  baron  bold, 

And  gorgeous  dames  and  statesmen  old. 

On  the  24th  of  December  1650,  the  Council  of  State  had 
ordered,  on  the  occasion  of  audience  being  given  to  the 
Ambassador  from  Spain,  that  there  should  be  "  a  guard  of 
the  horse  that  are  in  town,  mounted  in  their  defensive 
arms  ;  and  that  such  part  of  them  as  shall  be  thought  fit 
stand  in  a  body  at  the  Broad  Place  at  Whitehall."^  It  may 
be  doubted  whether  the  Spanish  or  the  Dutch  Ambassa- 
dors had  ever  seen  such  cavalry  as  those  cuirassiers  of  the 
Parliament  of  England. 

Those  Dutch  Ambassadors  could  hardly  be  ignorant 
or  unmindful  of  the  great  change  that  had  taken  place 
between  1585  and  1651.  Two  years  before,  an  engraving 
had  been  published  at  Amsterdam  of  the  Execution  of 
Charles  I. ;  and  the  ambassadors,  in  their  way  to  this 
audience,  might  have  had  to  take  note,  not  only  of  that 
formidable  body  of  cavalry,  equally  remarkable  for  the 
stalwart  and  veteran  appearance  of  the  men,  and  for  the 
excellence  of  their  arms  and  horses ;  but  of  the  old  Hall, 
where  three  years  before  sat  "the  stern  tribunal  to  whose 
bar  had  been  led,  through  lowering  ranks  of  pikemen, 
the  caj)tive  heir  of  a  hundred  kings ;  and  of  the  stately 
pilasters  before  which  the  great  execution  had  been  so 
fearlessly  done,  in  the  face  of  heaven  and  earth.  "^ 

If  we  could  form  to  ourselves  a  tolerably  correct  picture, 
first  of  the  reception  of  the  Dutch  ambassadors  or  commis- 
sioners by  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  then  of  that  of  these 

'  Order   Book    of   the    Council   of        ^  Lord  Macaulay's  Essay  on  "Sir 
State,  December  24,  1650,  MS.  State     William  Temple." 
Paper  Office. 


280  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XIIL 

ambassadors  by  the  Parliament  of  the  Commonwealth,  the 
contrast  between  the  two  pictures  would  teU  us  more  of 
the  real  history  of  the  life  of  a  nation  than  volumes  of 
ordmaiy  histoiy  can  tell.     In  the  lines  quoted  above  from 
Gray's  Bard,  the  "  Great  Queen,"  as  it  is  the  fashion  to 
call  her,  is  described  as  -girt  with  many  a  baron  bold." 
Alas  !  I  fear  it  would  be  more  correct  to  say,  "  Begirt  with 
many  a  gallant  slave  !  "     "  Baron  bold  !  "     There  was,  in- 
deed, a  time  for  such  a  word;  but  it  was  not  the  time  of 
the  Tudors. 

"  By  the  Everlasting  God,   Sir  Earl,  you  shall  go  or 
hang!"  said  the  first  Edward  Plantagenet,King  of  England 
to   Eoger   Bigod,  Earl  of  Norfolk  and   Earl  Marshal   of 
England.     "By  the  Everlasting  God,  Sir  King,"  replied 
the  bold  baron,  "  I  wiU  neither  go  nor  hang !"  And  he  did 
neither   go  nor  hang.     Why  ?     Because  he  could  bring 
into  the  field  a  force  of  Norman  lances  as  invincible  a^  the 
pikemen  of  the  Parliamentary  army  of  the  17th  century. 
But  between  the  time  of  Edward  I.  and  that  of  Queen 
Ehzabefch  great  changes  had  taken  place  ;  and  words  less 
bold,  less  rebellious,  than  those  of  Eoger  Bigod  cost  the 
Earl  of  Essex  his  head.     For,  any  of  the  nobility  who  re- 
tamed  the  smallest  portion  of  the  spirit  of  the  Anglo- 
Norman  barons,  had  not  the  consolation  of  dying  on  the 
battlefield,  like  Hotspur  and  De  Montfort,  but  became  the 
easy  prey  of  the  servile  subtlety  of  the  crown  lawyers. 
The  royal  power,  whether  it  really  was  so  or  not,  at  least 
seemed  absolute.     Thus,  when  the  Dutch  Commissioners 
were  admitted  to  an  audience  by  Elizabeth  in  1585,  as  she 
passed  through  the  antechamber  to  the  hall  of  audience 
wherever  she  turned  her  glance,  all  prostrated  themselves 
on  the  ground,  like  Asiatic  slaves  before  their  tyrant.^ 

^  It  would   appear  that  the  whole   House   of  Commons  remained  either 


1651.] 


CONTRAST  BETWEEN    1585  AND   1652. 


281 


The  Queen's  counsellors  too,  even  the  best  of  them — the 
Secretary  Walsingham  and  the  Lord  High  Treasurer 
Burghley — in  the  presence  of  that  imperious  lady,  who  bore 
on  her  head  a  small  gold  crown  as  the  symbol  of  her  office, 
notwithstanding  their  robes  of  state,  had  much  the  look  of 
being  merely,  what  indeed  the  word  "minister"  implies,  the 
upper  domestic  servants  of  the  lady  blazing  with  diamonds, 
and  wearing  the  gold  crown,  on  whose  brow  the  angry 
spot  did  often  glow,  making  those  ministers  "  look  like  a 
chidden  train." 

The  very  portraits  of  the  most  eminent  men  who  served 
or  were  formed  under  the  Tudors  are  sufficiently  marked 
with  the  "  form  and  pressure  "  of  the  time.  Who  ever 
gazed  upon  the  portraits  of  Burghley,  of  Coke,  and  of 
Bacon,  without  being  struck  by  the  contrast  between  the 
broad,  lofty,  statesmanlike  brow,  an^J  the'  pinclied,  cun- 
ning, mean  expression  of  the  other  features ;  iati  expression 
indicative  of  the  circumstances  in  which  they  were  placed — 
circumstances  which,  if  favourable  to  the  intellectual 
development,  were  unfavourable  to  the  moral  develop- 
ment of  man  ?  For  theirs  was  an  age  of  duplicity  and 
hypocrisy  the  most  shameless  ;  of  crouching  servility  to 
those  above,  of  hard  cowardly  insolence  to  those  be- 
neath. 

Great  is  the  contrast  presented  to  us  when  we  turn 
to  the  portraits  of  the  men  whom  these  Dutch  ambas- 
sadors of  1652  beheld  when  they  were  ushered  into  the 
presence    of    that    assembly,  some    of   the  members   of 


in  a  prostrate  or  a  kneeling  posture, 
while  Her  Majesty  made  them  a 
speech,  unless  she  were  graciously 
pleased  to  order  them  to  rise.  Thus 
in  her  speech  to  her  last  Parliament,  on 
November  30,  1601,  after  speaking  for 


some  time,  Her  Majesty  was  pleased 
to  say,  "  Mr.  Speaker,  I  woidd  wish 
you  and  the  rest  to  stand  up,  fori  fear 
I  shall  yet  trouble  you  with  longer 
speech." — King's  Pamphlets,  Brit. 
Mus.,  vol.  iv.,  small  4to,  Article  15. 


7. 


282 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIII. 


which,  if  they  did  not  wear  a  crown  of  gold,  bore  on 
their  aspects  the  image  of  manhood  and  the  stamp  of 
empire.  A  deep  change  had  evidently  come  over  men's 
souls,  as  well  as  their  fortunes.  There  was  the  sombre 
stern  face  of  St.  John,  which  they  had  seen  not  long  before 
in  their  own  country,  lowering  somewhat  ominously  upon 
them.  There  was  the  bluff  bold  visage  of  Bradshaw. 
There  was  the  statesmanlike  brow  of  Sir  Henry  Yane,  sur- 
mounting features  singularly  expressive  at  once  of  pro- 
found sagacity  and  wild  enthusiasm.  But,  above  all,  there 
were  two  men  whose  eyes,  very  unlike  those  of  the  courtiers 
who  surrounded  the  throne  of  Elizabeth,  looked  as  if  they 
had  never  beheld  a  master,  or  a  mistress  who,  like  Eliza- 
beth speaking  of  Leicester,  could  have  ventured  to  desig- 
nate them  "  creatures  of  our  own."  They  were  both  of 
them  men  whose  faces,  once  seen,  could  never  be  forgotten, 
for  they  were  faces  bearing  that  combination  of  courage 
and  intellect  which  is  the  true  stamp  of  empire.  One  of 
these  men  was  Oliver  Cromwell ;  the  other  was  Robert 
Blake. 

The  House  being  informed  by  their  Sergeant,  that  the 
Lords  Ambassadors  from  the  States-General  of  the  United 
Provinces  attended  to  present  themselves  to  the  Parlia- 
ment, the  Sergeant  with  his  mace  went  to  conduct  them 
into  the  house.  As  soon  as  the  Lords  Ambassadors  entered, 
they  uncovered  themselves,  and  the  Speaker  and  all  the 
members  stood  up  uncovered.  When  the  Ambassadors 
had  come  as  far  as  the  bar,  the  Master  of  the  Ceremonies 
and  the  Sergeant  attended  them,  the  one  on  the  right  hand 
and  the  other  on  the  left,  until  they  came  to  the  chairs 
appointed  for  that  purpose,  which  were  placed  upon  a 
Turkey  carpet,  with  cushions  in  them,  and  footstools  before 
them.     The  Ambassadors   then  presented  their    Letters 


1 1 

■ 


1651.]     ORDERS  EOR   THE  MANAGEMENT   OF  TREATIES.       283 

Credential,  which  being  delivered  by  the  Master  of  the 
Ceremonies  to  the  Speaker,  one  of  the  Ambassadors  stated 
the  substance  of  the  embassy.  He  likewise  delivered  a 
copy,  in  English,  of  what  he  had  before  expressed  by  word 
of  mouth.  The  Speaker  having  informed  the  Ambassadors, 
by  the  Master  of  the  Ceremonies,  that  he  would  acquaint 
the  Parliament  with  the  purport  of  their  embassy,  their 
Excellencies,  attended  in  the  same  manner  as  before,  with- 
drew. 

On  Thursday  the  8th  of  January  165  J  the  Council  of 
State  made  the  following  orders : — 

"  That  Mr.  Martin  and  Colonel  Blake  be  added  to  the 
Committee  for  Foreign  Affairs." 

"  That  t^e  Committee  for  Foreign  Affairs,  or  any  five  of 
them,  be  appointed  a  Committee  to  treat  with  the  Lords 
Ambassadors  Extraordinary  from  the  States-General  of  the 
United  Provinces ;  and  that  the  Lord-Commissioner  Lisle 
and  Lord  Bradshaw  do  take  the  special  care  of  that  busi- 
ness ;  and  that  they  do  give  order  for  all  papers  to  be  ready 
that  may  be  necessary  for  the  transaction  of  that  work."^ 

On  Wednesday  the  14th  of  January  165|  the  Council  of 
State  made  the  following  orders  : — 

"  That  all  treaties  with  foreign  States  and  Princes  be 
managed  by  papers.  And  that  of  all  such  papers  as  shall 
be  given  in  on  the  part  of  the  Commonwealth,  there  be  one, 
which  is  to  be  the  authentic  one,  signed  in  English,  the 
other  a  translate  [sic]  of  it  in  Latin." 

"  That  it  be  declared  that  nothing  be  taken  as  part  of 
the  treaty  but  what  is  delivered  on  paper  and  signed." 

"  That  the  place  for  the  treaty  be  in  Whitehall." 

"That   the   five   persons  of  the  Committee  who  shall 

'  Order  Book   of    the   Council    of  State,  Thursday,  January  8,  165^,  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 


284 


COMMONWEALTH   OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIII. 


manage  this  treaty  with  the  Dutch,  according  to  the  Order 
of  the  Conncil,  be  the  Lord-President  Whitelock,  Lord 
Bradshaw,  Lord-Commissioner  Lisle,  Mr.  Bond,  and  Mr. 
Scott."^  In  the  margin,  "  Lord  Viscount  Lisle,  added  16th 
January ;  Colonel  Martin,  Earl  of  Pembroke,  Mr.  ISTeville, 
Sir  Henry  Yane,  Sir  William  Masham,  added  2nd  April ;  " 
"  Lord  Chief  Justice  St.  John,  Mr.  Love,  added,"  the  mar- 
ginal note  does  not  say  when. 

The  following  minute  further  shows  their  mode  of  pro- 
ceeding :  "  That  the  paper  now  read,  to  be  sent  to  the 
Dutch  Ambassadors,  be  approved  of,  translated  into  Latin, 
and  sent  to  the  said  Ambassadors  ;  the  English  paper  to  he 
signed,  and  the  Latin  to  go  as  a  copy.''  ^ 

The  next  Order  of  the  Council  of  State,  with  reference 
to  the  Dutch  business,  made  on  Monday  the  2nd  of  Feb- 
ruary 165^,  has  a  very  ominous  aspect.  It  was  made  on 
the  same  day  as  an  order  respecting  the  Paper  Office ;  and 
probably  the  importance  of  the  safe  keeping  of  such  papers 
as  those  which  are  the  subject  of  the  following  order  sug- 
gested the  other  order : — 

"  That  all  papers  which  concern  the  business  of 
Amboyna  be  got  together,  and  brought  into  the  Council 
on  Wednesday  next  in  the  afternoon,  to  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration by  the  Council."^ 


>  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Wednesday,  January  14,  165^, 
MS.  State  Paper  Office.  "  That  foras- 
much as  it  is  not  thought  fit  that  the 
Lord-President  Whitelock  should  act 
during  the  time  of  his  Presidency, 
that  there  should  be  a  sixth  person 
added,  and  that  Colonel  Purefoy  be 
that  person." — 3id.  same  day. 

2  3id.  Friday,  February  20,  165^.— 
About  six  weeks  before,  they  had 
passed  an  order,  "  That  Mr.  Milton  be 


continued  secretarie  for  foreign  lan- 
guages to  the  Council  for  the  year  to 
come." — Ibid.  Monday,  December  29, 
1651.  '«Mr.  Milton's"  office  was  asc 
suredly  no  sinecure.  The  minutes 
show  that  a  very  great  number  of 
papers  was  sent  from  the  Council  of 
State  to  the  Dutch  Ambassadors,  all  of 
which  had  to  be  translated  into  Latin 
by  "  Mr.  Milton." 
'  Ibid.  Monday,  February  2,  165^. 


1651.] 


THE  BUSINESS   OF  AlVIBOYNA." 


285 


Again,  on  Thursday  the  5th  of  February,  there  is  the 
following  order  respecting  the  ominous  business  of  Am- 
boyna : — 

"  That  the  business  concerning  Amboyna,  and  also  the 
debate  of  what  shall  be  insisted  upon  by  the  Council  in  the 
treaty  with  the  Dutch,  be  taken  up  on  Wednesday  next  in 
the  afternoon."^ 

The  "  business  of  Amboyna,"  here  referred  to,  and  gene- 
rally known  in  English  History  as  "  the  Amboyna  Mas- 
sacre," may  serve  well  to  mark  the  difference^etween  the 
Government  of  James  I.  and  the  Government  which  now 
managed  the  affairs  of  England.  The  English,  under  a 
Government  which  was  at  once  bad  and  cowardly,  had 
long  complained  of  oppression  on  the  part  of  the  Dutch  in 
their  East  India  trade.  At  last  an  event  occurred  which 
made  a  deep  and  lasting  impression  on  the  minds  of 
Englishmen.  In  February  1623,  Captain  Towerson  and 
nine  Englishmen,  nine  Japanese,  and  one  Portuguese 
sailor,  were  seized  at  Amboyna,  under  the  accusation  of  a 
conspiracy  to  surprise  the  garrison,  and  to  expel  the 
Dutch ;  and  having  been  tried  and  subjected  to  the  tor- 
ture— which,  under  the  civil  law,  was  a  regular  part  of  a 
judicial  enquiry,  and  a  common  method  of  extorting  evi- 
dence from  alleged  criminals  in  all  the  kingdoms  of  Con- 
tinental Europe,  and  Holland  among  the  rest — were  pro- 
nounced guilty  and  executed.^  "  The  accusation,"  says 
the  historian  of  British  India,  "  was  treated  by  the  Eng- 
lish as  a  mere  pretext  to  cover  a  plan  for  their  extermi- 
nation.    But  the  facts  of  an  event,  which  roused  extreme 


»  Order   Book  of    the   Council    of  Paper  OiEce  ;    Bruce's  Ai\nals  of  the 

State,  Thursday,  Februarys,  165^,  MS.  East  India  Company,  vol.  i.  p.  256; 

State  Paper  Office.  Mill's  History  of  British  India,  vol.  i. 

2  East  India  Papers  in  the  State  pp.  46-50 :  3rd  edition,  London,  1826. 


286 


C0M3I0NWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIII. 


indignation   in    England,  have   never    been   exactly   as- 
certained."^ 

Be  that  as  it  may,  we  may  safely  pronounce  that  it  was 
an  event  which  could  not  have  occurred,  except  at  a  time 
when  all  the  world  knew  that  England  was  under  the 
government  of  a  profligate  coward,  who  from  his  child- 
hood to  his  latest  hour  had  never  felt  one  throb  of  gene- 
rous feeling  or  of  manly  indignation ;  and  who  reserved  all 
his  favour  for  miscreants  such  as  Somerset  and  Bucking- 
ham, and  all  his  indignation  for  those  who,  like  the  Euth- 
vens,  refused  to  become  the  victims  and  accomplices  of  his 
own  monstrous  vices  and  crimes.  It  followed,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  that  the  application  made  to  this  King,  to  obtain 
signal  reparation  from  the  Dutch  Government  for  so  great 
a  national  insult  and  outrage,  was  totally  fruitless.  What 
cared  the  Whitehall  Solomon  for  the  tortures  and  the  death 
of  nine  or  ten  Englishmen,  who  in  his  estimation  were 
but  gutterbloods,  not  having  in  their  veins  one  drop  of  the 
blood  of  Stuart  ?  But  since  that  dark  and  evil  time  a  change 
had  come  over  the  English  Council  Board,  at  which  one 
Eobert  Blake  now  sat,  instead  of  George  Yilliers  Duke  of 
Buckingham,  as  representative  of  the  Admiralty  and  of  the 
naval  honour  of  England  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

On  Tuesday  the  10th  of  February  165^,  the  Council  of 
State  made  the  following  order  : — 

"  That  the  Commissioners  of  this  Council,  appointed  to 
treat  with  the  Lords  Ambassadors  from  the  high  and 
mighty  Lords  the  States-General  of  the  United  Provinces, 
do  meet  with  their  said  Lordships  to-morrow  morning, 
being  Wednesday,  at  the  hour  of  9,  at  the  usual  place 
in  Whitehall.  And  Sir  Oliver  Fleming,  Master  of  the 
Ceremonies,  is  to  have  notice  hereof,  that  he  may  attend 

*  Mill's  History  of  British  India,  vol.  i.  p.  46:  3rd  edition,  London,  1826. 


1651.] 


WOEK   OF  THE   COUNCIL  AT   THIS  TIME. 


287 


upon  the  said  Lords  Ambassadors  to  the  place  appointed 
accordingly."^ 

On  Thursday  the  12th  of  February  the  Council  made 
the  following  order : — 

"  That  Wednesday  next  be  appointed  for  the  Committee 
for  Foreign  Affairs  to  bring  into  the  Council  a  paper  of 
demands  to  be  made  to  the  Dutch  Ambassadors  by  the 
Council  on  the  behalf  of  this  Commonwealth."^ 

And  on  the  25th  of  February  the  Council  of  State  made 
the  following  ominous  orders,  at  a  meeting  at  which  Blake 
was  present,  but  neither  Cromwell  nor  Yane : — 

"  That  the  paper  now  read,  of  demands  to  be  made  to 
the  Dutch  Ambassadors,  be  translated." 

"That  the  English  copy  of  "the  said  demands  be  signed  by 
the  Lord  President." 

"That  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  for  Foreisrn 
Affairs  to  prepare  and  bring  in  on  Friday  next  a  demand 
to  he  made  concerning  affronts  done  to  this  Commonwealth, 
now  debated  at  the  CounciU'^ 

At  this  time  the  Council  of  State  had  work  enough  on 
their  hands  ;'*  for  while  they  presented  this  undaunted 
front  to  the  Dutch  Eepublic,  they  showed  an  aspect  equally 
stern  and  inflexible  to  the  King  of  Spain.  About  a  year 
before  an  ambassador  from  the  King  of  Spain  had  arrived 
in  London,  and  had  been  admitted  to  an  audience  by  the 
Parliament ;  to  which  he  had  been  conducted  through 
streets  lined  with  that  L*onside  cavalry — a  strong  body 

*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  missioner  Whitelock  be  desired,  in 
State,  Tuesday,  February  10, 165^,  MS.  respect  of  the  man^  weighty  affairs 
State  Paper  Office.  now  in  hand,  to    attend   the   public 

*  iZ>/^.  Thursday,  February  12,  165^.     service  at  the  Council,  notwithstand- 
^  Ibid.   Wednesday,    February    25,     ing    his    other   employment." — Order 

1 65|-.  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  Thursday, 

*  This  is  manifested  in  the  follow-  February  26,  165^,  MS.  State  Paper 
ing  minute: — "  That  the  Lord-Com-     Office. 


288 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIII. 


of  them  being  drawn  up  "  at  the  Broad  Place  at  Whitehall"^ 
— whose  unequalled  military  qualities  threw  into  the  shade 
the  best  troops  of  his  master's  ancestor  Philip  II. — even 
"  the  famous  Terzio  of  Naples,  the  most  splendid  regi- 
ment ever  known  in  the  history  of  war."  2  The  Council  of 
State  on  that  occasion  ordered  "  a  guard  of  the  horse  that 
are  in  town,  mounted  in  their  defensive  arms,  and  that  such 
part  of  them  as  shall  be  thought  fit,  stand  in  a  body  at  the 
Broad  Place  at  Whitehall— Major-General  Harrison  to  see 
the  order  put  in  execution."  ^  The  Council  were  willing 
that  the  Spanish  ambassador  should  see  some  of  that 
magnificent  cavalry,  to  whom  might  have  been  fitly  ap- 
plied the  term  employed  to  describe  the  invincibility  of 
that  Republican  horse  regiment  called  "  the  Brazen  Wall  " 
from  its  never  having  been  broken. 

At  that  audience  he  had  declared  the  substance  of  his 
embassy  to  be  to  express  the  King  of  Spain's  great  desire 
of  establishing  a  peace  and  good  correspondence  with  the 
Commonwealth  of  England.''  There  was  a  condition  pre- 
cedent, however,  on  which  the  Parliament  insisted,  but 
which  the  King  of  Spain  appeared  either  unable  or  un- 
willing to  fulfil.  For,  more  than  a  year  after  the  Ambas- 
sadors' audience,  we  find  the  following  minutes,  which  show 
the  high  and  determined  tone  taken  by  the  Council  of 
State : — 

"  That  it  be  referred  to  Mr.  Martin  and  Mr.  Nevill  to 
draw  up  answer  to  the  first  paper  of  the  Spanish  Ambas- 
sador concerning  the  murder  of  Mr.  Ascham,  and  present 
the  same  to  the  Council."^  '-*' 

»  Order  Book    of    the   Council   of    State,  December  24,  1650,  MS.  State 
State,  December  24,  1650,  MS.  State    Paper  Office. 
Paper  Office.  4  p^^.^  jj^^^   ^^j  j.j  ^   ^3^^ 

2  Motley's   History   of  the  United        »  Order  Book    of   the   Council  of 
Netherlands,  vol.  ii.  p.  456.  State,  Thursday,  January  8,  165^,  MS 

•   Order  Book  of   the  Council  of    State  Paper  Office. 


1651.]        RAPID   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH  NAVAL  POWER.         289 

"  That  Sir  Oliver  Fleming,  Master  of  the  Ceremonies, 
do  carry  to  the  Spanish  Ambassador  a  copy  of  the  Order 
of  Parliament,  whereby  it  is  referred  to  the  Council  to 
demand  a  sight  of  the  powers  of  the  said  Ambassador  of 
the  King  of  Spain,  and  report  the  same  to  the  Par- 
liament." ^ 

"  That  the  paper  that  was  given  to  the  Spanish  Ambas- 
sador, to  insist  upon  justice  to  he  done  ujpon  the  murtherers 
of  Mr.  Ascham,  be  reported  to  the  Parliament.  And  the 
Lord-Commissioner  Whitelock  is  desired  to  make  the 
report."  ^ 

And  again,  on  the  10th  of  November,  1652,  the  Council 
directed  a  paper  to  be  delivered  to  the  Spanish  Ambassador, 
"  wherein  it  is  to  be  insisted  that  satisfaction  be  given  con- 
cerning the  murther  of  Mr.  Ascham  in  Spain,  by  doing 
justice  upon  the  mui-therers  of  him."  ^ 

It  has  been  remarked  by  Lord  Macaulay,  that  the  reigns 
of  princes,  such  as  Augustus  and  Philip  II.  of  Spain,  who 
have  established  absolute  monarchy  on  the  ruins  of  popular 
forms  of  government,  often  shine  in  history  with  a  peculiar 
lustre ;  and  that  the  valour,  the  intelligence,  and  the 
energy,  which  a  good  Constitution  has  generated,  being 
directed  by  one  despotic  chief,  seem,  at  least  during  the 
first  years  of  tyranny,  able  to  conquer  all  the  world.  But 
there  is  another  process,  directly  the  reverse  of  this,  which 
seems  to  inspire  an  all  but  resistless  energy  into  a  nation. 
This  process  is  exemplified  in  the  case  of  a  nation  that 
has  been  long  oppressed,  and  has  at  last,  by  a  fierce  and 
desperate  struggle,  shaken  off  its  oppressors,  and  recovered 
that  liberty  which  it  had  not  known  for  ages.    The  French 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Thursday,  January  8,  165|,  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 

VOL.  II,  U 


2  3id.  Tuesday,  February  17,  165^. 
'  Ibid.   "Wednesday,  November    10, 
1662. 


290 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIII. 


165L] 


ADVANTAGES   OF   THE   DUTCH. 


201 


Revolution  affords  one  memorable  example.  Another  is 
afforded  by  the  rise  and  process  of  the  Dutch  Eepublic. 
The  Dutch,  after  a  long  and  desperate  struggle,  having 
succeeded  in  shaking  off  the  grinding  oppression  of  Spain, 
sprang  up  with  marvellous  rapidity  into  the  greatest 
naval  Power,  not  only  at  that  time  in  the  world,  but  the 
greatest  that  the  world  down  to  that  time  had  ever 
seen.  The  Dutch  enterprise,  energy,  and  valour  seemed 
to  promise  an  indefinite  expansion  to  their  colonial  empire, 
which  abeady,  in  half  a  century  of  liberty,  had  grown 
to  be  only  inferior  in  extent  to  that  of  Spain.  And 
while  their  fleets  of  war  were  the  most  powerful  in  the 
world,  and  their  admirals  the  best  the  world  had  ever 
seen,  their  merchant-ships  were  the  great  carriers  of  the 
world,  not  only  carrying  on  the  interchange  of  commodi- 
ties between  all  parts  of  Europe,  but  bringing  to  Europe 
the  products  of  the  most  distant  parts  of  the  globe,  from 
the  fish  of  Newfoundland  to  the  spices  and  silks  of  India.* 
In  estimating  the  value,  or  at  least  the  magnitude,  of  a 
victory,  the  genius  of  the  commanders  of  the  vanquished 
fleets  or  armies  is  an  essential  element  in  the  question. 
One  of  the  greatest  generals  of  any  time  commanded  the 
French  at  Waterloo.  But  surely  the  French  admirals 
who  were  defeated  at  the  Nile  and  Trafalgar  cannot  for 
a   moment   be   compared  to  Tromp  and  Euyter,   whose 


'  The  Journal  kept  by  Admiral  Sir 
William  Penn,  when  cruising  in 
search  of  Prince  Rupert,  published  by 
his  great-grandson,  Mr.  Granville 
Penn,  in  his  "Memorials  of  Sir 
William  Penn,"  furnishes  abundant 
evidence  of  the  great  amount  of  the 
Dutch  merchant-shipping.  I  give  the 
following  extract  as  curious  in  the 
matter    of    the   flag :    "  October    26 


(1651),  Sabbath  day. — Presently  after 
noon  here  (New  Gibraltar  Eoad)  ar- 
rived thirteen  sail  of  Hollanders,  all 
from  Malaga,  bound  (as  they  say)  home 
under  the  convoy  of  young  Tromp, 
who  came  in  with  his  flag  in  the 
maintop,  which  I  said  nothing  to, 
being  in  the  King  of  Spain  his  port."— 
Memorials  of  Sir  William  Penn,  vol.  i. 
pp.  378,  379. 


conqueror's  bones  lie  in  an  ignominious  pit  somewhere 
near  the  bottom  of  the  street  at  the  top  of  which  towers 
Nelson's  column  of  victory. 

At  the  commencement  of  this  great  struggle,  the  advan- 
tages appeared  to  be  on  the  side  of  the  Dutch.  The 
whole  of  the  herring  and  cod-fisheries,  together  with  the 
commerce  of  almost  aU  the  world,  had  rendered  the  Dutch 
the  most  powerful  nation  at  sea  that  "^  the  world  at  that 
time  had  ever  seen ;   for  they  were  probably  a  greater 

"ft 

naval  power  than  the  Spaniards  when  they  fitted  out  the 
Great  Armada.  They  had  also  greater  admirals  than  the 
Spaniards  ever  had — greater,  indeed,  than  at  that  time 
had  ever  appeared  in  the  world.  The  number  of  their  trad- 
ing and  fishing  vessels  probably  exceeded  that  of  all  the 
other  European  nations  put  together. 

The  TJtrtnh  also  were  naturally  elated  by  their  suc- 
cesses against  the  Spaniards,  who  before  them  had  been  the 
greatest  naval  power  in  the  world ;  and  they  had  a  very 
great  number  of  well-trained  seamen.  The  vast  confluence 
of  seafaring  men  from  all  the  Northern  nations  of  Europe, 
drawn  by  the  fame  of  their  commerce,  furnished  them, 
without  pressing,  with  such  numbers  of  able  seamen,  that 
to  wage  war  with  them  was — particularly  when  it  is  con- 
sidered that  the  Kings  of  Europe  more  favoured  the  Dutch 
than  the  English — to  wage  war  against  a  great  part  of 
Europe.  In  fact,  in  the  course  of  this  war,  their  High 
Mightinesses  (as  the  title  of  the  Dutch  Republic  ran)  had 
the  audacity  to  issue  a  proclamation,  like  Napoleon's 
Berlin  Decree,  against  English  manufactures,  and  inter- 
dicted all  correspondence  and  communication  with  the 
British  Islands,  taking  upon  them  selves  to  place  those  islands 
in  a  state  of  naval  blockade.  Besides  the  great  number 
of  ships  of  war  which  they  possessed  at  the  beginning  of 

u  2 


I 


292 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[CHA.P.  XIII. 


I60L]         REGULATIONS   OF  THE   COUNCIL   OF  STATE. 


293 


o 


the  war,  sncli  were  the  riches  of  the  United  Provinces  at 
that  time,  when  Amsterdam  and  Rotterdam  were  the  great 
exchanges  of  Europe,  that  even  during  this  war,  which 
was  finished  in  less  than  two  years,  they  built  sixty  ships 
of  uncommon  size  and  force.  The  Dutch  ships  were  built 
flatter-bottomed,  and  therefore  drew  less  water,  than  the 
English,  and  were  thus  more  capable  of  sailing  among 
the  shallows,  where  they  often  found  a  secure  retreat 
when  chased  by  the  enemy.  The  English  ships  being 
built  of  tougher  wood,  and  with  sharper  keels,  were  less 
subject  to  splinters,  and  fitter  to  dispute  the  weather- 
gauge,  "  which,"  says  an  old  writer,  "  they  seldom  failed 
to  gain,  though  not  always  to  their  advantage."  ^ 

While  for  the  last  fifty  years  the  Dutch  had  been  thus 
rising  into  the  greatest  naval  Power  that  the  world  down 
to  that  time  had  ever  seen,  the  English,  under  the  mis- 
government  of  the  Stuarts,  had  been  sinking  into  a  con- 
dition of  decrepitude  such  as  England  had  not  known 
for  a  thousand  years  ;  and  it  was  only  since  the  death  of 
Charles  I.,  in  January  1649,  that  the  able  and  energetic  men 
who  then  took  upon  themselves  the  English  Government 
had  full  leisure  and  opportunity  to  turn  their  attention 
to  naval  affairs.  The  success  which  had  attended  their 
armies,  and  the  promise  afforded  by  the  first  exploits  of 
their  navy,  when  they  had  placed  Blake  in  command  of  it, 
afforded  them  good  grounds  for  believing  that,  by  due 
attention  to  the  administrative  details  of  their  naval  affairs, 
they  might  now  be  able  to  assume  a  very  different  tone 

*  Columna  Eostrata,  or  a  Critical  the   three  Dutch  wars)    are    proved, 

History  of  the  English  Sea  Affairs ;  either   from    original  pieces,  or  from 

wherein  all  the  remarkable  actions  of  the  testimonies   of    the   best   foreign 

the    English   nation   at   sea   are    de-  historians.   By  Samuel  Calliber :  Lon- 

scribed,   and    tlie    most   considerable  don,  1727,  p.  93,  1  vol.  8vo. 
events  (especially  in   the   account  of 


towards  the  pretensions  of  the  Dutch  from  that  of  the 
Governments  that  had  preceded  them. 

I  have  shown,  in  the  preceding  volume,^  the  peculiar 
advantages  arising  from  the  composition  of  the  Council 
of  State.  I  have  shown  that  the  chances  of  having  the 
Government  administered  with  ability  and  vigour  were 
much  greater  when  the  power  was  placed,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  English  Council  of  State,  in  a  really  deliberative 
Council,  in  which  the  President  had  no  more  weight  than 
any  other  member,  and  which  consisted  of  such  a  number 
(the  number  actually  present  sometimes  amounted  to 
nearly  forty)  ^  as  would  give  a  good  chance  of  their  being 
some  men  amongst  them  of  ability  for  government,  whose 
arguments  and  opinions  would  determine  the  deliberations 
of  the  whole  body,  than  when  the  power  is  placed  in  what 
is  called  a  Cabinet  Council,  consisting  of  a  small  number  ; 
and  of  that  small  number  many  are  mere  cyphers,  and 
domineered  over  by  a  man  called  the  Prime  Minister,  who 
may  be  a  man  who  owes  his  position  to  qualities  very  dif- 
ferent from  the  qualities  of  a  great  statesman.  It  is  im- 
portant to  adduce  proofs  that  the  conclusions  of  this 
Council  of  State  were  adopted  after  the  most  careful 
deliberation,  and  the  most  ample  discussion.  The  orders 
made  by  the  Council  for  regulating  their  proceedings 
furnish  ample  proof  of  this.  One  of  their  orders  is,  "^hat 
whenever  any  matter  or  business  is  propounded  and  in 
debate,  no  man  shall  interrupt  it  by^ofeing^any  new 
business  till  that  shall  be  finished,  unless  such  as  cannot 


«tJ.«»  ■— 


1  Vol.  I.  p.  119.  of  this   Council  who   are   about  the 

2  Thus  on  February  27,  165f,  the  town  to  come  to  the  Council  to-morrow 
number  present  was  38.  The  day  be-  in  the  afternoon." — Order  Book  of  the 
fore  an  order  had  been  made,  "  That  a  Council  of  State,  February'  26  and  27, 
summons  be  sent  to  all  the  members  IGof,  MS.  Stat^  Paper  Office. 


294 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIII. 


bear  delay."  ^  Another  is,  "  That  while  any  business  is  in 
debate,  ho  members  of  the  Couricil  BhaH  eiltertain  any 
private  discourse  one  with  another,  at  the  Board,  but 
attend  the  matter  in  debate,  that  they  may  give  their 
counsel  and  opinion  in  it  as  they  shall  judge  fit  for  the 
Commonwealth ;  and  in  case  any  shall  so  discourse  or 
speak  to  one  another,  the  President  for  the  time  shall  put 
them  in  mind  of  their  breach  of  order.  And  ilie  persons 
speaking  to  the  business  sliaitiforbea^  to  speak  till  those 
private  discourses  cease  and  all  the  members  attend."  * 

It  will  be  observed  what  cafeful' precautions  are  taken, — 
particularly  in  that  order  given  before,  and  requiring  that 
every  matter  propounded  shall  not  only  be  seconded,  but 
thirded,^ — against  a  great  nation's  being  driven  into  mea- 
sures that  might  involve  consequences  of  the  most  tremen- 
dous nature  by  the  will  or  the  passions  of  any  one  man.  If 
England  had  possessed  such  a  Government  as  this  Council 
of  State  in  1853,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  she  could  not 
have  been  driven  or  "  drifted,"  as  she  was,  into  the  Crimean 
war.  Mr.  Kinglake  says,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Invasion 
of  the  Crimea,"  that  "  upon  the  papers  as  they  stand,  it 
seems  clear  that,  by  remaining  upon  the  ground  occupied 
by  the  four  Powers,  England  would  have  obtained  the  de- 
liverance of  the  Principalities  without  resorting  to  war  ;  "^ 
but  that  she  was  driven  into  a  war,  which  cost  her  a  hun- 
dred million  sterling,  by  the  passions  and  the  interests  of 
one  man  in  France  and  another  man  in  England,^  who 
domineered  over  the  feebler  members  of  the  Council  called 
the  English  Cabinet,  somewhat  in  the  way  Carteret  had 

•  Order  Book    of    the   Council   of  orders,  ante,  p.  78  of  this  volume. 

State,   December  2,  1651,  MS.  State  »  Ante,  p,  78. 

Paper  Office.  *  Kinglake's     Invasion      of      the 

'  Ibid,    same    day. — These    orders  Crimea,  vol.  i.  p.  455. 

were  not  given  before.     See  the  other  ^  Ibid.  pp.  446,  447. 


1651.] 


CONTRAST  BETWEEN  165§  AND   1853. 


295 


done  about  a  century  before ;  for  that  man  may  perhaps  be 
said  to  have  borne,  in  some  respects,  a  certain  resemblance 
to  Carteret,  whose  head  was  always  fall  of  Continental 
politics,  of  schemes  for  humbling  the  House  of  Bourbon ; 
and  who,  says  Macaulay,  "  encountered  the  opposition  of 
his  colleagues,  not  with  the  fierce  haughtiness  of  the 
first  Pitt,  or  the  cold  imbending  arrogance  of  the  second, 
but  with  a  gay  vehemence,  a  good-humoured  imperious- 
ness,  that  bore  everything  down  before  it." 

It  is  melancholy  to  think  how  small  an  advance  man  has 
yet  made  in  the  art  of  government  when  he  can  be  driven 
to  have  his  blood  shed  and  his  pockets  picked  with  impu- 
nity by  such  means  as  these.  Who  can  wonder  at  the 
success  of  great  conquerors  like  Caesar  and  Cromwell  in 
imposing  their  yoke  upon  the  necks  of  mankind,  when  he 
sees  such  things  done  by  men  without  the  splendour  of 
their  genius  or  the  magic  of  their  great  achievements  ? 
Nevertheless  the  will  of  one  man,  even  of  the  most  power- 
ful despot  on  the  earth,  like  a  Eussian  Emperor  Nicholas, 
or  of  the  most  able  despot,  like  an  Oliver  Cromwell  or  a 
Napoleon  Bonaparte,  has  proved  itself  but  a  blind  guide 
compared  to  a  resolution  struck  out  from  the  grave  debate 
and  conflicting  arguments  of  the  band  of  masculine  and 
powerful  intellects  composing  the  Council  of  State  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  England. 

In  order  to  obtain  all  the  instruction  from  the  proceed- 
ings of  this  Council  of  State  which  they  are  calculated  to 
give  to  after-ages,  it  is  important  to  attempt  to  discover 
whether  their  anxious  care  to  ensure  every  safeguard 
against  any  important  resolution's  not  receiving  the  due 
attention  would  extend  to  such  a  case  as  that  of  most  of 
the  members  of  the  Council  being  asleep  when  any  impor- 
tant business  was  propounded  to  them.     The  order  which 


29G 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIII. 


1651.] 


BLAKE'S   COMMISSION. 


297 


4 


I  have  transcribed  above,  that  "  in  ease  any  of  the  members 
shall  speak  to  one  another,  the  President  for  the  time  shall 
put  them  in  mind  of  the  breach  of  order,  and  the  persons 
speaking  to  the  business  shall  forbear  to  speak  till  those 
private  discourses  cease,  and  all  the  members  attend,''  par- 
ticularly the  last  four  words  of  it,  appears  to  meet  even 
such  a  case  as  this.     And  the   other  two  orders,  "  That 
whatever  is  propounded,  seconded,  and  thirded  be  put  to 
the  question  if  none  of  the  members  speak  against  it ;  and 
when  a  business  is  resolved  by  the  question,  the  secretary 
shall  enter  the  vote  into  the  book,"  appear  likely  to  render 
it   almost   impossible   that   any  business   of  importance 
should  pass  the  Council  while  "  all  the  members  of  the 
Council  except  a  small  minority  were  ov^come  with  sleep,"* 
or  were  even  "  careless  and  torpid."  '    How  otherwise,  in- 
deed, can  it  have  happened  that  this  Council  of  State  so 
seldom  made  a  false  step ;  that,  except  in  the  case  of  their 
trial  of  John  Lilburne,  in  their  administration  of  domestic 
affairs,  as  well  as  in  their  wars,  and  the  management  of 
their  fleets  and  armies,  they  displayed  such  undeviating 
good  sense  and  sagacity,  and  attained  such  signal  success  ? 
History  may  indeed  be  pronounced  to  be  nothing  better 
than  an  old  almanack,  if  such  lessons  as  are  given  to  man- 
kind by  the  construction,  the  regulation,  and  the  mode  of 
action,  of  this  great  English  Council  of  State  of  the  1 7th 
century  have  been  given  in  vain. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  in  pursuance  of  an  order  of  Par- 
liament of  the  25th  of  February,  the  Council  of  State 
granted  a  commission  to  Robert  Blake  to  command  the 
fleet  for  nine  months,  in  the  following  terms : — 

"  By  virtue  of  the  power  to  this  Council  committed  by 
the  present  Parliament,  we  do  hereby  commissionate  you 

'  Kinglake's  Invasion  of  the  Crimea,  vol.  ii.  p.  94.  2  jf^^ 


i 


to  hold  and  execute  the  place  of  Admiral  and  General  of 

the  said  fleet  or  fleets,  and  you  are  hereby  authorised  and 

required,  &c.  &c.     .     .     .     And  this  power  to  continue  for 

the  space  of  nine  months.     Given  under  the  seal  of  the 

Council  the  fourth  day  of  March  1651  [165^. 

"  Signed,  &c. 

"Philip  Lisle,  President."^ 

On  the  15th  of  March,  the  Victuallers  of  the  Navy  were 
ordered  "  to  make  provisions  for  2,500  men  more  than  the 
7,500  abeady  declared  for ;  and  the  provision  was  to  be 
made  at  Jjondon  and  Chatham."^ 

The   Order  Book  contains  a  great  number  of   orders 

during  this  month  of  March  relating  to  the  details  of  the 

navy— orders  which  manifest  the  unremitting  vigilance  of 

the  Council  of  State  at  this  important  crisis;-    Letters  are 

ordered  to  be  written  to  all  parts  of  Britain,  respecting  the 

providing  of  iron  ordnance  for  the  defence  of  Portsmouth, 

the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  other  places  exposed  to  attack  by 

sea ;  "  to  take  speedy  care  to  send  all  the  serviceable  and 

unserviceable  brass  ordnance  to  the  Tower  of  London  ;  "  ^ 

for  the  march  of  companies  of  foot,  and  troops  of  horse,  to 

the  parts  where  they  are  required  ;  *  for  the  transmission  of 

stores  of  powder,  and  great  and  small  shot  and  "  match 

proportionable;"  "for  such  repairs   and   erecting   such 

forts  as  shall  be  found  necessary— the  soldiers  to  be  put  to 

work  on  this— and  also  the  country  people  to  be  caUed  in 

and  set  to  work,^  Lieutenant-Colonel   Roseworme  to  be 

»  Order  Book    of    the   Council    of  President    for   the   month    following, 

State,  Thursday,  March  4, 165^,   MS.  signs   his   name   thus— "  John   Lisle, 

State'    Paper    Office.— Philip,    Lord  President." 

Viscount  Lisle,  eldest  son  of  the  Earl  »  Ibid,  Monday,  March  15,  165i. 

of  Leicester,  who  was  Lord  President  »  Ibid.  Wednesday,  March  10,  1Q5^. 

of  the  Council  of  State  for  this  month,  *  Ibid,  same  day. 

always  signs  his  name  thus.  The  Lord  *  Ibid,  same  day. 
Commissioner   Lisle,  who   was    Lord 


298  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XIIL 

immediately  sent  down  as  Engineer  to  view  the  places 
which  are  defective  ;  '  for  the  sending  np  to  London  "  all 
the  loose  iron  gnns  that  lie  along  the  coast  of  Scotland  in 
places  of  no  security ;  and  all  the  loose  iron  ordnance  that 
are  to  be  spared  upon  all  the  coast  of  Scotland ;  for  500 
carriages  for  guns  to  supply  emergencies."  ^ 

The  Council's  mode  of  proceeding  is  further  shown  by 
the  foUowing  orders ;  which,  in  regard  to  the  care  to  ascer- 
tain  the  fitness  of  those  ships  which  had  been  already  so 
long  at  sea  "  to  be  continued  out  two  or  three  months 
longer,"  exhibit  a  striking  contrast  to  the  neglect  of  such 
a  precaution  in  the  case  of  Blake's  fleet,  when  Cromwell 
had  superseded  the  Council  of  State,  and  was  more  intent 
upon  the  intrigues  for  his  own  further  aggrandisement 
than  upon  the  welfare  of  the  great  admiral  and  his  sea- 
men, and  the  efficient  condition  of  his  fleet  :— 

"  That  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  of  the  Admiralty 
to  prepare  an  account,  to  be  given  to  the  Council,  of  what 
ships  are  already  appointed  for  this  summer's  guard,  and 
the  several  stations  to  which  they  are  appointed,  and  the 
tmie  when  they  wiU  be  ready;  and  likewise  to  take  into 
consideration  what  ships  more  may  be  necessary  to  be  set 
forth,  and  what  other  officers  for  the  commanding  of  the 
fleet  may  be  thought  fit  to  be  made  choice  of;  and  also 
what  general  instructions  are  to  be  given  to  the  comman- 
ders of  the  fleet  for  the  direction  of  them  in  their  employ- 
ments ;  and  to  report  their  opinions  to  the  Council  upon 
the  several  matters  referred  to  with  all  possible  speed  • 
and  they  are  to  send  for  the  Commissioners  of  the  Trinity 
House,  or  any  other  persons  whom  they  shaU  think  fit,  to 

c./.^lT/^''!'   ""^  ^^'   ^°"°^^^    «^    MS.  state  Paper  Office. 
State,  Wednesday,   March  10,    1651         ^  y^,-^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^  j^,.. 


1652.] 


APPOINTMENT   OF  JOHN   THURLOE. 


advise    with    from    time    to    time    upon   any    of   those 

matters."  ^ 

"  That  all  the  members  of  the  Council  he  added,  for  the 
matters  above  referred,  to  the  Committee  of  the  Admiralty  ; 
and  that  they  do  sit  every  afternoon  in  the  Council  Chamber  at 
2  of  the  clock:'  ^ 

"  That  the  Council  do  proceed  to  the  nomination  of  a 
Yice-Admiral  and  Eear-Admiral  of  the  fleet  to  be  for  this 

summer's  service."  ^ 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  General  Blake,  to  cause  a 
survey  to  be  made  of  the  four  ships  now  with  Captain 
Penn,  which  ar^'commgln— -viz.  the  Fairfax,  Centurion, 
Adventure,  and  Assurance— of  their  fitness  to  be  continued 
out  two  or  three  months  longer,  if  there  be  occasion,  and 
to  certify  the  same  to  the  Council.^  ^ 

Abotit  this  time  Walter  Frost  died,  and  was  succeeded 
as  secretary  to  the  Council  of  State  by  John  Thurloe,  who 
was  to  have  "  after  the  rate  of  £600  per  annum."^  "  Walter 
Frost,  the  son  of  Walter  Frost,  the  elder,  was  continued 
in  his  place    of  assistant    secretary   to   the   Council   of 

State." 

It  wiU  be  perceived  that  this  was  rather  less  than  Walter 
iVost  had  had,  his  salary  having  been  forty  shHlings  per 
diem.6  But  as  Thurloe  was  to  have  lodgings  in  WhitehaU, 
that  would  fuUy  make  up  the  difference ;  that  is,  provided 
Frost  had  not  lodgings  rent-free,  a  fact  which  I  have  not 
ascertained.  However,  on  the  1st  of  December  foUowing, 
the  Council  of  State  ordered  "  That  Mr.  Thurloe  have  after 
the  allowance  of  £800  for  the  year  to  come,  for  and  in  con- 


1  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Tuesday,  March  23, 1651.  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 

2  Ibid,  same  day. 


»  Ihid.  Wednesday,  March  24,  165^. 

*  Ibid,  same  day. 

*  Ibid.  Thursday,  April  1,  1652. 

«  See  Vol.  I.  p.  117  of    his  History 


300  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XIII. 

sideration  of  his  attending  as  Clerk  to  the  Council   and 
the  Committee  for  Foreign  Affairs."  * 

"  That  convenient  lodgings  be  provided  for  Mr.  Thurloe 
in  Whitehall,  for  the  better  enabling  him  to  execute  his 
place."  2 

"  That  it  be  declared  to  Mr.  Thurloe  as  the  pleasure  of 
this  Council,  that  no  fees  are  to  be  demanded  or  taken  of 
any  persons  for  any  orders  or  despatches  of  the  Council."  ^ 
On  the  2nd  of  April  it  was  ordered,  "  that  Sir  Henry 
Yane  and  Sir  WiUiam  Masham  be  added  to  the  committee 
which  meets  with  the  Dutch  ambassadors;"  and  also 
"  that  Sir  H.  Vane  and  Mr.  NeviUe  be  added  to  the  Com- 
mittee for  French  Affairs."  ^ 

The  Council  of  State  saw  that  it  was  now  time  to  put 
an  end  to  the  solemn  farce  of  the  negotiation  which  the 
Dutch  carried  on.     On  Monday,  the  5th  of  April,  it  is 
ordered  "  That  in  the  conference  with  the  Dutch  ambassa- 
dors it  he  insisted  upon  that  an  answer  be  given  by  the  said 
ambassadors  to  the  paper  of  demands."  ^     The  demands, 
moreover,  went  on  increasing  in  number,  and  that  grim 
subject  of  Amboyna  was  never   lost   sight   of.     Thus  on 
Monday,  the  12th  of  April,  the  Council  of  State  ordered, 
"  That  the  several  petitions  this  day  brought  into   the 
Council  concerning  the  sufferers  at  Amboyna,  and  other 
depredations  done  upon  the  English  in  the  East  Indies  by 
the  Dutch,  be  referred  to  the  Committee  for  Foreign  Affairs, 
who  are  to  take  the  same  into  consideration,  and  thereupon 
prepare  a  paper  of  further  demands  to  be  made  of  the  Dutch 
ambassadors,  if  there  shall  be  occasion,  and  to  bring  the 
same  into  the  Council."  «     On  the  same  day  also  an  order 
was  made  "  to  press  an  answer  to  the  paper  of  demands, 

'  Order   Book    of    the   Council   of  ^  Ibid,  same  day. 

State,  December  1,   1C52,    MS.  State  <  Ibid.  Friday,  April  2,  1652. 

Paper  Office.  5  jbid.  Monday,  April  5,  1652. 

■'  Ibid.  Thursday,  April  1,  1652.  «  Ibid.  Monday,  April  12,  1652. 


1652.] 


"THE  PROLOGUE  TO   THE  TRAGEDY." 


301 


and  the  36  articles."  '  And  on  Thursday,  the  15th  of 
April,  it  is  referred  to  the  Committee  for  Foreign  Affairs  to 
consider  of  what  /mother  proposals  and  demands  are  fit  to 
be  prepared  to  be  given  to  the  Dutch  ambassadors.^  And 
again  on  the  following  Thursday,  the  22nd  of  April,  the 
Council  ordered,  "  That  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  for 
Foreign  Affairs  to  prepare  a  paper  in  answer  to  the  Dutch 
ambassadors'  paper  this  day  read  to  the  Council ;  in  which 
paper  it  is  to  be  insisted  upon  that  answer  be  given  by  the 
said  ambassadors  to  the  paper  of  demands  formerly  given 
unto  them  from  the  Council ;  and  to  certify  the  mis- 
takes which  were  contained  in  their  paper  this  day  read  ; 
and  further  to  signify  unto  them  that  the  Council  will  ap- 
point a  conference  to  be  had  with  them  upon  the  36 
articles,  to  the  end  there  may  be  no  delay  on  their  part  in 
the  carrying  on  of  the  Treaty."  ^  A  fortnight  after, 
namely  on  Thursday,  the  6th  of  May,  there  occurs  the  fol- 
lowing minute,  which  affords  corroboration  to  the  evidence 
already  given  that  the  negotiation  was  likely  to  terminate 
not  in  peace  but  in  war  : — "  That  the  petition  of  divers 
sea-commanders,  mariners,  and  orphans,  suffering  in  the 
East  Indies  by  the  Dutch,  be  referred  to  the  consideration 
of  the  Committee  for  Foreign  Affairs."  * 

It  will  be  needless  to  give  any  further  attention  to  the 
negotiation  with  the  Dutch  ambassadors  ;  while  they  were 
still  going  on,  an  event  occurred,  on  the  19th  of  May  1652, 
in  the  English  Channel  off  Dover,  which,  says  the  author  of 
the  "  Columna  Rostrata,"  "  was  the  prologue  to  the  tragedy 
that  was  afterwards  acted  by  the  mightiest  enemies  that 
ever  sailed  upon  the  sea." 

On  that  19 til  of  May,  the  Council  of  State,  who  had  on 
the  15th  of  April  ordered  men  not  tb  be  pressed  off  ships 

•  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  2  //„-^.  Thursday,  April  15,  1652. 
State,  Monday,  April  12,  1652,  MS.  »  Ibid.  Thursday,  April  22,  1652. 
State  Paper  Office.  *  Ibid.  Thursday,  May  6,  1652. 


\ 


302  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XIIL 

outward  bound,  made  the  following  order  as  to  pressing  : 
"  That  warrants  be  immediately  issued  out  to  the  several 
captains  of  ships  yet  in  the  river  that  they  forthwith 
hasten  into  the  Downs,  with  power  to  press  men  out  of 
any  merchants'  ships  as  well  outward  hound  as  inward,  so 
that  they  take  but  a  fourth  part  of  the  men  in  each  ship ; 
and  none  of  the  officers  in  such  ship  are  to  be  meddled 
with  upon  this  occasion."^  This  order  had  not  been  made 
without  the  careful  deliberation  that  marked  all  their  pro- 
ceedings. In  the  afternoon  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the 
preceding  day  an  order  had  been  made,  "  That  it  be  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  of  the  Admiralty  to  consider  how 
men  may  be  furnished  to  the  State's  ships,  notwithstanding 
the  prohibition  of  taking  men  off  merchants'  ships  which 
are  outward  bound."  ^ 

"  That  Sir  Henry  Vane  be  President  of  the  Council 
imtil  this  day  month."  ^ 

On  Wednesday,  the  19th  of  May,  the  Council  of  State 
ordered : — 

"That  Captain  Penn  shall  be  Vice- Admiral,  and  that 
Captain  Bourne  shall  be  Bear- Admiral,  for  the  summer's 
service."  * 

"  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  Lord-General  Cromwell 
to  give  order  to  such  foot  officers  in  Kent  as  are  with  their 
forces  near  the  shore,  that  they  be  in  such  a  posture  that, 
if  order  come  from  the  General  of  the  Fleet  or  Vice-Admiral 
to  that  purpose,  they  may  be  ready  to  go  on  board  and 
observe  such  orders  as  they  shall  receive  from  the  said 
General  or  Vice-Admiral.  And  also  that  such  other  foot 
as  are  farther  off  the  coast  may  be  drawn  nearer  in  order 
to  the  aforesaid  service."  * 

'  Order  Book    of    the    Council    of     1652. 
State,  Wednesday    morning,    May  19,         «  /i/^.  Monday,  May  1 7    1652 

^^f'J^'r^^^'l  ^'""P'"  ^^''-  *  ^^'''^'  Wednesday,  May  19,  1652. 

Ibid.  Tuesday  afternoon,  May  18,         »  Ibid,  same  day. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


There  is  no  part  of  the  history  of  that  English  Govern- 
ment,  called  the    Commonwealth,   which   has    been    so 
unfairly   dealt    with   as    its   naval    administration*       It 
would  seem  as  if  the  memory  of  it  had  been  cast  with 
the  body  igf^lake  into  that  pit  in  Westminster  Abbey 
yard ;  and  as  if  those  who  were  not  ashamed  to  do  such 
a  deed  thought  that  they  might  appropriate  to  themselves 
all  the  honour  due  to  the  wisdom  and  valour  of  the  great 
Admiral  to  whose  mortal  remains  they  had  done  so  mean 
and  cowardly  an  insult.—  -^^,— ________>« — -^ 

'Btrtr  though  the  dust  of  Blake,  to  whom  no  writer,  to 
borrow  the  words  of  Samuel  Johnson,  "  has  dared  to  deny 
the  praise  of  intrepidity,  honesty,  contempt  of  wealth,  and 
love  of  his  country,"  sleeps  not  within  the  venerable  pre- 
cincts of  Westminster  Abbey l"and  though  the  country 
he  served  so  well  has  ffiven  him  no  monument  with  effigy 
graven  by  a  cuimmg  hand;  though  it  has  refused  him 
even  a  tomb,  as  if  it  made  itself  a  party  to  the  "mean 
revenge*'  which  insulted"  Mg  body,  by  dragging  it  from 
the  place  where  it  had  been  entombed,  as  Johnson  says, 
"  with  all  the  funeral  solemnity  due  to  the  remains  of  a  man 
so  famed  for  his  bravery,  and  so  spotless  in  his  integrity ;  " 
yet  it  may  be  said  of  Blake,  when  his  deeds  and  his  claims 
to  honourable  remembrance  are  compared  with  those  of  the 
many  great  men  entombed  within  that  renowned  cemetery 
preefulgebat,  eo  ipso  quod  effigies  ejus  non  visebatur." 


t  i 


£C 


I 

I 


304  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XIV. 

So  likewise  the  attempts  of  the  men  of  the  Eestoration 
to  consign  to  eternal  oblivion  the  great  naval  achievements 
of  the  Commonwealth,  will  but  recoH  upon  themselves 
For  they  wiU  force  ns  to  ask  why  so  many  writers  have 
passed  over,  as  a  total  blank,  this  by  far  the  most  impor- 
tant period  in  England's  naval  annals  ;  and  what  are  the 
claims  of  those  to  whom  has  been  given  the  credit  of  all 
tlie  great  naval  achievements  of  the  admirals  of  the  Com- 
monwealth ? 

Let  the  reader  first  look  on  the  picture  of  the  Council  of 
State  of  the  Commonwealth  given  in  the  preceding  pao-es  • 
that   Council   in   which   "the  persons    speaking    to^he 
business  in  debate  shall  forbear  to  speak  till  those  private 
discourses  cease,  and  all  the  members  attend."  ^    And  then 
let  him  look  on  this  picture  of  the  Cabinet  Council  of 
Charles   11.      "Lord!"   says    Pepys,    "how    they    [the 
Council]    meet  l-nerer  sit   down-one    comes-another 
goes-then  comes  another;  one  complaining  that  nothing 
IS  done,  another  swearing  that  he  hath  been  here  these 
two  hours,  and  nobody  come  ;  "  or  the  King  playing  with 
his  dog  all  the  while,  and  not  minding  the  business,  or 
saying  something  "  mighty  weak  ;"  or  the  Duke  of  Buck 
mgham,  for  the  amusement  of  His  Majesty,  making  mouths 
at  the  Chancellor-or  "my  Lord  ChanceUor  or  my  Lord 
General  sleeping  and   snoring "  the  greater  part  of  the 
time  at  the  Council  table.     Such  being  the  Council,  what 
were  the  men  employed  by  them?  "  The  more  of  the  cava- 
hers  are  put  in,  the  less  of  discipline  hath  followed  in  the 
fleet ;  and,  whenever  there  comes  occasion,  it  must  be  the 
old  ones  that  must  do  any  good.    .    .    .    In  the  sea-service 
It  IS  impossible  to  do  anything  without  them,  there  not 
bemg  more  than  three  men  of  the  whole  King's  side,  that 

Offic?.''"  """'  "'  ''"'''"""'  ''  ''^^'^'  ^^^^-^-  2.  1651.  MS.   State  Paper 


1652.]      1652,    THE   GREAT   NAVAL  EPOCH   OF   ENGLAND. 


305 


are  fit  to  command  [ships]  almost."^  Soon  after  the  above 
comes  a  passage  in  Pepys,  on  a  subject  on  which  the 
Restoration  might  be  greater  than  the  Commonwealth  — 
namely,  the  matter  of  new  periwigs,  gold  buttons,  and 
"silk  tops  for  my  legs,  being  resolved,"  says  Pepys, 
"  henceforth  to  go  like  myself."^ 

The  year  1652  was,  in  truth,  the  great  naval  epoch  from 
which  the  naval  history  of  England  dates  its  origin. 
Nevertheless,  while  some  writers  have  given  to  Cromwell 
all  the  credit  of  all  that  was  then  done,  other  writers 
Iiave  passed  over  this  momentous  period  as  a  total  blank ; 
and  have  given  all  the  honour  that  belonged  to  those 
great  statesmen  and  their  great  Admiral,  to  that  reign, 
never  to  be  remembered  by  Englishmen  without  mdig- 
nation  and^^shame,  Trhen  u  King  of  England,  while  crowds 
of  unpaid  and  starving  seamen  swarmed  in  the  streets  of 
the  seaports,  and  clamorously  beset  the  gate  of  the  Navy 
Ofiice  in  London,  could  still  si)are  money  from  his  harlots, 
not  to  pay  the  starving  seamen,  to  whom  it  belonged,  but 
to  corrupt  the  members  of  the  House  of  Cbinmons ;  to 
that  reign  when  the  English  people  saw  a  Dutch  fleet  sail 
up  the  Medway,  and  burn  their  ships  in  their  very  har- 
bours, and  when  the  Dutch  cannon  startled  the  effeminate 
tyrant  in  his  palace.  Those  Englishmen  whose  nature 
had  not'1)een  thoroughly  corrupted  by  debauchery  and 
falsehood^  might,  in  that  dark  and  evil  time,  reflect  with 
bitterness  of  spirit  on  the  contrast  between  that  Council  of 
State,  whose  fleets  and  armies  had  made  England  famous 
and  terrible  over  the  world,  and  that  Cabinet  Council  of 
Charles  II.  whose  proceedings  resembled  those  of  a  pack 
of  mischievous  baboons. 


»  Pepys^s    i^iary,   JuiTe  2  and  24,         '  "  The  year  Sixty  [1660],  the  jp^iid 

1663.  epoch    of    falsehood   as  well  as    de- 

-  Ibid.  OctoLerSO,  1663.  hixnchcryy^ South.   "■'^'"^ 

VOL.   II.  X"*"^ 


) 


r 

II 
11 


306 


COMMONWEALTn   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIV. 


1652.] 


BllEAKING   THE  ENEMY'S   LINE. 


307 


\ 


While  some  writers  have  passed  over  entirely  this 
period  of  our  naval  annals,  Clerk,  in  the  Introduction  to 
his  "  Naval  Tactics,"  and  Charnock,  in  the  Preface  to  his 
"  Marine  Architecture,"  have  given  altogether  erroneous 
accounts  of  the  great  sea-fights  of  1652-3.  They  have 
stated,  having  no  accurate  records  of  the  operations  to 
guide  them,  that  in  those  sea-fights  of  1652-3,  the  English 
did  not  fight  in  line,  but  ''  promiscuously,  and  all  out  of 
order."  Whereas  we  have  the  distinct  alid  express  testi- 
mony of  Admiral  Sir  William  Penn,  that  the  English  fought 
in  line  whenever  they  beat  the  Dutch. ^  And  not  only  was 
the  principle  of  fighting  in  line,  but  also  that  of  breaking  the 
line,  known  and  acted  upon  in  that  famous  Dutch  war  of 
1652  3.  It  appears,  from  the  authorities  cited  below,^  that 
so  far  from  the  English  fleet  engaging  in  line  for  the  first 
tim.e  in  June  1665,  and  breaking  through  the  enemy's  fleet 
for  the  first  time  in  April  1782,  the  English  fleet  performed 
both  those  operations  in  June  1653.  Indeed,  it  is  ridiculous 
to  suppose  that  a  man  of  such  intelligence  as  Blake  should 
have  fiiiled  to  perceive  what  Lord  Eodney  has  so  well 
described  in  his  note,  printed  in  the  third  edition  of  Mr. 
Clerk's  book ;  Mr.  Clerk's  friends  having  erroneously 
claimed  for  him  the  idea  of  breaking  the  enemy's  line  as  a 
new  discovery.     "  It  is  well  known,"  says  Lord  Eodney, 

•  Popys's  Diary,  July  4,  166G;  white.  This  shows  that  the  fleet 
Granville  Penn,  vol.  i.  p.  40L  was  regularly  formed  in  line,  or  (as  in 

*  See  Sir  Joseph  Jordan's  "  Journal  this  case)  in  column.  Ludlow  says, 
on  the  Vanguard,  1653,"  copied  from  |*  Lawson,  who  commanded  the  blue 
tlio  original  MS.  of  Vice-Admiral  (af-  squadron,  charged  through  the  Dutch 
terwards  Sir  Joseph)  Jordan,  found  fleet  with  forty  shiipH."— Memoirs,  vol. 
among  the  papers  of  Sir  William  Penn,  ii.  p.  466  :  2nd  edition,  London,  1721. 
and  printed  in  Granville  Penn's  "Me-  Again,  in  Monk's  report  of  the  action 
morials  of  Sir  William  Penn  "  (  vol.  i.  of  July  31,  1653,  he  says  :  "The  Bcso- 
pp.  622-540).  Sir  Joseph  Jordan's  hitio77,  with  the  Worcester  frigate,  led 
Journal  states  that  on  Juno  2,  1653,  the  English  fleet  in  a  desperate  and 
the  blue  or  rear-admiral's  squadron  gallant  charge  through  the  whole  Dutch 
fli-st  came  into  action, then  the  general's  fleet." 

Mi-  ikd,  and  then  the  viee-admirul's  or 


"  that  attempting  to  bring  to  action  the  enemy,  ship  to 
ship,  is  contrary  to  common  sense,  and  a  proof  that  that 
admiral  is  not  an  officer,  whose  duty  it  is  to  take  every  ad- 
vantage of  an  enemy,  and  to  bring,  if  possible,  the  whole 
fleet  under  his  command  to  attack  half  or  part  of  the 
enemy,  by  which  he  will  be  sure  of  defeating  the  enemy, 
and  taking  the  ]3art  attacked  ;  and  likewise  defeating  the 
other  part  by  detail,'  unless  they  make  a  timely  retreat. 
During  all  the  commands  Lord  Eodney  has  been  entrusted 
with,  he  made  it  a  rule  to  bring  his  whole  force  against 
part  of  the  enemy's,  and  never  was  so  absurd  as  to  bring 
ship  against  ship  when  the  enemy  gave  him  an  opportunity 
of  acting  otherwise." " 


»  Mr.  Granville  Penn  (vol.  ii.  p.  358) 
by  way  Of  slill  ful-ther  proof  that 
the  idea  of  dividing  an  enemy's  lino 
and  defeating  the  divided  parts  does 
not  owe  its  origin  to  Mr.  Clerk,  but 
was  familiar  long  before,  quotes  these 
words :  "  Le  due  pouvait  aisement  se- 
jmrer  une  partie  de  la  Jiotte  de  r autre 
et  la  battre  separtment.''^ — Basnage, 
Annales  des  Provinces  Unies,  torn.  i. 
p.  741:  published  in  1726. 

^  I  quote  this  note  of  Lord  Rodney, 
which  explains  the  whole  subfecl  both 
of  outflanking  and  of  breaking  the  line 
with  admirable  clearness  and  brevity, 
from  Mr.  Granville  Penn's  "Memorials 
of  Admiral  Sir  William  Penn,"  vol.  ii. 
p.  354:  London,  1833.  "Here  Lord 
Eodney,"  observes  Mr.  Granville 
Penn,  "  has  placed  the  manoeuvre 
upon  its  true  ground  of  sound  common 
sense  acting  in  a  mind  moulded  to 
practical  seamanship.  AVhat  has 
given  so  disproportioned  a  character 
of  sagacity  to  this  operation  has  been 
the  manner  in  which  it  was  presented 
to  the  world  by  Clerk,  who,  profess- 
be    no   seaman,    nor 


ing   himself    to 


ever  to  have  been  at  sea,  but  fond  of 
scientiflcally  contemplating  naval  evo- 
lutions in  the  abstract,  was  forcilJy 
struck  with  the  ingenuity  and  sound- 
ness of  the  idea  which  had  suggested 
itself  to  his  mind  in  his  closet,  and 
proclaimed  it  in  a  tone  of  exultation, 
from  which  he  would  have  abstained 
had  he  been  a  seaman — a  proceiding 
not  uncommon  with  persons  of  inge- 
nuity, who  hit  upon  a  point  in  a  science 
foreign  to  their  vocation,  and  who  are 
induced  to  think  that  they  have  struck 
out  something  quite  new,  because  they 
are  not  aware  that  others  have  already 
thought  of  it.  *  *  *  *  That  it 
was  original  in  Clerk  is  reasonably  to 
be  inferred,  because  he  had  no  ex- 
ample to  guide  or  instruct  him  ;  but 
that  Sir  Charles  Douglas  (Rodney's 
flag-captain),  or  Lord  Rodney,  de- 
rived the  idea  from  Clerk,  cannot  with 
any  reason  bo  insisted  on,  now  that  we 
have  discovered  that  conmiauders 
placed  in  similar  circumstances  with 
those  disti\iguished  officers,  conceived 
and  used  the  idea  more  than  a  century 
before    Clerk   appeared."      This    last 


X  2 


I 


808 


COMMONWKILTII   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIV. 

I  have  not  the  least  doubt  that  Blake  acted  on  this 
princple  throughout  his  career.     To  do  so  only  required 
that  amount  of  sagacity  and  courage  which  Blake  pos- 
sessed, and  which  in  their  highest  degree  may  be  called 
genius.     It  may  be  almost  superfluous  to  add,  that  the 
above-mentioned  operation  in  n^val  affairs  is  equivalent  to 
what  IS  ca  led  the  "  flank  movement  "  in  military  affairs. 
One  of  the  best  examples  of  the  operation  and  effect  of 
this  flank  movement  in  naval  affairs,  of  which  what  is 
called    breaking  the  enemy's  line  "  is  only  one  form,  is  Nel- 
son s  mode  of  attacking  the  French  fleet  at  the  Battle  of 
the  Nile,  by  placing  a  part  of  the  French  fleet  between 
two  parts  of  his  own  fleet,  and  thus  defeating  the  enemy's 
whole  fleet.     At  the  Battle  of  Trafalgar  Nelson's   fleet 
accomplished  the  same  object  by  breaking  through  the 
enemy  s  fleet  in  two  places. 

Tliough  the  real  cause  of  the  war  on  the  part  of  the 
Dutch  was,  to  use  the  words  of  Hobbes,  "  their  greediness 
to  en^gro^traffic".  yet,  as  this  was  an  argument  which 
they  could  not  very  well  put  forward,  they  chose  to  be<.in 
the  war  by  refusing  to  strike  the  flag,  or  acknowledge  The 
Enghsh  dominion  of  the  seas.  The  Dutch  showed  good 
policy  m  making  the  question  of  the  flag  the  pretext  for 
the  war ;  since  this  pretext  had  the  colour  of  resisting  a 
t,.anny  which  all  the  great  maritime  nations  were  equally 
With  them  concerned  to  oppose. 

statement  is  made  to  meet  the  follow-  he  om^U  r^,,f  v  • 

ing  obsen-atlon,  which  naturally  sug-  m^be  add  /whip"''"-      f  "'^  " 

gested  itself,  and  which  Mr.  Granvilte  hylZ  '''^*''^''' ^''='' ^pammondas  did 

Penn  quotes  in  a  note-    "ThToMv  ^ '•""^' """•"*"■' 2.000  years  before 

wonder,"  says  the  Qulrterly  Review  ^^f^'^'" -^^^om.    Steam  and  gun- 

operation  should  not  have  been   dh-  !"i     "               ^"T"  ""^^  ''?  *"*■'"» 

covered,   and    practi.sed   ceneranv    a  T     ^"'^^^'''  ">e  intellectual   su- 

oontury  before  Either  Kod^;::';^;.,.,^  "ZL"     ^ ri^LT"  '"-- 

was  bom.     It  ,s  only  acting  l,y  sea  ■  II„bbes's  I^  emoth       ^S7  T 

.ha.  Bonaparte  d,d  by  land,  wherever  don,.  1682 ;  an.f:;:  ^.J I'lM' 


1652.]     ENGLAND'S  CLAIM  TO  THE  HONOUR  OF  THE  FLAG.       309 

Sir  William  Temple  carries  back  the  claim  of  Eno-land 
to  the  dommion  of  the  seas  surrounding  Great  Britain  as 
far  as  the  year  960.^  What  was  implied  by  ITiis  dominion 
of  the'^^a-fe j  ^^"f^garded  the  honour  of  the  flag,  is  explained 
by  the  13th  article  of  the  Treaty  of  Westminster  (5th 
April,  1654),  which  article  is  this  :  "That  the  ships  and 
vessels  of  the  said  United  Provinces,  as  well  those  of  war 
as  others,  which  shall  meet  any  of  the  men-of-war  of  this 
Commonwealth  in  the  British  seas,  sliall  strike  their  fla<T^ 
and  lower  the  topsail,  in  such  manner  as  the  same  hath 
ever  been  observed,  at  any  times  heretofore,  under  any 
other  form  of  government.  "^  Whether  or  not  this  claim 
on  the  part  of  England  was  as  old  as  the  year  9G0,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  it  was  old,  and  had  given  rise  to  much 
controversy. 

In  1635  had  been  published  the  celebrated  treatise  of 
Seidell,  entitled  "Mare  Clausum,"wEicli  maintains  the 
right  of  England  to  exclude  the  fishermen  of  HoUand  from 
seas  which  England  asserted  to  be  her  own,  in  answer  to 
the  treatise  of  Grotius,  entitled  "  Mare  Liberum,"  which 
denied  the  right.  But  the  concession  to  England  of  the 
honour  of  the  flag  by  the  States  of  Holland,  in  the  treaty 
above  cited,  and  concluded  at  Westminster  on  the  5th  of 
April  1654,  was  the  first  formal  concession  of  that  honour 
by  any  foreign  Power.^  It  may  be  mentioned,  as  an  example 


•  Sir  W.  Temple's  Introduction  to 
the  History  of  England :  Works,  vol. 
iii.  p.  103,  8vo.  Granville  Penn,  vol.  i. 
p.  397. 

2  Granville  Penn,  vol.  i.  p.  577,  Ap- 
pendix G. 

^  The  inconveniences  arising  from 
the  honour  of  the  flag  appear  from 
the  following  letter  from  the  Protector, 
Richard  CromweU,  to  General  Mon- 


tague:— "My  Lord,  by  your  instruc- 
tions you  are  to  demand  the  flag  of 
such  foreign  ships  as  you  shall  ren- 
counter  in    the    British    seas,    upon 
which  some  doubt  hath  been  how  far 
the   British    seas    extend.      But    not 
being  willing  to  determine  that  in  our 
instructions,  we  ratlier  put,  in  general 
terms,   the    British    S(as    only.     Wo 
judge  there  is  no  (Question  of  all  the 


M 


310  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XIV. 

Of  the  nianner  in  wLich  this  most  important  period  of 
English  History  has  been  treated  by  writers  even  of  note, 
that  Sir  WiUiam  Temple,  in  his  "  Review  of  the  Origin,' 
the  Elevation,  and  the  Fall  of  the  Naval  Power  of  Holland," 
passes  over  in  perfect  silence  the  whole  of  this  first  Dutch 
Avar,  together  with  all  the  naval  events  and  achieve- 
ments of  the  Commonwealth;  and  puts  forward  the  victory 
obtained  under  the  Duke  of  York,  in  1665,  in  the  second 
Dutch  war  (which  he  calls  the  first),  as  the  blow  that  first 
brought  down  the  Dutch  Eepublic. 

While  the  Dutch,  through  their  ambassadors   extra- 
ordinary, whom  they  had  sent  to  London,  professed  to  treat 
of  peace,  they  fitted  out  a  fleet  of  forty  saU  of  men-of-war, 
and  placed  it  under  the  command  of  their  Admiral,  Tromp' 
with  instructions  to   this  effect.     Tromp  having  desired 
the  States  to  give  him  directions  how  he  should  behave 
towards  the  English  concerning  the  honour  of  the  flag,  the 
States  asked  him  how  he  had  behaved  on  that  point  in  the 
time   of  King   Charles.     Tromp   replied,  that  when  any 
English  vessels  happened  to  meet  them  towards  Calais  or 
near  the  coast  of  England,  especially  if  the  English  tvere 
strmgcst,  the  Hollanders  used  to  salute  them  with  some 
discharge   of  their  cannon,  and  by  lowering  their  fla-. 
Thereupon  the  States  left  the  matter  to  his  discretion ; 
ordering  him  to  do  nothing  to  the  disadvantage  of  the 
nation,  or  prejudicial  to  the  glory  of  the  State  ;  and  that 
he  should  defend  their  vessels  against  any  that  should 
attack  them.' 

Martin  Harpertz  (Herbert)  Tromp  was,  like  his  great 

sea  on  this  side  of  the  Shagenriife,  war  and  pea^e  depend  on  it.-Your 

{Siagrnff  north  point  of  Jutlund);  loving  friend,  &e."    Whitehall,  March 

on  the  other  side  you  have  need  be  18,  \'c.b%.~Thu-rhe,  vol.  vii.  p  633 
ender,  and  to  avoid  all  disputes  of        ■  The  Life  of  Cornelius  Van  Tromp 

this  naturr,  if  it  be  possible,  becausfe  p.  13,  London,  1697 


1652.] 


MARTIN    IlAIirERTZ   TROMP. 


311 


i 


opponent  Robert  Blake,  a  man  who  had  risen  to  command 
solely  by  his  own  personal  merits.  Yet  there  was  a 
sfcrange  difference  between  the  two  great  admirals  as  re- 
garded their  early  education.  While  the  education  of 
Blake  had  been,  as  we  have  seen,  that  of  a  scholar  and  an 
English  gentleman,  the  education  of  Tromp  had  been  from 
his  early  boyhood  that  of  a  plain  rough  seaman — one  of 
that  class  of  men  whom  the  foppery  of  the  Restoration 
denominated  tarpaulins.  Yet,  different  as  was  the  early 
education  of  the  two  great  admirals,  they  had  many 
qualities  in  common,  and  may  indeed  be  said  to  have 
been  kindred  spirits.  There  is  a  certain  likeness  even' 
in  the  fearless,  good-humoured,  and  open  expression  of 
their  bold  bluff  square  faces ;  ^  tliougli  Blake's  features, 
with  the  short  curved  upper  lip,  and  finely-chiselled  nose, 
mouth,  and  chin,  are  much  handsomer  than  Tromp's.  They 
resembled  each  other  too  in  the  homeliness  of  their 
manners,  and  their  kindness  to  their  sailors.  Tromp  was 
unlike  Blake  in  this,  that  he  accej)ted  knighthood  and 
armorial  bearings  from  kings — namely,  from  Charles  I.  of 
Enofland  and  Louis  XIII.  of  France ;  ^  but  he  is  said  to 
have  declined  every  offer  to  raise  him  into  the  ranks  of 
the  nobility. 

Tromp  was  born  at  the  Brill  in  1597,  and  was  but  nine 
years  old  wKen  "he' first  we^rrTto"  sea  with  his  father,  Har- 
pertz Martin  Tromp,  who  commanded  a  ship  in  the  fieet  of 
Admiral  Heemskerk  in  1607.  Young  Tromp  was  thus 
present  at  the  battle  fought  near  Gibraltar,  on  the  25tli  of 
April  of  that  year,  between  the  Dutch  and  Spanish  fleets, 
where  the  former  gained  a  victory  and  lost  their  admiral. 

'  See  the  very  characteristic  portrait     Dixon's  "Eohert  Bhike." 
of   Tromp  in  Granville  Penn,  vol.  i.         2  Granville    Penn,    vol.    i.   p.   407, 
p.  407 ;  and  the  portrait  of  Blake  in     note  3. 


312 


. 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIV. 

Some  time  after,  Tromp's  father,  while  cruising  oif  the 
coast  of  Guinea,  was  killed  in  an  engagement  with  an 
Enghsh  pnvateer,  and  his  ship  captured.  For  about  two 
years  and  a  half  young  Tromp,  it  is  said,  was  constrained 
to  serve  the  captain  of  the  English  privateer  as  liis  eabin- 
boj.  After  this  he  made  several  voyages  on  board 
merchant-ships.  In  1622  he  was  made  a  Ueutenant; 
and  two  years  after  Prince  Maurice  made  him  captain  of  a 
small  frigate. 

In  1629  the  celebrated  Admiral  Piet  Hein  hoisted  his 
flag  in  the  ship  commanded  by  Tromp,  and  went  to  cruise 
against  the  Spaniards  off  the  coast  of  Flanders.     On  the 
20th  of  August  the  Admiral  fell  by  the  side  of  Tromp  in 
an  engagement  in  which  three  Spanish  ships  were  taken. 
His  testimony  as  to  Tromp  was  that  he  had  known  many 
brave  captains,  but  that  Tromp  exceeded  them  all  in  the 
qualities  necessary  in  an  admiral.     About  this  time  Tromp 
quitted  the  service  in  disgust,  in  consequence  of  considering 
himself  lUused  by  the  Dutch  Government.     In  1637  Tromp 
received  a  commission  to  command  the  fleet  as  Lieutenant- 
Admiral.     With  this  fleet  he,  in  1637  and  1638,  took  so 
many  ships  from  the  Spaniards,  that  the  States  presented 
him  with  a  gold  chain,  and  the  King  of  France  gave  him 
the  Order  of  St.  Michael.    In  April  1639  Tromp  again  set 
sail,  to  cruise  against  the  Spaniards  off  the  coasts  of  France 
and  England ;  and  on  the  21  st  of  October  he  attacked  a  Ume 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  fleet  at  the  back  of  the  Goodwins 
and  defeated  and  dispersed  it,  taking  thirteen  richly-laden 
galleons.     Tromp,  like  Blake,  was  so  beloved  by  his  sea 
men  that   both  the  captains  and  mariners  used  to  call 
liim  their  father,  and  Tromp  used  to  call  them  his  children.' 

'  Life  of  Cornelius  Van  Tromn  nn      P^r^r,        i     • 
.57-159.    London     1697;     ZnX    K  ''  ^^  '"''  """  ^P^^""- 


N 


1652.1 


BLAKE'S  RESEMBLANCE   TO   NELSON 


There  appears,  however,  to  have  been  a  eeiCain  portion 
of  craft,  amounting  at  times  to  an  unscrupulous  use  of 
falsehood,  in  the  character  of  Tromp,  which  I'endered  him 
more  li^  Monk  than  Blake.  For,  hy  the~cohcurring  tes- 
timony of  all  writers  of  all  parties,  Blake  possessed  in  an 
eminent  degree  the  qualities  that  formed  the  great  charm 
of  Nelson's  character — strong  good  sense,  an  affectionate 
heart,  a  high  and  fearless  spmtyardisposition  not  merely 
averse  to  falsehood  or  artifice,  hut  in  the  highest  degree 
frank,  open,  and  truthful;  a  contempt  of  money,  and  a 
passion  for  the  glory  and^onour  of  his  country .  As  it 
has  been  said  of  Nelson,  it  maybe  said  of  Blake,  that  these 
qualities  formed  no  small  part  of  his  genius ;  they  secured 
to  him  the  attachment  and  confidence  of  those  he  led,  to 
that  degree  which  made  actions  possible  that  might  have 
been  otherwise  impossible.  It  may  also  be  said  of  Blake, 
as  has  been  said  of  Nelson,  that  his  understanding  was 
concentrated  on  that  occupation  which  so  late  in  life 
became  his  profession ;  and  that  danger,  as  it  always 
excites  when  it  does  not  disturb,  by  stimulating  his  mind 
in  the  moment  of  action,  roused  his  genius  to  the  highest 
exertions. 

On  Tuesday  the  18th  of  May,  1652,  while  the  Dutch  Am- 
bassadors were  still  in  London,  making  long  and  tedious 
haranofues  about  the  horrors  and  evils  of  war  and  the 
blessings  of  peace — quoting,  after  their  fashion,  authorities 
divine  and  human,  from  "  holy  fathers  of  the  Church,"  who 
"  have  said  that  men  ought  to  have  war  in  abomination," 
to  "  the  most  excellent  wines,  changed  by  corruption  into 
the  sharpest  vinegar,  as  experience  shows  us  in  natural 
things,"  and  "  those  sons  of  the  earth,  that  destroyed  one 
another,  as  we  are  told  in  the  story  of  Cadmus  "  ' — Blake, 

'  Life  of  Cornelius  Van  Tromp,  pp.  29,  30. 


^1^  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XIV. 

with  a  squadron  of  fifteen  ships,  bein-  in  Rye  Bay,  received 
intelligance  from  Major  Bourne,  who  was  stationed  with 
eight  ships  near  Dover,  that  Tromp  with  forty  sail  was  off 
the  South  SandheadJ     It  should  be  mentioned  that  a  few 
days  before,  namely,  on  the  12th  of  May,  Captain  Young, 
who  was  sailing  to  the  westward,  to  take  the-command  of 
the  west  guard,  fell  in  with  a  fleet  of  Hollanders  from 
Genoa  and  Leghorn,  under  the  protection  of  a  convoy  of 
three  Dutch  ships  of  war.    One  of  the  Dutch  ships  of  war, 
in  answer  to  Captain  Young's  request  that  he  would  strike 
his  flag,  sent^  word  that  he  would  not.     Upon  this  the 
English  and  Dutch  ships  exchanged  four  or  five  broad- 
sides ;  and  the  Dutch  captain  then  took  in  his  flag,  and 
sent  word  to  Captain  Young,  that  "  he  had  orders  from 
the  States  not  to  strike,  and  that  if  he  struck  he  would 
lose  his  head."  "  But  at  length,"  adds  Captain  Young,  ^'  he 


16o2.] 


BLAKE   AND   TROMP   IN    DOVER   ROAD. 


315 


'  Elake   to   the   Council   of   State, 
May  20,  1652.— I  quote  this  letter  of 
Blake  from  the  copy  printed  in  Mr. 
Granville  Penn's  "Memorials  of  Ad- 
miral Sir  William  Ponn"(vol.  i.  pp. 
421,  422).     Mr.  Granville  Penn  gives 
several  letters  of  Blake  from  the  ori- 
ginals, in  Blake's  handwriting,  among 
Sir  W.  Penn's  Papers.     And  though 
he   does   not    specify   this    letter    as 
printed  from  Sir  W.  Penn's  papers, 
it  may  be  inferred  that  it  is  so,  since 
it  is  neither  to  be  found  among  the 
MSS.  in  the  State  Paper  Office,  nor  in 
Thurloe's  Collection    of  State  Papers, 
the  principal  part  of  which  consists  of  a 
series  of  papers  discovered  in  the  reign 
of  King  William,  in  a  false  ceiling  in 
the   garrets   belonging     to    Secretary 
Thurloe's     chambers,    No.     13,     near 
the    chnpel    in   Lincoln's   Inn,    by  a 
clerg}-man  who   had   borrowed   those 
chambers  during  the  long  vacation  of 


his  friend  Mr.  Thomlinson,  the  owner 
of  them.     This  clergyman  soon  after 
disposed  of  the  papers  to  Lord  Somers, 
then  Lord  Chancellor,  who  caused  them 
to  be  bound  up  in  67  folio  volumes. 
These   afterwards    descended    to    Sir 
Joseph   Jekyll,  Master  of  the  Rolls ; 
upon  whose   decease   they  were  pur- 
chased by  Mr.  Fletcher  Gyles,  book- 
seller, and  published  by  Mr.  Gyles's 
executors.       These    papers    had,    no 
doubt,  been  thus  secreted  by  Thurioe 
at    the   Restoration -a   circumstance 
which  explains  the  absence  from  the 
State   Paper    Office   of    most   of    the 
papers  containing  the  voluminous  cor- 
respondence referred  to  in  the  minutes 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  Council  of 
State.      How  these  original  letters  of 
Blake  and  others  came  to  be  among 
the   papers   of  Admiral   Sir  William 
Penn  is  not  explained. 


M 


did  strike,  which  makes  me  conceive  he  had  had  enough 
ofit."^ 

Blake  was  not  a  man  to  suffer  any  honour  that  had  been 
paid  to  the  royal  flag  of  England  to  be  withheld  from  the 
flag  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  as  long  as  he  was 
alive  and  the  Admiral  of  that  Commonwealth.  Immediately 
on  the  receipt  of  this  intelligence,  he  made  all  possible 
speed  to  ply  up  towards  the  Dutch  fleet,  commanded  by 
Tromp;  and  in  the  morning  of  Wednesday  the  19th  of 
May,  1652,  he  saw  them  at  anchor  in  and  near  Dover  Road.^ 
Thus  in  the  same  straits  where,  64  years  before.  Lord 
Howard  and  the  Duke  of  Medina-Sidonia  had  brought 
their  dispute  to  an  arbitrament,  two  men,  albeit  plebeians 
and  neither  barons  nor  dukes,  of  haughtier  name  than 
either  Howard  or  Medina-Sidonia,  the  two  great  admirals 
of  the  1 7th  century,  first  came  in  view  of  each  other. 

When  Blake  came  within  three  leagues  of  the  Dutch, 
they  weighed  anchor,  "  and  stood  away  by  a  wind  to  the 
eastward ;  we  supposing,"  says  Blake,  "  their  intention 
was  to  leave  us,  to  avoid  the  dispute  of  the  flag.  About 
two  hours  after,  they  altered  their  course,  and  bore  directly 
with  us.  Van  Tromp  the  headmost ;  whereupon  we  lay  by 
and  put  ourselves  into  a  fighting  posture,  judging  they  had 
a  resolution  to  engage."^  Some  accounts  state  that  this 
alteration  of  Tromp's  course  was  caused  by  his  falling  in 
with  a  ketch  coming  from  Holland,  and  bringing  important 
orders.''  But  Blake  makes  no  mention  of  this  m  his  letter 
to  the  Council  of  State. 

There  is  so  wide  a  discrepancy  between  the  statements 

•  Captain  Young  to  the  Council  of  "William  Penn,"  vol.  i.  pp.  419-421. 

State,  May  14,  1652.— This  letter  of  2  Blake  to  the  Council  of  State,  May 

Captain  Young   is   also  quoted  from  20,  1652. 

the    copy   printed    in   Mr.    Granville  ^  Ibid,  same  date. 

Penn's    "Memorials   of    Admiral  Sir  *  Dixon's  Robert  Blake,  p.  191. 


/ 


\ 


31G  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XIV. 

made  by  the  two  admirals,  Blake  and  Tromp,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  reconcile  them,  each  stating  that  the  other 
^     fired  the  first  broadside.     Englishmen  esteem  themselves, 
I  think  justly,  as  standing  high  for  veracity  among  na- 
I    tions  ;  and  I  think  Blake  may  be  considered  as  standing 
high  for  veracity  among  Englishmen.     I  also  know  more 
of  Blake  than  I  do  of  Tromp.     Therefore,  when  these  two 
witnesses  diff"er,  I  am  inclined  to  strike  the  balance  in 
favour  of  Blake.     In  no  part  of  history  does  the  difficulty 
of  obtaining  the  exact  truth  press  so  painfuUy  upon  the 
writer,  who  is  conscientiously  dealing  with  historical  evi- 
dence in  the  search  of  historical  truth,  as  in  the  narra- 
tives of  battles.     Did  any  two  men  ever  fight  either  a 
single  combat,  or  a  great  pitched  battle  at  the  head  of  two 
fleets  or  armies,  and,  when  it  was  done,  give  the  same  ac- 
count of  it  ?     If  we  find  it  difficult  to  get  at  the  exact 
truth  in  regard  to  battles  fought  within  ten  or  fifteen 
years,  how  greatly  must  the  difficulty  be  increased  when 
we  go  back  200  years,  to  say  nothing  of  2,000  ! 

Besides  some  strong  circumstantial  evidence,  tending  to 
prove  that  Tromp  fired  the  first  broadside,  >  there  is  an 
admission  in  the  Dutch  "  Life  of  Cornelius  Van  Tromp," 
which  is  greatly  in  favour,  if  not  absolutely  conclusive,  of 
the  view  that  Tromp  was  the  aggressor.  It  is  stated,  as  a 
reason  for  laying  aside  Tromp  for  a  time,  that  his  having 
not  been  so  fortunate  in  his  last  undertakings  as  was  ex- 
pected was  "  looked  upon  as  a  judgment  u;pon  him,  for  being 
the  cause  of  that  great  warJ"^ 

I  will  now  allow  Blake  to  tell  his  story  in  his  own  clear, 
plain,  and  simple  language,  as  he  told  it  in  his  letter  to 

•  See  partici^lurly  Dixon's  "  Eobert        ^  Life    of   Cornelius   Van    Tromn, 
Elake,     pp.   192,  193  :— new  edition,     p.  72. 
pp.  158,  159. 


1652.]  FIRST  FIGHT  BETWEEN  THE  DUTCH  AND  ENGLISH-    317 

the  Council  of  State,  dated  "From  aboard  the  James,    / 
three  leagues  off  the  Hyde,  the  20th  of  May,  1652."  '   ^ 

Tromp  having,  as  stated,  stood  away,  as  if  his  intention 
was  to  avoid,  as  Blake  thought,  the  dispute  of  the  flag ; 
and  having  two  hours  after  altered  his  course,  so  as  to  bear 
directly  down  upon  Blake's  fleet,  and  to  come,  as  Blake 
asserts,  within  musket-shot  without  strikinof  his  flag",  the 
legitimate  conclusion  was  that  Tromp  did  this  in  direct 
bravado  and  defiance  of  the  fleet  of  the  English  Common- 
wealth ;  and,  consequently,  no  other  course  was  left  for 
Blake,  in  the  strict  execution  of  his  duty,  than  that  which 
he  pursued,  as  thus  described  by  himself.  It  is  important 
to  observe  that  the  words  "  being  come  within  musket - 
shot "  mean  that  Tromp  came  within  musket-shot ;  for 
Blake  had  said,  just  before,  "  We  lay  by,  and  put  ourselves 
into  a  fighting  posture  "  : — 

"  Being  come  within  musket-shot,  I  gave  order  to  fire 
at  his  flag,  which  was  done  thrice  :  after  the  third  shot  he 
let  fly  a  broadside  at  us.  Major  Bourne,  with  those  shi2:>s 
that  came  from  the  Downs,  being  eight, ^  was  then  making 
towards  us.  We  continued  fighting  till  night ;  then  our 
ship  [his  own  ship,  the  James~\  being  unable  to  sail,  by 
reason  that  all  our  rigging  and  sails  were  extremely  shat- 
tered, our  mizenmast  shot  ofi;  we  came,  with  advice  of  the 
captains,  to  an  anchor  about  three  or  four  leagues  off  the 
Ness,^  to  refit  our  ship,  at  which  we  laboured  all  the  night. 
This  morning  we  espied  the  Dutch  fleet,  about  four  leagues 
distance  from  ours,  towards  the  coast  of  France ;  and, 
by  advice  of  a  council  of  war,  it  was  resolved  to  ply  to 
windward  to  keep  the  weather-gage  ;  and  we  are  now  ready 


'  Tromp,  in  his  letter  to  the  States  with     Blake     was     fifteen. — Life 

of  the  Netherlands,  calls  the  number  Corndim  Van  Tromp,  p.  17. 

of  Bourne's  ships  twelve.     Ho  admits,  ^  Dungeness. 
however,    that   the   nnmber   of  ships 


of 


318 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIV. 


1G52.] 


THE   DUTCH   WAR   BEGUN. 


319 


to  let  fall  our  anclior  this  tide.    What  course  the  Dutch  fleet 
steers  we  do  not  well  know,  nor  can  we  tell  what  harm  we 
have  done  them ;  but  we  suppose  one  of  them  to  be  sunk, 
and  another  of  thirty  guns  we  have  taken,  with  the  cap- 
tains of  both  :  the  mainmast  of  the  first  being  shot  bj  the 
board,  and  much  water  in  the  hold,  made  Captain  Lawson's 
men  to  forsake  her.     We  have  six  men  of  ours  slain,  and 
nine  or  ten  desperately  wounded,  and  twenty-five  more  not 
without  danger;  amongst  them  our  master,  and  one  of 
his  mates,  and  other  officers.     We  have  received  about 
seventy  great  shot  in  our  ^  hull  and  masts,  in  our  sails  and 
rigging  without  number,  being  engaged  with  the  whole 
body  of  the  fleet  for  the   space  of  four  hours ;  being  the 
mark  at  which  they  aimed.     We  must  needs  acknowledge 
it  a  great  mercy  that  we  had  no  more  harm,  and  our  hope 
is  the  righteous  God  will  continue  the  same  unto  us,  if 
there  do  arise  a  war  between  us ;  they  being  the  first  in 
the  breach,  and  seeking  an  occasion  to  quaiTel,  and  watch- 
ing, as  it  seems,  an  advantage  to  brave  us  upon  our  coast. 

"  Your  most  humble  servant, 

"  Egbert  Ulake."*        A 

V 

It  may  be  mentioned,  as  a  proof  of  the  difficulty  of  ob- 
taining accurate  and  thoroughly  trustworthy  accounts  of 
the  numbers  engaged  on  such  occasions,  that  Algernon 
Sydney,  who  was  not  only  a  cotemporary,  but  a  member 


./ 


'  By  "  we  "  and  "  onr  "  Blake  means 
his  own  ship,  \\m  Jariu'»—\\\^  Admiral's 
flag- ship  on  this  occasion. 

'^  Blake  to  the  Council  of  State, 
"from  aboard  the  Janus,  three  leagues 
off  the  Hyde,  May  20,  lGo2."  "  That 
Mr.  Thurloo  do  prepare  an  extract  of 
the  several  letters  which  have  come  to 
the  Council,  giving  an  account  of  the 


fight  between  the  Dutch  fleet  and  the 
English  fleet  in  the  Downs,  as  also  of 
that  made  by  Captain  Young  off  Ply- 
mouth; and  bring  the  same  to  the  Com- 
mittee of  Foreign  Affairs  to-morrow 
morning,  who  are  to  sit  for  that  pur- 
pose."— Order  Bonk  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Monday,  May  24,  1G52,  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 


/ 


of  the  Parliament  at  this  very  time,  says — "  When  Van 
Tromp  set  upon  Blake  in  Folkestone  Bay,  the  Parliament 
had  not  above  thirteen  ships  against  threescore."^  Where- 
as the  Parliament  had  fifteen  ships  with  Blake,  which,  with 
the  eight  brought  up  by  Bourne,  made  twenty-three  against 
forty,  the  number  of  the  Dutch,  stated  in  Blake's  letter  to 
the  Council  of  State.  Also,  the  English  ships  were  gene- 
rally larger  than  the  Dutch,  carrying  more  guns  and  more 
men.  But  there  is  truth  in  the  further  remark  of  Sydney, 
which  only  does  justice  to  the  obstinate  valour  of  Blake 
and  his  seamen,  that  the  Parliament  at  this  time  "  had  not 
a  man  that  had  ever  seen  any  other  fight  at  sea  than 
between  a  merchant-ship  and  a  pirate,  to  oppose  the  best 
captain  in  the  world,  attended  with  many  others  in  valour 
and  experience  not  much  inferior  to  him."^  A  nation  that 
could  at  once  produce  such  an  admiral  as  Blake  out  of  an 
Oxford  student,  and  such  a  supply  of  naval  fighting-men 
out  of  her  merchant -seamen,  assuredly  may  laugh  at  the 
menaces  of  the  world  in  arms  agairist  her. 

On  Thursday  the  20th  of  May,  1652,  in  the  Council  of 
State,  an  order  to  make  stay  of  all  Dutch  ships  in  all  the 
ports  throughout  England,  Wales,  and  Scotland,  was  nega- 
tived when  put  to  the  vote.  But  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
following  day,  an  order  passed,  "  That  the  letters  prepared 
to  be  sent  to  the  several  ports,  concerning  the  stay  of  what 


'  Discourse  concerning  Government, 
chap.  ii.  sect.  28. 

2  Algernon  Sydney,  ibid. — Algernon 
Sydney's  father,  the  Earl  of  Leicester, 
has  also  stated  the  numbers  inaccu- 
rately in  his  Journal:  "Wednesday, 
May  19,  1652.— There  was  a  fight  at 
sea,  betwixt  Dover  and  Folkstone,  be- 
tween Van  Tromp,  Admiral  of  the 
Hollanders'  fleet,  consisting  of  forty- 


two  men-of-war;  and  Robert  Blake, 
Admiral  of  the  English  fleot,  consi.^^t- 
ing  then  only  of  about  14  sail.  This 
was  the  first  fight  between  the  nations, 
and  lasted  from  4  o'clock  in  the  even- 
ing till  after  8,  when  the  Dutch  went 
away  with  loss  of  two  ships." — Journal 
of  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  in  Bleucowe's 
Sydney  Vapirs,-^.lZb:  London,  1820. 


320 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIV. 


Dutcli  ships  are  in  tlie  several  ports  of  this  nation,  be  sent 


"1 


away 

On  the  20th  of  May,  the  Council  of  State  made  the 
following"  orders : — 

"  That  the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy,  some  of  the 
Ti-inity  House,  and  the  officers  of  the  Ordnance,  be  sent 
unto  to  come  to  the  Council  to-morrow  morning,  at  7  of  the 
clock."* 

"  That  Lieutenant-Colonel  Kelsey  be  despatched  down 
to  Dover  Castle,  and  be  authorised,  if  there  be  occasion, 
to  reinforce  himself,  and  to  entertain  200  or  300  soldiers, 
over  and  above  what  he  hath  in  garrison,  for  a  month, 
which  the  Council  will  pay ;  and  he  is  to  give  frequent  in- 
telligence to  the  Council  of  what  shall  pass  in  the  Downs, 
between  the  fleet  of  the  Commonwealth  and  the  Hollanders ; 
and  he  is  likewise  to  take  care  that  the  town  of  Sandwich 
may  be  encouraged  to  stand  up  in  their  own  defence, 
against  any  attempts  which  shall  be  made  upon  them."^ 

"  The  Council  of  State  being  certified  of  a  fight  at  sea, 
occasioned  by  a  fleet  of  ships  of  war  belonging  to  the 
States  of  the  United  Provinces  against  the  ships  of  this 
Commonwealth,  by  which  action,  especially  during  the 
time  of  the  treaty  begun  and  continued  by  the  Lords 
Ambassadors  of  the  said  States  with  the  Parliament,  when 
the  same  could  be  least  suspected  or  justified  ;  the  Council, 
doubting  that  many  people,  being  thereby  highly  incensed, 
might  make  attempts  of  violence  upon  the  said  persons  of 
the  Lords  Ambassadors,  or  any  belonging  to  them,  have 
thought  fit,  for  the  prevention  thereof,  to  order  that  some 
troops  of  horse  be  aj^pointed  to  quarter  near  the  house  of 


»  Order   Book   of  tlie    Council    of    Paper  Office. 
State,  Thursday,  May  20,  and  Friday         '-  Ihid.  May  20,  1652. 
afternoon,  May  21,  1052,    MS.    Slate         «  Ibid,  same  day. 


■«iHBi»^iiiri.aaffi^ifi)r« 


1652.]   BLAKE  THANKED  BY  PARLLVMENT  AND  COUNCIL.      321 

the  said  Ambassadors,  and  to  keep  strict  guard  about  the 
Bame,  for  their  Lordships'  preservation  and  secure  residence 
there."  *  And  on  the  afternoon  of  the  following  day,  the 
Council  ordered  that  four  files  of  musketeers  of  the  guards 
about  the  town,  and  also  twenty  horse,  be  appointed,  under 
the  command  of  some  civil  ofiicer,  to  repair  to  Chelsea  for 
the  guard  of  the  Dutch  Ambassadors.^  But  in  appointing 
this  guard  the  Council  had  no  intention  of  imposing  any 
restraint  on  the  personal  liberty  of  the  Dutch  Ambassadors, 
as  appears  from  the  following  minute  : — 

"  That  it  be  signified  to  Commissary-General  Wlialley 
that,  the  instruction  of  the  Council  in  appointing  a  guard 
at  the  house  of  the  Extraordinary  Ambassadors  of  the 
United  Provinces  being  only  for  the  safety  of  their  persons 
against  injury  and  violence,  that  he  manage  the  said 
guard  in  such  manner  that  it  may  appear  to  be  honour- 
able, and  no  restraint  at  all  upon  them  or  any  of  their 
retinue  ;  but  that  it  be  at  their  liberty,  and  the  liberty  of 
their  attendants  and  servants,  and  others  amongst  them, 
to  go  and  come  as  their  occasion  shall  require,  and  leaving 
it  wholly  to  them,  when  they  go  abroad,  whether  they  will 
have  any  guard  to  attend  them."^ 

In  the  afternoon  of  Friday  the  21st  of  May,  the  Council 
ordered : — 

"That  a  letter  be  written  to  General  Blake,  to  take 
notice  to  him  of  the  receipt  of  his  letter,  and  to  inclose  to 
him  the  copy  of  the  Order  of  Parliament,  approving  of 
what  he  relates  in  his  letter ;  to  let  him  know  the  Council 
will  take  all  possible  care  for  the  supplying  him  with 

'  Order   Book    of    the    Council   of  Memoires deMontccuculi,^.ZO -.Vhtis, 

State,  May  20,  1652,  MS.  State  Paper  17GO. 

<^ffice.  8  oixler   Book   of    the   Council    of 

2  Ibid.  Friday  afternoon,  May  21,  State,  Friday,  May  28,  1652,  MS.  State 

1652.     "Six  hommcs  font  uuo  file." —  Paper  Office. 

VOL.  II.  Y 


322 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XIV. 


victuals  and  ammunition,  and  for  the  hastening  out  of  the 
rest  of  the  ships  now  in  the  river,  which  are  to  come  to 
him  ;  to  return  him  the  thanks  of  the  Council  for  what  he 
hath  done."  * 
I  At  the  same  sitting  this  order  was  made :  "  That  the 
Council  do  sit  to-morrow  morning  at  8  of  the  clock,  as  also 
on  Monday  morning,  and  the  members  of  the  Council  be 
sent  unto  to  that  purpose  ;  and  that  the  Council  do  sit  also 
on  Lord's  Day  in  the  afternoon,  if  there  shall  be  occasion, 
which  isTeft  to  t£e  Judgmentntjf^iie-Lord-G^^eneral.''  ^ 

On  the  same  day  there  was  issued  a  great  number  of 
warrants  to  the  captains  of  the  State's  ships,  to  make 
speedy  repair  to  the  Downs,  or  wheresoever  they  shall  be 
informed  General  Blake  is,  atid  observe  the  orders  he  shall 
give  them.  Messengers  were  also  despatched  to  Harwich, 
Yarmouth,  and  elsewhere,  to  carry  orders  to  the  State's 
ships  there,  and  the  merchant-ships  in  the  State's  service, 
to  make  all  the  speed  they  could  to  join  General  Blake's 
fleet. 

On  Saturday  the  22nd  of  May,  the  Council  ordered, 
"  That  the  members  of  the  Council  be  sent  unto,  to  come 
to  the  Council  on  Monday  morning  next,  by  9  o'clock,  in 
order  to  give  audience  to  the  Dutch  Ambassadors  at  the 
Council."  3 

The  Council  of  State  met  on  the  following  day  (Sunday, 
the  23rd  of  May  1652),  and  made  the  following  orders  : 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Navy,  and  the  officers  of  the  Ordnance,  to  desire  them  to 
send  to  General  ^lake  all  the  boatswains'  and  gunners' 
stores  for  wKiclThe  hath  written."  ^ 


•  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Friday,  in  the  afternoon,  May 
Ul,  1652,  MS.  State  Paper  Office 


^  Ibid,  same  time. 

"  Ibid.  Saturday,  May  22,  1652. 

*  Ibid.  Sunday,  May  23,  1652. 


1652.] 


EXERTIONS  OF  THE   COUNCIL  OF  STATE. 


323 


"  That  a  messenger  be  despatched,  to  go  down  the  River 
of  Thames,  to  take  an  account  of  the  going  out  of  the  ships 
which  are  ready,  of  which  he  is  to  have  a  list ;  and  is  to 
give  an  account  to  the  Council  of  what  ships  are  gone,  and 
how  far  the  rest  are  on  the  way."  ^ 

"  That  the  warrant  yesterday  signed  by  the  Lord  Presi- 
dent, in  the  name  of  the  Council,  for  the  impresting  of 
men  for  the  service  of  the  fleet,  be  approved  of  as  the 
warrant  of  the  Council."* 

"  That  the  Committee  of  the  Admiralty  do  sit  to-morrow 
morning,  at  7  of  the  clock,  in  the  Council  Chamber,  and 
confer  with  the  victuallers  of  the  navy,  concerning  the 
making  of  further  provisions  of  victual  for  the  navy ;  and 
also  with  such  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy,  and  of  the 
Trinity  House,  as  have  subscribed  the  letter  to  the  Council 
concerning  the  furnishing  out  of  more  ships;  to  which 
purpose  a  summons  is  to  be  given  unto  them,  to  come  to 
the  Committee  to-morrow  morning."  ^ 

On  the  following  day  (Monday),  the  Council  evinced  their 
opinion  of  the  conduct  of  the  Dutch  by  the  following 
order : — 

"  That  the  Council  doth  declare,  that  it  is  the  pleasure 
of  this  Council,  that  none  of  the  members  thereof  do 
speak  with  the  Heer  Newport,  lately  come  from  Holland, 
or  hold  any  correspondence  with  him."* 

On  the  same  day  the  Council  ordered :  "  That  it  be 
humbly  represented  to  the  Parliament,  that  the  Council 

•  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  sadors  concerning  the  negotiation,  as 
State,  Sunday,  May  23,  1652,  MS.  to  tell  them  several  things  by  word  of 
State  Paper  Office.  mouth  that  were  entrusted  to  him  by 

2  3id.  same  day.  the  States,   ran  great   danger  of  his 

^  76ic?.  same  day.  life,"  says  the  Dutch  writer  of  the  "Life 

*  Ibid.  Monday,  May  24,  1652. —  of  Cornelius  A^an  Tromp,"  "  because  he 
Nicuport,  who  had  been  sent  over  "  as  was  taken  for  a  spy." — Life  of  Come- 
well  to  Ciirry  some  papers  to  the  ambas-  lius  Van  Tromp,  p.  32. 

t2 


324 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIV. 


finds  it  necessary,  upon  consideration  of  the  present  state  of 
affairs,  that  forty  sail  of  ships  more  should  be  taken  on, 
and  have  already  given  order  to  that  purpose.  That  the 
Parliament  be  humbly  moved,  thereupon,  to  take  it  into 
consideration,  where  money  may  be  had  for  the  paying  of 
the  said  ships."  * 

The  following,  also  made  the  same  day,  is  an  instruc- 
tive minute,  as  showing  how  easily  the  merchant-ships  of 
that  time,  being  all  armed  and  manned  by  seamen,  who,  as 
being  always  ready  to  defend  their  ships  against  pirates, 
were  to  a  certain  extent  fighting  seamen,  could  be  con- 
vei-ted  into  ships  of  war : — 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Trinity  House,  to  let  them  know  that  they  are  to  give 
directions  to  the  ten  ships  bound  for  the  Newfoundland 
fishery,  to  fall  down  forthwith  into  the  Downs,  and  there 
to  remain  with  the  fleet  till  further  orders ;  and  to  let  them 
know  that  if  the  State  shall  have  occasion  to  make  use  of 
them,  they  will  take  care  that  they  shall  receive  reasonable 
satisfaction  and  allowance  for  the  time  they  shall  be  em- 
ployed, and  that  they  shall  have  Jacks  provided  for  them."  ^ 

The  business  of  completing  the  equipment  of  the  mer- 
chant-ships for  ships  of  war,  is  further  set  forth  in  the 
following  "memorandum"  of  29th  June,  1652: — "Sir 
Arthur  Haselrig  reports  from  the  Committee  for  the 
Ordnance,  that  all  the  merchants'  ships,  which  have  been 
taken  on  to  be  an  addition  to  the  fleet,  are  all  of  them  fitted 
with  guns  and  gunners'  stores."  ^ 

On  the  24th  of  May,  the  Council  of  State  also  issued  an 
order  and  commission  to  the  Yice-Admiral  of  Essex,  and 


'  Ordor  Book  of  the  Council  of 
Stato,  Monday,  May  24,  16o2,  MS. 
Stato  Paper  Office. 


Vnd.  same  day. 

Ihid.  Tuesday.  June  29,  1652. 


1652.] 


COMMISSIONS   TO   PRESS   SEAMEN. 


325 


the  like  to  the  Vice-Admirals  of  Norfolk,  Suffolk,  Kent, 
Sussex,  and  Hants,  "  to  summon  before  them  all  the  seamen 
and  mariners  from  fifteen  to  fifty  years  of  age,  and  to  ac- 
quaint them  with  the  State's  emergency  of  service,  and  the 
want  of  seamen,  to  man  a  fleet  of  ships  now  in  preparation 
in  the  Eiver  of  Thames,  for  the  seas ;  and  withal  to  press 
for  that  service  so  many  able  seamen  as  they  can  possibly 
get,  giving  unto  each  man  xii^.  prest-money,  and  Id.  a 
mile  conduct,  from  the  place  where  they  shall  be  so  im- 
pressed, to  the  place  of  their  appearance  at  Deptford,  in 
Kent,  within  two  miles  of  London,  where  they  shall  be  en- 
tered on  board  the  respective  ships,  by  the  State's  Clerk  of 
the  Cheque,  &c.;"  "  and  you  are  to  cause  a  note  to  be 
written  by  the  clerks,  and  delivered  to  each  seaman,  speci- 
fying his  name,  age,  stature,  complexion,  where  prested, 
when  he  shall  appear  before  the  Clerk  of  the  Cheque  afore- 
said, which  must  be  with  all  expedition."  ^ 

On  Wednesday  the  26th  of  May,  "A  letter  from  the 
Commissioners  of  the  Navy  was  read,  whereby  they  desire 
directions  as  to  the  'pressing  of  five  ships  already  laden  for 
merchant  voyages :  ordered,  that  a  letter  be  written  to  the 
said  Commissioners  to  proceed  with  the  pressing  the  said  five 
ships,  and  to  give  orders  for  their  speedy  setting  forth."  ^ 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Navy,  to  let  them  know  that  the  General  of  the  Fleet  hath 
signified  his  desire  to  the  Council  to  have  a  further  number 
of  fireships  provided  for  the  fleet ;  and,  therefore,  that  they 
do  look  out  for  six  ships  fit  for  fireships,  and  provide  all 
materials  requisite  to  the  fitting  of  them  out,  and  to  certify 
their  proceedings  to  the  Council."^ 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Monday,  May  24,  1652,  MS. 
State  Paper  Office, 


2  Ihid.  Wednesday,  May  26,  1652. 

3  Ihid.  same  day. 


326  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XIV. 

On  Thursday  the  27th  of  May,  the  Council  ordered, 
"  That  Mr.  Bond  be  desired  to  acquaint  the  Parliament 
with  the  Dover  seamen's  voluntary  and  cheerful  going  aboard 
the  fleet  before  the  engagement ;  "  and  "  that  a  sum  of  money 
be  provided  for  repair  of  Dover  Pier."  ' 

On   Saturday  the   29th  of  May,  the  Council  ordered, 
"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  General  Blake,  to  enclose 
unto  him  the  letter  from  the  Mayor  of  Weymouth,  giving 
notice  of  the  coming  by  of  sixty  sail  of  Dutch  ships  toward 
the  Downs ;  to  desire  him  to  make  stay  of  them,  or  any 
other  ships  belonging  to  the  Dutch,  and  send  them  into 
port,  or  secure  them  otherwise  as  he  shall  think  fit,  without 
embezzlement,  or  taking  anything  from  them,  provided  it 
be  not  to  divert  from  prosecuting  his  former  instructions."  ^ 
"  That  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  of  the  Admiralty 
to  consider  how  the  charge  of  keeping  of  the  Dutch  pri- 
soners at  Dover  may  be  satisfied,  and  report  their  opinions 
to  the  Council."|3 

On  Monday  the  31st  of  May,  the  Council  ordered,  ^'  That 
a  warrant  be  issued  to  the  victuallers  of  the  fleet,  t  J  victual 
the  whole  fleet,  except  Sir  George  Ayscue's  squadron,  and 
the  ships  that  came  lately  home  from  the  southward,  under 
the  command  of  Captain  Penn,  till  the  1st  of  October  next."^ 

On  Tuesday  the  1st  of  June,  the  Council  received  a 
letter  from  General  Blake,  concerning  his  want  of  men. 
At  this  time  the  CouncH  were  in  constant  communication 
with  Blake.  Several  letters  were  written  to  him  every  or 
almost  every  day,  many  of  them  concerning  the  disposal  of 
the  numerous  prizes  taken  by  him  from  the  Dutch.  Thus, 
on  the  2nd  of  June,  "  That  a  letter  be  written  to  General 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Thursday,  May  27,  1652,  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 


2  Ibid.  Saturday,  May  29,  1652. 

'  Ibid,  same  day.    . 

*  Ibid.  Monday,  May  31,  1652. 


1652.]   GKEAT  LOSS  OF  SHIPS  AND  GOODS  BY  THE  DUTCH.    327 

Blake,  to  take  notice  of  the  receipt  of  his  letter  of  the  1st 
of  June ;  to  let  him  know  he  is  to  send  the  Dutch  ships 
taken  by  him  into  the  Eiver  of  Thames,  and  to  send  all  the 
common  seamen,  if  they  be  not  English,  into  Holland  by 
the  first  opportunity,  and  cause  the  captains  and  com- 
manders of  the  said  ships  to  be  secured."  ^ 

By  the  14th  of  June,  however,  the  Council  had  changed 
their  mind  about  the  disposal  of  the  Dutch  common  sea- 
men : — "  That  a  letter  be  writ::en  to  General  Blake,  to  take 
notice  of  the  receipt  of  his  letter,  and  the  enclosed  list  of 
Dutch  ships  taken ;  to  desire  him  to  send  such  ships  as  are 
already  taken,  and  such  as  shall  hereafter  be  taken,  into 
the  River  of  Thames,  and  to  give  notice  of  the  sending 
of  them  to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Customs,  to  whose 
care   the  Council  have  committed  the  managing  of  that 
business,  both   as  to  the  securing  of  the   ships,  as  also 
goods,  without  embezzlement ;  to  let  him  know  that,  not- 
withstanding the  former  Order  of  the  Council,  whereby  he 
was  directed  to  send  home  the  common  seamen,  he  is  now 
to  permit  them  to  remain  aboard  their  ships  till  further 
order,  provided  the  ships  (notwithstanding  their  remain- 
ing aboard)  be  secured ;  to  desire  him  to  give  directions 
to  all  officers  of  the  Customs,  when  there  shall  be  occasion 
to  put  in  any  Dutch  ships,  to  secure  the  ships  and  take 
a  strict  account  of  the  goods,  and  preserve  them  from  em- 
bezzlement, and  to  send  them  to  London  with  the  first 
opportunity  of  a  safe  convoy,  to  be  disposed  of  by  the 
Commissioners  of  the  Customs."^ 

The   effect   of  these   proceedings   on   the   part  of  the 
English  Commonwealth,  carried  out  with  a  vigour   and 

»  Order  Book    of   the   Council   of        ^  Ibid.  Monday  morning,  June  14, 
State,  Wednesday,  June  2,  1652,  MS.      1652. 
State  Paper  Office. 


328  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XIV. 

energy  of  which  Europe  had  seen  no  example  for  ages, 
was  such  as  somewhat  to  disturb  the  schemes  of  the  Dutch, 
who,  confident  in  the  strength  of  their  navy  and  the  ability 
of  their  admirals,  had  reckoned  on  an  easy  conquest  of  the 
navy  of  the  Commonwealth   of  England.      Cotemporary 
Dutch  wi'iters  inform  us  that  the  Dutch  merchants  "  were 
almost  out  of  their  wits,  by  reason  of  the  great  loss  they 
daily  sustained,  both   of  their   ships    and   goods,  which 
became  a  prey  to  the  English  privateers."  '     It  is  probable 
that  the  Dutch  were  about  as  sincere  in  their  professions 
of  treating   about   peace,    as   PhHip   II.    and   Alexander 
Famese  had  been,  sixty-four  years  before,  while  they  were 
preparing  the  Spanish  Armada.     It  is  probable  that  the 
Dutch  Government  of  1652  were  as  much  determined  on 
the   destruction  of  the  English  Commonwealth  of  1652, 
as  Philip  II.  was  determined  on  the  destruction  of  the 
English  Monarchy  of  1588.     But  the  Dutch  of  1652  were 
destined   to   discover,  somewhat   late,  that   the   English 
Government  of  1652  was  a  far  more  able  and  energetic 
Government  than  the  English  Government  of  1588;  that 
Blake  was  an  enemy  far  more  formidable  than  Drake ;  and 
that  the  English  navy  of  1652  was  a  navy  able  to  contest  the 
dominion  of  the  seas  with  them,  the  greatest  naval  Power 
that,  down  to  that  time,  had  ever  appeared  in  the  world. 

If,  before  the  fight  that  has  been  described  between 

Blake  and  Tromp,  the  English  Parliament  and  Council  of 

^  State  gave  a  cold  reception  to  the  pacific  professions  of  the 

Dutch  Ambassadors,  still  more  coldly  and  unfavourably 

n  ' '^^\f  .^''?'^^"   J^l   ^'""'P'  '"^^"^  ^^^^^^   29,  are   estimated   a^ 

p.   37.-Of  the  losses  of  the  Dutch  being   -  most    richly    laden    (one    of 

merchants,  some  idea  may  be  formed  them     of     30     guns),    worth     above 

from  the  fact  that  six  Dutch  "  Straits-  £200,000."- (?.aLi   Zn     vol  T 

men,"  taken  by  Captain  Penn,  as  no-  p.  438.  - 

tified  to  the  Council  in  his  letters,  re- 


1652.]  THE  PAELIAMENT  AND  THE  DUTCH  AMBASSADORS.   329 

did  they  receive  the  further  professions  of  those  ambassa- 
dors, made  after  that  event.  The  temper  of  mind  of  the 
Council  of  State  is  shown  by  the  following  order,  made 
by  them  on  Friday  the  4th  of  June  : — 

"  That  a  Committee  be  appointed,  to  prepare  an  answer 
as  to  the  Dutch  papers,  in  pursuance  of  the  Order  of 
Parliament  of  the  4th  of  June  instant,  as  well  upon  the 
grounds  expressed  in  a  paper  now  read,  as  the  gi'ounds 
now  debated  in  the  Council ;  and  that,  by  way  of  aggrava- 
tion, mention  be  made  in  the  said  answer,  that  the  late 
act  of  hostility  committed  by  the  Dutch  fleet  upon  the 
English  was  during  the  treaty ;  and  that  Sir  Henry  Vane, 
Lord-President,  Lord-Commissioner  Lisle,  the  Lord- 
General,  Lord  Bradshaw,  Mr.  Scott,  &c.,  or  any  three  of 
them,  be  a  Committee  for  the  purpose."* 

The  answer  referred  to  above,  as  well  as  the  answer 
made  a  week  or  two  later  to  Adrian  Pauw,  Pensionary  of 
Holland,  sent  as  another  ambassador-extraordinary,  par- 
ticularly insisted  upon  the  point  indicated  in  the  above 
minute  of  the  Council  of  State  :  that  the  Dutch  had  made, 
during  the  negotiation  of  a  treaty,  an  unexpected  attempt 
upon  the  English  fleet— an  attempt  "  hy  surjyrise,''  which, 
imder  the  circumstances,  amounted  to  treachery  and  false- 
hood,   to  "  destroy  our  fleet,  which  is  our  harrier  and  our 
securest  rampart,  and  hy  that  means  to  expose  this  Common- 
wealth to  an   invasion:'  ^     The  answer  further  set  forth, 
"  that  if  the  attempts  made  by  the  Holland  fleet,  as  much 
hy  surprise  as  it  was,  had  succeeded  according  to  their 
hopes,  the  Commonwealth  of  England  would  have  been 
itself  plunged  into  the  greatest  disasters  imaginable,  and 

1  Order  Book    of    the- Council   of        ^  Life   of    Cornelius   Van    Tromp, 
State,  Friday,  June  4,  1652,  MS.  State     p.  37. 
Paper  Office. 


330  C0MM0NWK4LTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XIV. 

that,  therefore,  it  was  not  reasonable,  after  thej  had  been 
so  miraculously  preserved,  that  they  should  expose  them- 
selves again  to  the  like  disgraces  for  the  future.  That 
they  could  not  suffer  themselves  to  be  any  longer  amused 
under  the  specious  pretence  of  an  examen,  or  by  examples  not 
pertinent  to  their  case,  of  what  other  States  may  have  done ; 
but  that  rather  they  were  resolved  to  employ  those  means 
which  necessity  and  the  nature  of  the  fact  require  to  be 
used;  that,  besides,  they  could  not  consent  to  the  con- 
clusion of  a  treaty  of  aUiance,  till  they  had  received 
satisfaction  about  the  point  in  question."  * 

The  Parliament  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  as 
they  style   themselves,   in   these  answers   to  the   Dutch 
Ambassadors,  also  declare  that,  "  after  a  mature  delibera- 
tion, and  examination  of  the  writings  which  their  Excel- 
lencies the  Ambassadors  of  the  United  Provinces  have  put 
into  their  hands,  although  the  Parliament  were  inclined 
to  receive  favourably  the   expressions   contained   in   the 
aforesaid  writings,  tending   to   represent   the   late   fight 
between  the  two  fleets  as  a  thing  that  happened  without 
the  knowledge  and  against  the  wiU  of  their  High  Mighti- 
nesses ;  yet  upon  due  reflection  made  thereon,  it  appears 
that  the  resolutions  of  the  States  and  the  conduct  of  their 
admirals    do   noways    agree   with    all    those    protestations, 
especially   at   a    time   whilst    a   treaty   of    alliance   was 
managing,  which  they   themselves  had  sought   for,  and 
which  had  been  negotiated  by  their   own  ambassadors. 
Besides,  what  could  be  the  scope   of  so   formidable   an 
arming  of  150  ships  of  war,  made  by  them  without  any 
occasion  for  it,  but  to  wrest   from  England  by   force  of 
arms  her  ancient  prerogatives,    and  the  rights  she  has 
over  the  seas  ;  and  that,  further,  they  aim  at  nothing  else 

'  Life  of  Cornelius  Van  Tromp,  pp.  49,  50. 


1652. 


ANOTHER  AMBASSADOR  FROM  HOLLAND. 


331 


but  the  destruction  of  our  fleet,  which  is  our  barrier  and 
our  securest  rampart,  and  by  these  means  to  expose  this 
Commonwealth  to  an  invasion,  as  they  intended  to  do  by 
the  late  attempt.  Upon  which  the  Parliament  think 
themselves  indispensably  engaged,  with  the  assistance  of 
Heaven,  to  exact  speedy  satisfaction  for  the  outrages  done 
to  the  nation,  and  to  put  themselves  in  such  a  condition 
that  the  like  may  happen  no  more  for  the  future."  ^ 

The  words  "  after  they  had  been  so  miraculously  pre- 
served," are  to  be  particularly  noted,  in  connection  with  a 
remark  before  made  in  this  history,  with  reference  to  the 
conduct   of  the   Government   of  Queen  Elizabeth  in  its 
preparations  to  meet  the  Spanish  Armada,  that  the  Govern- 
ment which  has  to  trust  to  miracles  for  its  preservation 
must   be   a  bad    Government.     It   is    indeed   true,    that 
Tromp's  sudden  attack  upon  Blake,  with  a  force  the  over- 
whelming superiority  of  which,  commanded  by  a  veteran 
admiral  the  most  renowned  at  that  time  in  the  world, 
might  well  have  led  to  the  conclusion,  that  nothing  short 
of  a  miracle    could   have    saved  the  English   fleet   from 
destruction  and,  by  consequence,  England  from  invasion, 
not   merely  by  the   Dutch,  but   by  half  the   despots   of 
Europe — partly  for  the  purpose  of  the  plunder  of  London 
and   the    other   wealthy   towns,    and   partly   for  that  of 
bringing   back   the    Stuarts,  with    all   their   oppressions 
and  vices.     But  the  Commonwealth  statesmen  were  not 
men  to  trust  to  the  working  of  miracles  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  their  country.     They  had  placed  in  command  of 
their  fleet  a  man  whom  they  had  already  often  tried  and 
never  found  wanting.     The  miracle  which  at  that  time 
saved  England  from  such  a  fate,  was  the  fertile  and  rapid 
genius  and  the  indomitable  courage  of  Blake. 

'  Life  of  Cornelius  Van  Tromp,  pp.  36,  37. 


332 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIV. 


By  a  list  sent  by  Blake  to  the  Council  of  State,  it 
appears  that  the  number  of  the  fleet  now  with  him  in  the 
Downs  amounted  to  fifty-five  ships  or  thereabouts. 

On  Tuesday  the  8th  of  June,  the  Council  ordered, 
"That  the  Here  of  Hempstead  [Pauw],  having  signified 
to  the  Council  that  he  is  arrived  at  Gravesend,  being  sent 
from  the  Lords  the  States-General  of  the  United  Pro- 
vinces in  the  quality  of  an  Extraordinary  Ambassador  to 
the  Parliament  of  the  Commonwealth ;  that  the  letter  of 
the  said  Here  Hempstead  be  humbly  represented  to  the 
Parliament  for  their  direction  to  his  reception,  and  that 
my  Lord  President  [Sir  Henry  Yane  was  President  during 
that  month]  do  represent  the  same."  ^ 

"  That  all  ships  belonging  to  this  nation  that  trade  to 
the  Baltic  Sea,  and  are  homewards  bound,  do  come  to  a 
rendezvous  at  Elsinore  Castle,  and  not  set  sail  out  of  the 
Sound  until  such  time  as  a  convoy  from  General  Blake 
shall  be  there  ready  to  receive  them ;  with  which  they 
are  to  sail  to  their  designed  port."  ^ 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  General  Blake,  to  acquaint 
him  with  the  increase  of  the  enemy's  fleet ;  to  desire  him 
to  lose  no  opportunity  to  put  his  instructions  in  execution ; 
and  to  enclose  to  him  the  Order  of  Parliament,  whereby 
the  Extraordinary  Ambassador  from  the  United  Provinces 
is  referred  to  the  Council,  and  notwithstanding  to  desire 
him  to  pursue  his  instructions,''  ^ 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  General  Blake,  to  desire 
him  to  dismiss  the  ships  which  are  now  in  the  Downs 
bound  for  Newfoundland ;  and  to  let  him  know  that  they 
are  to  go  together  in  company,  for  their  better  security."  ^ 

•  Order  Book  ofthe  Council  of  State,     1652. 
Tuesday,   June    8,    1652,    MS.    State         "^  Ibid,  same  tune. . 
Paper  Office.  4  /^^  Tuesday,  June  15,  1652. 

*  Ibid.  Monday  afternoon,  June  14, 


1652.]  CONTINUED   PREPARATIONS  FOR  WAR.  333 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  Sir  George  Ayscue,  to 
hasten  him  with  the  ships  with  him  into  the  Downs."  ^ 

"  That  the  Council  do  approve  of  what  hath  been  done 
by  General  Blake,  in  the  fitting  oiit  to  sea  of  the  three 
Dutch  men-of-war."  ^ 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Navy,  to  certify  unto  them  what  hath  been  done  by  General 
Blake  in  the  ordering  the  setting  forth  of  three  Dutch 
men-of-war ;  to  let  them  know  the  Council  do  approve 
thereof;  to  desire  them  to  hold  correspondence  with 
General  Blake,  concerning  the  fitting  out  of  the  said  ships ; 
and  to  take  care  that  they  may  be  furnished  with  men 
and  victuals,  which  are  to  be  supplied  from  hence  and  not 
from  the  fleet,  as  also  with  all  other  things  necessary  for 

them."  3 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Committee  ^  of  the  Navy, 
to  let  them  know  that  the  Council  finds  it  necessary  for 
the  service  of  the  public  that,  besides  the  five  ketches 
abeady  taken  up,  that  five  more  should  be  taken  on ;  to 
desire  them,  therefore,  to  order  that  they  may  be  paid 
according  to  contract."  * 

"  That  a  warrant  be  issued  to  the  officers  of  the 
Ordnance,  to  provide  and  send  down  to  the  fleet  a  good 
proportion  of  hammered  iron  shot,  which  may  be  pro- 
portionable to  the  fleet  now  in  the  Downs,  to  be  distributed 
amongst  them  by  order  of  the  General  of  the  fleet."  ^ 

On  Friday  the  25th  of  June,  the  Council  of  State 
ordered,  "  That  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  for  Law 

>  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  Navy  and  the  Commissioners   of  the 

Tuesday,   June  15,  1652,   MS.  State  Navy,  see  Vol.  I.  p.  49,  note  1. 

Paper  Office.  *  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 

2  Ibid.  Thursday,  June  17,  1652.  Thursday,   June  17,  1652,  MS.  State 

3  Ibid,  same  day.  Paper  Office. 

*  For  an   explanation   of  the  dis-         «*  Ibid,  same  day. 
tinction  between  the  Committee  of  the 


^^"^  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.         [Chap.  XIV. 

and  Examinations  to  prepare  a  Declaration,  in  pursuance 
of  the  Order  of  Parliament,  referring  it  to  the  Council  to 
prepare  a  Declaration  for  asserting  the  right  of  this  nation 
to  the  sovereignty  of  the  sea  and  the  fishery,  and  to  bring 
it  into  the  Council  with  all  convenient  speed ;  and  the 
Lord  Bradshaw  is  desired  to  take  care  of  this  business."  ^ 

"  That  the  Commissioners  for  treating  with  the  Lord 
Pauw,  do  desire  his  Excellency  to  give  a  speedy  and 
positive  answer  to  the  propositions  of  the  Parliament,  to 
be  delivered  unto  him  by  the  said  Commissioners,  at  a 
conference  to  be  held  at  6  of  the  clock  this  night."  ^ 

On  the  following  day  the  Council  ordered,  "  That  Mr. 
Frost  do  pay  for  the  printing  of  a  book  printed  in  justifi- 
cation of  the  engagement  [with  the  Dutch  fleet]  out  of 
the  incident  moneys  belonging  to  this  Council."  ^ 

"That  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  for  Foreign 
Affairs,  to  take  order  for  the  printing  of  the  book  called 
Mare  Clausum  ;  and  that  Mr.  Du  Guard  be  commanded 
to  print  the  same."  * 

The  Council  of  State  met  on  the  following  day,  Sunday, 
the  27th  of  June,  and  ordered:  "That,  the  Lord  Pauw 
having,  by  a  paper  this  day  delivered  into  the  Council, 
desired  audience  this  afternoon,  the  Commissioners  ap- 
pointed to  treat  with  his  Lordship  do  give  him  a  meeting 
at  the  house  of  the  said  Lord  Ambassador,  to  hear  what  he 
hath  to  offer,  and  make  report  thereof  to  the  Comicil."  ^ 

The  following  minute  shows  the  watchftd  care  of  the 
Council  of  State  over  all  the  public  interests,  and  it  also 
shows  the  extensive  commerce  carried  on  at  that  time  by 
England  with  all  parts  of  the  world :— "  That  a  letter  be 
written  to  the  Mayor  of  Plymouth,  to  let  him  know  that 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
Friday,  June  25,  1652,  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 

*  I^)id.  same  day. 


Ibid.  Saturday,  June  26,  1652. 

Ibid,  same  day. 

Ibid.  Sunday,  June  27,  1652. 


1652.] 


THE  DUTCH  AMBASSADORS  DEPART. 


335 


the  Council  is  informed  that  the  East  Lidia  ships,  the 
Barbadoes  fleet,  and  several  other  ships  from  Turkey,  the 
Streights  [the  Straits  of  Gibraltar],  and  Spanish  coasts, 
and  also  some  Guinea  ships,  are  expected  into  the  Channel 
daily;  which,  being  ignorant  of  the  present  affairs  in 
reference  to  the  Dutch,  may  be  in  danger  of  being  sur- 
prised by  them,  ten  Dutch  men-of-war  being,  as  the 
Council  is  informed,  upon  those  coasts ;  and,  therefore, 
desire  him  to  give  order  to  the  two  small  vessels  that  were 
formerly  sent  out,  to  ply  up  and  down  off  the  Land's  End, 
to  give  notice  to  any  English  ships  that  they  meet,  to  go 
into  the  next  convenient  port,  and  there  to  stay  until  con- 
voys can  be  appointed  for  them."  ^ 

On  the  same  day  an  order  was  made,  that  "  by  reason  of 
the  troubles  between  this  Commonwealth  and  the  Dutch, 
Danish  ships  be  saved  harmless  from  the  penalty  of  the 
Navigation  Act,  in  order  to  import  into  England  Eiga  hemp 
from  Riga."  ^ 

On  the  following  day  the  Council  ordered  :  "  That  the 
business  of  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  against  the 
French  and  Dutch  be  taken  into  consideration  on  Friday 
next,  in  the  afternoon ;  and  the  members  of  the  Council 
who  are  in  town  are  to  be  sent  unto,  to  come  to  the  Council 
at  that  time."  ' 

"  That  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  who  were  for- 
merly appointed  to  consider  of  the  manner  of  the  en- 
tertainment to  be  given  to  the  Dutch  Ambassadors  at 
their  coming,  to  consider  of  what  civilities  are  fit  to  be 
shown  to  them  at  their  departure."  * 

"  That  orders,  passes,  and  safe-conducts,  in  pursuance  of 
the  Order  of  Parliament  in  that  behalf,  be  given  to  the  Lord 


^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
Monday,  June  28,  1652,  MS,  State 
Paper  Office. 


*  Ibid,  same  day. 

»  Ibid.  Tuesday,  June  29,  1652. 

*  Ibid,  same  day. 


^^^  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGI>AND.  [Cha.p.  XIV. 

Pauw  and  the  three  Extraordinary  Ambassadors,  for  their 
safe  passage  into  the  Low  Countries."  ^ 

I  have,  in  a  note  in  a  former  page  of  this  chapter,  quoted 
a  statement  from  a  Dutch  writer,  that  when  Nieuport 
arrived  in  London  from  Holland,  with  papers  and  verbal 
messages  for  the  Dutch  Ambassadors,  he  ran  great  danger 
of  his  life,  because  he  was  taken  for  a  spy.     How  far  those 
who  took  him  for  a  spy,  and  more,  how  far  those  who  took 
all  the  Dutch  Ambassadors  for  spies,  were  right  in  so  doing, 
maybe  partly  determined  by  the  following  statement,  made 
not  by  an  English  but  by  a  Dutch  writer  :— "  On  the  11th 
of  July,2  that  is  to  say,  four  days  after  the  English  fleet 
set  sail  for  the  North  Sea,  to  go  and  destroy  the  Dutch 
fleet  of  herring  busses,  and  to  watch  for  their  ships  coming 
from  the  Indies,  the  Dutch  Ambassadors  departed  from 
London,  and  on  the   13th  met  with  Admiral  Tromp,  to 
whom  Mr.  de  Heemsted   [Pauw]    gave  a  memorial  con- 
taining an  account  of  the  forces  of  England.     He  like- 
wise informed  Tromp  that  Admiral  Ayscew  was  then  in 
the  Downs,  with  a  squadron  of  twenty-one  men-of-war, 
where  he  might  be  easily  attacked  and  beaten,'"  ^     Upon  this 
information,  Tromp  resolved  to  go  and  attack  Ayscue,  with 
a  force  more  than  treble  that  of  Ayscue.     But  there  hap- 
pening a  calm,  and  after  that  a  contrary  wind,  it  was  im- 
possible  for  him  to   execute  this  design.     He  therefore 
directed  his  course  northward  in  search  of  Blake,  with  a 
fleet  of  seventy-nine  ships  of  war,  consisting  of  a  squadron 
of  twenty-one  ships,  forming  the  van  under  Yice-Admiral 
Evertsz,  of  the  main  body  of  thirty  ships  under  his  own 

'  Order  Book    of    the   Council   of  State  last  given,  and  dated  June  29, 

State,    Tuesday,    June    29,  1652,  MS.  was  the  "  Old  Style." 
State  Paper  Office.  »  Life   of    Cornelius   Van    Tromp, 

2  The  Dutch  writer  uses  the  "  New  p.  60. 
Style  ; "  the  minute  of  the  Council  of 


1652.] 


BLAKE'S  NOETHEKN  EXPEDITION. 


337 


immediate  command,  and  of  twenty-eight  ships,  forming 
the  rear  under  Rear- Admiral  Florisz.^ 

By  this  time  Blake,  who  some  days  before,  with  a  fleet 
of  sixty  sail,  had  left  the  Downs,  was  sailing  northward, 
with  a  view  of  intercepting  the  great  Dutch  herring-fleet. 
The  anxiety  of  the  Council  of  State  to  keep  up,  as  far  as 
possible,  an  uninterrupted  communication  with  their  great 
Admiral,  is  strikingly  evinced  by  such  minutes  as  the  fol- 
lowing, bearing  date  Wednesday,  the  30th  of  June 
(O.  S.)  :— 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Mayor  of  Newcastle,  as 
also  to  the  Bailiff's  of  Yarmouth,  to  desire  them  that,  in 
case  none  of  the  State's  ships  shall  be  found  there  upon 
the  receipt  of  the  Council's  letters,  that  they  will  then 
cause  a  ketch  to  be  hired  to  carry  the  messenger  of  the  Council 
to  the  fleet:' ^ 

Whitelock's  Journal  marks  the  progress  of  Blake's  ad- 
vance northward : 

"  July  3. — Letters,  that  General  Blake,  with  a  gallant 
fleet,  went  northwards,  and  left  Sir  George  Ascue  to  com- 
mand the  rest  of  the  fleet  in  the  Downs,  who  took  five 
Dutch  merchantmen,  and  General  Blake  took  two  men-of- 
war  and  two  merchantmen : — 500  soldiers  sent  on  board" 
Sir  George  Ascue."  ^ 

"  July  9. — Letters,  that  General  Blake,  with  a  fleet  of 
sixty  sail,  passed  in  sight  of  Dunbar  towards  the  north,  to 
attend  the  Holland  busses,  and  sent  for  the  frigates  and 
Parliament's  vessels  in  those  parts,  who  went  to  him."  * 

"July    12. — Letters   from   Yarmouth,    that    the    Hol- 


•  Life    of    Cornelius   Van    Tromp,  State  Paper  Office, 

p.  61.  3  Whitelock's    Memorials,    July    3, 

2  Order  Book    of   the    Council    of  1652:  London,  folio,  1732. 

State,  Wednesday,  June  30,  1652,  MS.  *  Ibid.  July  9,  1652. 

VOL.  II.  Z 


338 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XIV. 


landers  have  180  busses  at  sea,  and  sixty  men-of-war  for 
their  guard ;  that  General  Blake  was  near  them.  That 
Van  Tromp  was  seen  in  the  Downs,  with  about  one  hundred 
sail  of  ships,  nearer  to  Sir  George  Ascue."  ^ 

''July  17.— Letters,  that  the  fleet  could  get  no  farther 
than  Aberdeen  by  reason  of  the  contrary  winds.  That 
General  Blake  had  taken  three  or  four  of  the  Dutch  busses 
and  one  man-of-war,  and  sent  them  up."  ^ 

"  July  24. — Letters,  that  General  Blake  took  one  hundred 
of  the  Holland  busses,  and  in  them  1,500  men ;  the  rest 
secured  themselves  in  Bressie's  Bay  [sic]  in  Scotland."  ^ 

"July  2?.— That  the  Holland  fleet  were  still  off  about 
Newcastle,  about  105  ships.  That  the  Dutch  took  several 
English  vessels,  and  made  their  men  serve  under  them."  ^ 

"July  31. — That  no  intelligence  could  come  from 
General  Blake,  being  so  far  to  the  northward,  and  the 
Dutch  fleet  between  him  and  home."  ^ 

On  Sunday,  the  11th  of  July,  the  Council  of  State 
ordered :  — 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  General  Blake,  to  give  him 
notice  of  the  appearance  of  the  Dutch  fleet,  being  102  men- 
of-war  and  10  fireships,  and  are  every  day  in  sight  of  the 

»  Whitelock's  Memorials,  July  12,  they  had  sustained  from  the  Dutch; 
1652.  and  that  by  detaining  their  mariners 
2  Ibid.  July  17,  1652.  we  might  have  weakened  and  destroyed 
'  3id.  July  24, 1652. — On  the  toll  of  them  considerably,  they  wanting  men 
every  tenth  herring  b«ing  paid,  Blake  for  the  management  of  their  ship- 
sent  the  vessels  with  the  men  back  to  ping." — Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  i. 
Holland,  under  a  charge  of  fishing  there  p.  420.  But,  as  Mr.  Dixon  observes, 
no  more  without  English  leave. — Gran-  "The  only  fault  ever  advanced  by 
ville  Penn,  vol.  i.  p.  434,  note.  "  This  friend  or  foe  against  Blake,  was  an 
action,"  says  Ludlow,  "was  blamed  by  excess  of  generosity  towards  his  van- 
some,  who  thought  by  the  help  of  quished  enemies."— Dixow's  Bobcft 
those  ships  we  might  have  been  en-  Blake,  p.  204. 

abled  to  erect  a  fishery,  and  thereby  *  Wliitelock's  Memorials,   July  27, 

have    made    some   reparation    to   the  1652. 

English  nation  for  the  damages  which  ^  Ihid.  July  31,  1652. 


1652.] 


bl.ik:e  and  tro:mp. 


339 


fleet  of  Sir  George  Ayscue ;  that  they  are  divided  into 
three  squadrons ;  that  Sir  G.  Ayscue  intends  to  put  his 
fleet,  being  fourteen  or  sixteen  sail,  under  the  protection  of 
the  Castle  [Dover]  ;  that  the  ships  under  Captain  Harrison 
are  in  Lee  Road,  stayed  for  the  completing  of  their  men, 
that  they  may  the  better  make  their  conjunction  with  Sir 
G.  Ayscue."  ^ 

We  have  seen  in  the  preceding  volume  ^  that  the  summer 
of  1650,  in  which  the  Battle  of  Dunbar  was  fought,  was  a 
rainy  summer  in  Scotland.  It  would  appear  that  the 
summer  of  1652  was  a  hot  summer  in  Scotland,  and  also  in 
the  Orkney  and  Shetland  Islands  and  the  surrounding  seas. 
Those  who  have  experienced,  when  grouse -shooting  in 
the  North  of  Scotland,  the  great  heat  about  the  middle 
of  August,  in  the  mountain  hollows — heat  which  I  have 
heard  men  say  they  thought  as  intense  as  they  had  ever 
felt  in  India — and  have  also  seen  the  tops  of  the  same 
mountains  covered  with  snow  about  the  end  of  August, 
will  readily  recognise  the  truth  of  the  following  passage  of 
Whitelock,  under  date  July  23,  1652  i—"  Of  the  difiiculties 
passed  by  the  English  forces  in  the  Highlands,  the  ex- 
tremities there  both  of  heat  and  cold  at  this  time,  scorch- 
ing of  the  sun,  and  yet  snow  upon  the  mountains  to  cool 
them ;  that  the  inhabitants  faced  them  continually ;  that 
venison  is  plenty  there,  though  mutton  be  dear ;  and  the 
springs  better  than  sack  at  Leith."^  The  great  heat  in  the 
North  of  Scotland  in  those  months  of  July  and  August 
1652,  may   partly  account  for  the  description   given  by 


•  Order   Book    of    the    Council    of  Whitelock  adds,  "  That  the  horsemen 
State,  Sunday,  July  11,  1652,  MS.  State  are  apt  to  ride  over  the  tops  of  their 
Paper  Office.  houses ;  that  the  army  had  400  baggage 
2  Vol.  I.  pp.  3  16  and  356.  horses,  led  by  the  countrymen,  loaden 
2  Whitelock's    Memorials,    p.    539,  with  bread  and  cheese,  that  they  guard- 
July  23,  1652. — Under  the  same  date,  ed  their  horses  from  the  corn." — Rfid. 

z2 


340 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAJ^D. 


[Chap.  XIV. 


cotemporary  writers  of  a  tempest  which,  when  the  fleets  of 
Blake  and  Tronip  were  about  to  ensraofe  on  the  evenino-  of 
the  5th  of  August,  about  halfway  between  the  Orkney  and 
the  Shetland  Islands,  gathered,  and  burst  with  the  sudden- 
ness and  fury  of  a  tropical  tornado.  The  wind,  the  rain, 
and  the  darkness  rendered  all  manoeuvring,  almost  all 
communication  by  signal  between  the  ships,  impossible. 

Tromp,  as  has  been  related,  directed  his  course  north- 
ward with  a  fleet  of  about  eighty  sail,  according  to  the 
Dutch  accounts,  of  about  one  hundred  sail,  according  to 
the  English  accounts.     There  was  now,  in  addition  to  the 
bitter  enmity  between  the  two  nations,  a  feeling  of  strono- 
personal  hostility  raised  between  Tromp  and  Blake.    It  was 
not  merely  mortifying  but  exasperating  to  Tromp,  to  see 
the  laurels  of  a  life  of  successful  naval  warfare  torn  from 
his  brow  by  a  man  who  but  two  or  three  years  before  had 
never  set  foot  on  a  ship's  deck  as  a  commander,  or  even 
as  a  seaman.     Blake,  on  the  other  side,  was  exasperated 
at  what  he  considered  dishonourable  conduct  on  the  part 
of  Tromp,  in  attempting  to  destroy  his  fleet  by  a  sudden 
surprise,  while  a  treaty  was  pending  between  the  two  na- 
tions, and   Dutch   ambassadors  were  in   London.     It  is 
stated  in  the  "  Life  of  Cornelius  Yan  Tromp"  that,  after  the 
fight  near  Dover,  Tromp  wrote  a  letter  to  Blake,  in  which 
he  entreated  Blake  to  release  the  two  Dutch  captains  he 
had  made  prisoners,  and  also  to  order  the  restitution  of  the 
Dutch  ship  taken  in  that  fight.    Blake — not  only  surprised 
but  indignant,  that  Tromp  should  presume  to  write  to  him, 
upon  such  a  subject,  after  what  had  passed— made  him, 
according  to  the  same  authority,  the  following  answer  : 

"  Sir, — Nothing  ever  surprised  me  more  than  yours  of  the 
2nd  of  June  last,  in  that,  though  you  afibct  with  so  much 
vanity  to  pass  for  a  man  of  honour,  yet  'tis  no  way  visible 


1652.] 


AMONG   THE   SHETLAND   ISLES. 


341 


that  you  maintain  that  character  by  any  of  your  actions. 
The  cruel  attempt  you  lately  made  against  the  Parliament 
of  England's  fleet,  whose  ruin  you  had  conspired,  is  an 
evident  proof  of  this  ....  That  act  of  hostility  you 
have  so  lately  committed  is  so  much  the  more  criminal, 
since  you  were  pleased  to  do  it  in  a  tune  when  your  am- 
bassadors were  flattering  our  Commonwealth  with  new 
hopes  of  peace  and  union,  and  pretended  to  solicit  with 
much  earnestness  a  speedy  conclusion  of  a  treaty  of  mutual 
alliance  and  confederation.  That  is  the  brave  exploit 
upon  which  at  present  you  found  your  glory,  and  for  which 
you  frame  an  unjust  apology,  as  pretending  you  did  nothing 
else  but  defend  yourself.  But  God,  in  whom  we  put  our 
greatest  hopes,  having  made  your  designs  serve  to  your 
own  destruction,  we  have  taken  some  of  your  ships,  which 
you  now  are  pleased  to  redemand  with  as  much  confidence 
as  if  the  action  lately  committed  had  been  no  act  of  hos- 
tility, as  it  appears  in  your  writings,  by  your  affecting  to 
give  it  another  name.  In  fine,  I  thought  not  fit  to  give 
you  any  other  answer  but  this,  that  I  am  persuaded  you 
will  find  the  Parliament  of  England  very  ill-satisfied  with 
your  conduct ;  because  they  cannot  but  regard  with  horror 
the  innocent  blood  of  their  subjects  that  has  been  spilt ; 
and,  on  the  other  side,  that  after  all  you  will  find  yourself 
constrained  always  to  give  them  the  marks  of  an  entire 
submission."  ^ 

I  see  no  reason  to  doubt  the  authenticity  of  this  letter ; 
and,  whether  authentic  or  not,  it  may  be  taken  as  a  fair 
exponent  of  the  state  of  feeling  existing  at  that  time 
between  Blake  and  Tromp,  who  looked  upon  each  other 
pretty  much  with  the  feelings  of  two  bulldogs  who  had 
a  quarrel  of  some  standing  to  fight  out. 

'  Life  of  Corneliufi  Van  Tromp,  pp.  25,  26. 


/ 


342 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIV 


Towards  evening,  on  the  5tli  of  August  (N.  S.),  the 
Dutch  and  English  fleets  came  in  sight  of  each  other 
between  Foula  and  Fair-Isle,  the  two  most  detached 
of  the  Shetland  group  of  islands.  Foula  is  computed 
to  be  twenty  miles  to  the  west  of  the  largest  of  the  Shet- 
land Isles,  called  Mainland  of  Shetland,  and  Fair-Isle 
to  be  twenty-five  miles  south-south-west  of  the  nearest 
headland  of  the  Mainland.  Foula  is  distinguished  from 
the  other  islands  called  the  Shetland  Isles — the  general 
appearance  of  which,  as  seen  from  the  sea,  is  an  unvarying 
line  of  abrupt  coast— by  a  cluster  of  ^Ye  lofty  hills,  termi- 
nating in  pointed  cones,  the  highest  of  which  rises  to  the 
height  of  nearly  1,400  feet. 

The  two  hostile  admirals  were  eagerly  preparing  for 
immediate  action,  when,  as  the  sun  declined,  dark  masses 
of  clouds  began  gradually  to  spread  themselves  over  the 
sky,  the  sea  grew  black,  distant  thunder  was  heard,  and 
that  ominous  sound,  well  known  to  mariners  (which  the 
English  word  soh  does  not  so  well  express  as  the  Scotch 
word  sough)  of  an  approaching  tempest,  became  distinctly 
audible.  As  the  sun  disappeared,  and  the  twilight  deepened, 
the  sky  assumed  an  aspect  of  pitchy  darkness,  very  unusual 
at  that  season  of  the  year  in  that  latitude,  where  the  sun 
sinks  so  little  below  the  horizon  that  a  certain  degree  of 
light  continues  throughout  the  night.  Every  appearance 
betokened  the  near  approach  of  a  violent  tempest.  At 
length  it  burst.  For  the  wind,  which  had  long  been 
shifting  about,  turned  at  last  suddenly  to  the  north- 
north-west,  and  blew  with  such  fury  that,  says  the  writer 
of  the  "Life  of  Cornelius  Yan  Tromp" — who  gives  so 
minute  a  description  of  this  terrible  tempest,  that  it  seems 
probable  he  was  either  on  board  the  Dutch  fleet  at  that 
time,  or  received  his  information  direct  from  some  of  those 


1652.] 


SEPARATED  BY  A   TEMPEST. 


343 


who  were — "  our  sails  were  all  rent  and  torn  in  pieces,  and 
the  waves  roUed  through  them,  and  so  went  and  spent 
themselves  against  the  rocks  of  Hitland  [Shetland?], 
throwing  their  foam  up  to  the  very  heaven.  Thus  the 
fleet,  being,  as  it  were,  buried  by  the  violence  of  the 
sea  in  most  horrible  abysses,  rose  out  of  them  only  to 
be  tossed  up  to  the  very  clouds.  Here  the  masts  were 
beaten  down  into  the  sea,  there  the  deck  was  overflown  by 
the  prevailing  waves  ;  here  the  tempest  was  so  much  mis- 
tress of  the  ships  that  they  could  be  no  longer  governed, 
and,  on  another  side,  appeared  aU  the  doleful  forerunners 
of  a  dismal  wreck.  And  the  darkness  increasing  the 
danger,  and  the  confused  cries  of  the  mariners  redoubling 
the  common  fear,  both  together  made  the  saddest  and 
most  frightful  spectacle  that  was  ever  seen."  ' 

The  storm  lasted  all  night  with  unabated  violence. 
When  the  day  broke,  the  effects  of  the  tempest  appeared. 
The  Dutch  fleet  had  suffered  considerably,  some  ships 
being  lost  and  many  disabled.  But  of  sixty  of  Tromp's 
ships  that  were  missing,  forty-two  were  ascertained  to  be 
safe  among  the  Shetland  Isles,  and  also  two  East  India 
ships  supposed  to  be  lost.  Blake  had  suffered  less  than 
Tromp.  He  had  been  able  to  keep  his  fleet  together. 
Tromp  discovered  him  after  the  storm  in  the  latitude  of 
Scotland,  with  sixty-two  great  ships  much  less  damaged 
than  his  own;  the  tempest  having  driven  him  to  the 
northward  of  Shetland,  on  which  side  he  found  more 
shelter.^ 

On  the  10th  of  August,  letters  reached  the  Council  of 
State  that  General  Blake  was  off  at  sea  near  Scarborough ; 
and   that   forty  Dutch   ships  were  near  Rye,  in  Sussex. 


*  Life  of  Cornelius  Van  Tromp,  p.  62. 


«  Ufid.  p.  63. 


344  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XIV. 

There  is  some  confusion  in  the  accounts  we  have  of  the 
relative  movements  of  Tromp  and  Blake  after  the  storm 
above  described.  The  writer  of  the  "  Life  of  Cornelius  Van 
Tromp  "  says  that,  after  the  storm,  when  Tromp,  with  a 
fleet  of  thirty-nine  sail,  discovered  Blake  with  sixty-two 
ijrreat  ships,  he  offered  Blake  battle,  which  the  latter 
declined.  This  story  is  not  credible  to  me,  though  it  may 
be  credible  to  Dutchmen. 

On  the  14th  of  August,  the  Council  of  State  received 
intelligence  from  General  Blake,  that  he  was  safely  arrived 
with  his  fleet  from  the  northward.  ^  And  on  the  15th  of 
August  Whitelock  reports,  "  Letters  to  the  CouncH  of 
State  of  General  Blake's  standing  off  to  the  coast  of 
Holland  to  look  after  the  Dutch  fleet,  who  were  gone  off 
from  the  coast  of  Sussex."  ^  g^on  after,  Blake  returned 
to  the  English  coast  with  his  prizes,  and  900  prisoners.^ 


'  Whitelock's  Memorials,  p.  54  L— 
"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  Gene- 
ral Blake,  to  let  him  know  what  in- 
telligence the  Council  have  received 
'  this  day  concerning  the  motion  of  the 
Dutch  fleet  westward;  and  that  he 
make  all  possible  speed  with  the  fleet 
into  the  Channel  to  find  out  the  Dutch 
fleet."  "  That  a  letter  be  written  to 
the  Mayor  of  Ipswich,  to  send  away 
two  nimble  ketches  with  two  de- 
spatches to  General  Blake  "-Order 
Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  Sunday, 
August  15,  1652,  MS.  State  Paper 
Office. 

*  Whitelock's  Memorials,  p.  541. 

'  Hobbes's  Behemoth,  p.  293 ;  Lon- 
don, 1682.—"  That  a  letter  be  written 
to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy,  to 
view  the  five  prizes  lately  sent  in 
by  General  Blake,  and  give  an  account 
to  the  Council  how  soon  they  may  be 
fitted  out  as  men-of-war,  and  at  what 


charger— Order  Book  of  the  Council 
of  State,  Monday  morning,  August  30 
1652,  MS.  State   Paper  Office.     The 
following  minute,  made  in  the  after- 
noon of  the  same  day,  shows  the  vigi- 
lance of  the  Council  of  State :  "  That 
a  letter  be  written    to   the  Commis- 
sioners of  the  NaA7  to  desire  them  to 
give  a  speedy  account  to  the  Council 
why  the  ships  Swiftsure  and  the  new 
frigate  at  Woolwich  are  in  no  better 
forwardness."— 7&/f/.     Monday    after- 
noon, August   30,   1652.     About   the 
same  time  the  number  of  minutes  re- 
specting   private    men-of-war    shows 
that  the  number  of  those  privateers 
must  have  been  very  great.     Thus  on 
August  26  and  27,  1652,  orders  were 
made  by  the  Council,  -  That  warrants 
be   issued  to  the  Judges  of  the  Ad- 
miralty  to   give    letters    for    private 
men-of-war  to  Captain  Isaac  Phillips 
commander  of  the  ship  Assistant ;  to 


1652.] 


DE  WITT   SUBSTITUTED   FOR   TROMP. 


345 


On  the  6th  of  September  Whitelock  has  this  entry : 
"  That  Van  Tromp  desired  to  be  excused  from  going  to 
sea,  and  that  De  Witt  was  appointed  by  the  State  to 
command- in-chief  their  navy  ;  that  they  had  not  half  men 
enough  to  man  their  fleet."  ^  The  De  Witt  here  mentioned 
was  a  Vice- Admiral,  Cornelius  De  Witt,  but  not,  as  some 
writers  appear  to  suppose,  Cornelius,  the  elder  of  the  two 
celebrated  brothers,  Cornelius  and  John  De  Witt.  That 
Cornelius  De  Witt,  the  brother  of  John  De  Witt,  is  said, 
indeed,  to  have  served  several  years  in  the  fleet  of  the 
United  Provinces  in  his  early  youth.  But  his  later  career 
was  altogether  that  of  a  civilian.  In  1650  he  was  elected 
burgomaster  of  Dordrecht,  his  native  town,  and  deputy  to 
the  States  of  Holland  and  West  Friesland;  and  during 
his  brother  John  De  Witt's  administration,  he  held  the 
office  of  Inspector  of  Dykes  in  the  district  of  Putten.  The 
De  Witt  here  mentioned  as  appointed  to  command-in- 
chief  in  the  place  of  Martin  Tromp  is  probably  the  same 
person  who,  under  the  name  of  Cornelius  Van  Witt,  acted 
as  Yice-Admiral  under  Tromp  in  the  engagement  with  the 
combined  fleets  of  Spain  and  Portugal  in  1639.  As 
Cornelius,  the  brother  of  John  De  Witt,  was  born  in  1623, 
it  is  impossible  that  he  should  have  commanded  as  Vice- 
Admiral  in  the  action  of  1639 ;  and  as  he  was  but  29 
years  of  age  in  1652,  it  is,  if  not  impossible,  to  the  last 
degree  improbable  that  he  should  have  been  appointed 
commander-in-chief  of  the   Dutch   fleet   in   1652.      The 


Lieutenant-Colonel  Hazard,  to  W.  Dale, 
to  Colonel  Tizon,  to  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Yeomans,  to  John  and  Ed- 
ward Mole,  merchants." — Ibid.  August 
26  and  27,  1652.  The  Council  of  State 
committed  a  serious  error  in  granting 
so  many  of  these  letters  to  private 
men-of-war.    We  shall  see  that  Blake, 


in  his  letter  to  the  Council  of  State 
after  the  fight  with  the  Dutch  fleet,  on 
November  30,  1652,  attributes  the 
want  of  seamen  to  "  the  great  number 
of  private  men-of-war,  especially  out 
of  the  River  Thames." 

'  Whitelock's  Memorials,  p.  543. 


346 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIV. 


^ 
d 


commander-in-cliief  was  clearly  another  Cornelius  Van 
Witt,  or  Comelins  De  Witt,  and  most  probably  the  same 
person  who  acted  as  Yice-Admiral  nnder  Tromp  in  1639. 
The  reasons  that  moved  the  States  to  appoint  Vice-Admiral 
De  Witt  admiral  instead  of  Martin  Tromp  are  stated  to 
have  been  their  hopes  that  De  Witt  would  perhaps  have 
better  luck  than  Tromp  had  in  his  last  expedition,  and 
the  murmurs  of  the  people,  who  began  to  look  upon 
Tromp's  late  ill-success  as  a  judgment  upon  him  for 
being  the  cause  of  that  great  war  ;^  the  last  circumstance 
amounting,  as  I  have  before  observed,  to  an  admission 
that  Tromp  was  the  aggressor  in  the  first  fight  near 
Dover. 
I  But  besides  this  De  Witt,  the  States  of  Holland  ap- 

I      pointed  to  the  command  of  a  fleet  a  man  of  far  greater 
naval  name.     This  was  the  celebrated  Michael   Ruyter, 
afterwards  De  Euyter;  for  in  1659,  as  a  reward  for  defeat- 
ing the  Swedish  fleet,  he  received  from  the  King  of  Den- 
mark a  title  of  nobility,  with  a  pension.     Michael  Ruyter 
was  bom  at  Fleissingen  in  1607,  went  to  sea  at  eleven 
years  as  a  cabin-boy,  and  rose  successively,  through  the 
various  grades  of  service,  to  the  rank  of  admiral.^      It  is 
said  that  Euyter  had  resolved  to  pass  the  rest  of  his  days 
in  peace  and   repose,  and  was  prevailed   on  with   some 
difficulty  to  accept  the  command  offered  to  him.^ 
^V^        In  the  course  of  the  month  of  August  there  was  fought 
j       a  battle  between  Euyter   and    Sir   George   Ayscue   near 
I      Plymouth,  wherein,  according  to  the  English  accounts.  Sir 
I      George  Ayscue  had  the  better ;  but  amid  the  conflicting 

■  '  Life    of    Cornelius   Van   Tromp,  life   (Amsterdam,    1690),   which   was 

p.  72.  translated    into   French  (Amstehiam, 

j       2  The    Dutch      raised    a    splendid  1698).        ---  ^^ 

monument  to  De  Ruyter  at  Amster-         "  Life    of    Cornelius   Van   Tromp, 

dam  ;    and  Gerard  Brandt  wrote  his  p.  64. 


1652.] 


BLAKE   DEFEATS   A  FRENCH   FLEET. 


347 


1 


authorities  it  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  state  either 
the  exact  numbers  engag5T5^~Dn"ea;eh  sMepor  the  exact 
result.  "^^Whatsoever  was  the  matter,"  says  Hobbes,  "  the 
Eump,  though  they  rewarded  Sir  George  Ayscue,  never 
more  employed  him  in  their  service  at  sea."  ^ 

There  are  various  minutes  in  the  Order  Book  of  the 
Council  of  State  about  this  time,  indicating  that  the  Prince 
of  Conde^  wished  to  obtain  some  assistance  from  the 
English  Parliament  in  the  contest  in  which  he  was  then 
engaged  with  Cardinal  Mazarin,  who  at  that  time,  when 
Louis  XIY.  was  about  fourteen  years  of  age,  governed 
France.  Dunkirk  was  besieged  by  the  Spanish  forces 
under  the  Archduke  Leopold.  As  France  then  leaned 
to  the  Dutch,  the  Parliament  of  England  considered  it 
better  that  Dunkirk  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  Spain, 
and  Blake  had  received  instructions  accordingly.  While 
cruising  in  the  Channel  in  the  beginning  of  September, 
Blake  fell  in  with  a  French  fleet  under  the  Duke  of 
Yendome,  who  had  just  defeated  the  Spanish  Admiral, 
Count  D'  Oiofnon.     This  French  fleet  was  about  to  relieve 


•  Hobbes's  Behemoth^  p.  293.— 
"That  a  im^T  ^fiVntten  to  General 
Blake,  to  let  him  know  that  the  en- 
gagement of  Sir  George  Ayscue's  fleet 
with  the  Dutch  is  over  for  the  present; 
to  desire  him  that  he  will,  out  of  the 
fleet  now  with  him,  despatch  to  Sir 
George  Ayscue  six  or  eight  good  fri- 
gates, whereby  he  may  be  enabled  by 
himself  to  rencounter  that  fleet,  in 
case  he  can  find  it  out ;  to  let  him 
know  that  Tromp's  [sic]  fleet  is  in 
preparation  to  come  forth  again  ;  to 
desire  him,  therefore,  to  come  back 
again  towards  the  coast  of  Holland  to 
attend  his  coming  out,  and  to  let  him 
know  that  the  Sovereign  and  the  rest 


of  the  ships  which  are  to  come  out  of 
the  River  of  Thames  are  to  join  with 
his  fleet.'' — Order  Book  of  the  Coinicil 
of  State,  Sunday  morning,  August  22, 
1652,  MS.  State  Paper  Office.  The 
Council  of  State  held  three  meetings 
on  this  Sunday,  August  22,  1652.  The 
first  is  headed  "  Sunday,  morning; "  the 
second,  "Sunday,  1  o'clock,  afternoon ; " 
the  third,  •'  Sunday  afternoon,  at  4  of 
the  clock." 

'  Letffers  from  the  Prince  of  Conde, 
referred  to  in  a  minute  of  April  1, 
1652,  and  other  subsequent  minutes. — 
Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


I 


i 


348 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIV. 


Dunkirk,  by  throwing  into  that  piratical  town  men,  arms, 
stores,  and  fresh  provisions.  Blake,  in  the  Resolution, 
followed  by  about  twenty  other  ships,  attacked  the  French 
fleet.  ^  There  had  been  no  formal  declaration  of  war 
between  France  and  England ;  but  the  privateers  of  Brest 
and  Dunkirk  had  long  carried  on  a  course  of  depredations 
on  English  merchantmen,  and  many  English  ships  bore 
letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  against  the  French. ^  "  The 
Sovereign,  then  the  largest  as  well  as  swiftest  vessel  in  the 
English  navy — carrying  1,100  men  and  88  guns,  of  which 
20  were  44 -pounders — led  the  way,  and  was  the  first  to 
engage  the  enemy.  Its  fire  was  terrible — the  second  broad- 
side sinking  one  of  the  French  frigates,  and  its  key-shot  ^ 
cutting  off  the  mainmasts  of  five  others.  As  the  frigate 
was  going  down,  Blake  bore  into  action,  and,  immediately 
singling  out  the  Donadieu,  commanded  by  one  of  the 
Knights  of  Malta,  he  ran  alongside,  and  boarded  her. 
The  rapidity  of  the  attack,  and  the  instantaneous  -advan- 
tages gained,  disconcerted  the  French :  some  struck  their 
colours — some  fled,  fiercely  pursued  by  the  Sovereign  and 
the  lighter  vessels  towards  Dunkirk ;  and  in  a  few  hours 
the  whole  body  of  the  French  squadron,  ships  of  war, 
fireships,  and  transports,  were  either  gone  down  or  safely 
harboured  under  the  guns  of  Dover  Castle.  Dunkirk 
immediately  surrendered  to  the  Archduke  Leopold."  ^ 

It  is  most  important  to  call  attention  to  the  policy  of 
the  Parliament  and  Council  of  State  in  this  matter,  as 
compared  with  the  policy  afterwards  pursued  by  Cromwell, 
when  he  had   destroyed  the  Parliament  and  Council  of 

'  Dixon's  Robert  Blake,  p.  173,  new  Council  of  State. 

edition  ;     London,    1858  ;     Hobbes's  ^  Chain-shot. 

Behemoth,  p.  293.  "  Dixon's  Robert  Blake,  p.  173,  new 

^  There   are  very  many  orders  to  edition,  London,  1858. 
this  effect  in  the  Order  Book  of  the 


1652.] 


DE  WITT  AND   DE   RUYTER. 


349 


State.  France  was  at  this  time  a  Power  rising  into  a 
condition  that  was  to  make  her  dangerous  not  only  to  the 
peace  but  to  the  liberty  of  Europe.  Spain,  on  the  contrary, 
had  long  been  and  was  still  sinking.  It  was,  therefore, 
the  part  of  sagacious  statesmen  to  throw  the  weight  of  the 
power  of  England  into  that  scale  where  it  would  be  likely 
to  produce  good,  and  not  evil.  The  statesmen  of  the 
Parliament  of  England,  of  whom  Blake  may  be  reckoned 
one,  consequently  sought  to  weaken  France  rather  than 
further  to  depress  and  weaken  Spain.  Cromwell  pursued 
an  opposite  course,  and  threw  the  power  of  England  into 
the  wrong  scale ;  though  he  discovered  his  mistake  before 
he  died,  and  when  it  was  too  late  to  remedy  it.  This  was 
one  of  the  evils  which  Cromwell's  usurpation  inflicted 
upon  England.  We  shall  have  to  note  many  more  in  the 
sequel ;  and  if  there  appear — 

On  History's  fruitless  page 


Ten  thousand  conquerors  for  a  single  sage, 

History's  page  may  nevertheless  b?  not  altogether  fruitless, 
if  it  hold  up  as  a  warning  to  after-ages  some  of  the  terrible 
calamities  which  ignoble  ambition  brings  upon  mankind. 

A  very  few  days  after  Blake's  encounter  with  the  French 
fleet  under  the  Duke  of  Yendome,  the  Dutch  fleet  of  sixty 
sail,  under  the  command  of  De  Witt  and  De  Ruyter, 
appeared  off  the  South  Foreland.  The  intelligence  reached 
the  Council  of  State  on  Saturday,  the  lltli  of  September, 
1652.  The  Council  met  on  the  following  day,  Sunday, 
the  12th  of  September,  and  proceeded,  with  their  usual 
promptitude,  energy,  and  ability,  to  take  the  steps  which 
the  emergency  called  for.  The  mode  in  which  the  Coun- 
cil of  State  did  its  business  on  such  an  occasion  will 
best  appear  from  the  following  minutes,  all  made  on  that 
Sunday : — 


350 


COMMONWEALTH   OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIV. 


"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  General  Blake,  to  enclose  to 
him  the  intelligence  received  from  Deal  and  Dover  of  a 
Dutch  fleet  appearing  on  the  back  side  of  the  South  Sand 
Head."*  „_ 

"  That  the  Governor  of  Dover  take  care  that  all  the 
Dutch  and  French  prizes  be  secured,  lest  the  Dutch  fleet 
should  any  way  attempt  to  seize  them."  ^ 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Bailiffs  of  Yarmouth,  to 
let  them  know  of  the  intelligence  the  Council  have  received 
of  a  Dutch  fleet  appearing  on  the  South  Sand  Head ;  to 
desire  them  to  give  order  to  the  masters  and  commanders 
of  such  ships  as  are  or  shall  come  into  Yarmouth  Roads, 
to  be  careful  how  they  put  forth  to  sea,  but  to  stay  for 
some  time  till  they  receive  further  order  from  the  Council ; 
and  to  desire  them  to  send  to  Hull,  Lynn,  Boston,  Scar- 
borough, and  Newcastle,  to  the  same  effect."  ^ 

On  Friday,  the  1 7th  of  September,  the  Council  of  State 
made  the  following  order  : — "  That  a  letter  be  written  to 
Captain  Moulton  to  take  notice  of  the  receipt  of  his ;  to 
desire  him  to  send  out  a  small  boat  to  take  notice  of  the 
motions  of  the  Dutch  fleet  off  the  Beachie  [Beachy  Head]  ; 
and  to  give  notice  of  their  being  there  to  as  many  English 
merchants  as  they  can  meet  with,  to  the  end  they  may 
avoid  them."  '* 

About  noon  on  the  28th  of  September,  "  we  got  sight 
of  the  Dutch  fleet,"  says  Blake,  "  standing  to  the  west- 
ward. Between  three  and  f^5ur  in  the  afternoon,  they  got 
their  fleet  together,  being  sixty  sail,^  and,  haulmg  their 


•  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
Sunday,  September  12, 1652,  MS.  State 
Paper  OflSce. 

^  Ihid.  same  day. 

'  Ihid.  same  day. 


17,  1652. 

*  The  Dutch  statement  is:  "The 
Dutch  fleet,  commanded  by  Vice- Ad- 
miral De  Witt,  after  the  departure  of 
the  ten  ships  that  were  detached  from  it. 


*  Ibid.  Friday  morning,  September     consisted  of  sixty -four  men-of-war,  and 


1652.]      THE  DUTCH  ADMIRALS  DEFEATED   BY  BLAKE.       35I 


foresails  upon  their  masts,  made  ready  to  fight."  *  During 
the  interval  between  the  fleets'  first  coming  in  sight  of  each 
other  and  the  commencement  of  the  action,  De  Witt,  who 
commanded  the  Dutch  fleet,  left  his  o^vn  ship  of  forty  guns, 
and  went  on  board  the  largest  of  the  India  ships  of  fifty- 
six  guns,  where  he  "  wore  the  flag,  his  own  ship  taking  it 
in."  ^  Tromp's  flag-ship,  the  Brederode,  was  in  the  fleet ; 
but  the  men' in  her  would  not  receive  De  Witt.^  This 
proceeding  may  be  considered  as  attributable  partly  to  the 
intractable  charat!ter  of  the  Dutch  seamen,  partly  to  their 
opinion  of  the  professional  superiority  of  Tromp  to  De  Witt, 
and  partly  to  the  personal  characters  of  the  two  com- 
manders ;  for,  says  the  Dutch  writer  already  quoted, 
"  Martin  Tromp  was  as  much  beloved  by  the  seamen 
for  his  mild:  temper,  as  De  Witt  was  hated  by  them 
for  his  cruelty."  * 

It  is  impossible  to  make  a  narrative,  which  is  obscure 
from  its  brevity,  clearer  by  conjectural  interpolations. 
I  therefore  give  the  few  words  in  which  Blake  describes 
the  fight:  "There  were  then  by  me  the  Vice-Admiral 
[Penn,]  and  some  others;  but  a  great  part  of  the  fleet  was 


that  of  the  English,  under  the  conduct 
of  Admiral  Blake,  was  composed  of 
sixty-eight.  But  the  English  ships 
were  much  better  furnished  for  the 
war  than  the  Dutch." — Life  of  Cor- 
nelius Van  Tromp,  p.  77.  The  writer 
adds  that  De  Witt  resolved  to  fight 
the  English  fleet  in  opposition  to  De 
Ruyter's  advice. 

*  Blake  to  the  Council  of  State, 
from  aboard  th^  'Resolution,  off  the 
North  Foreland,  October  2, 1652 ;  from 
a  MS.  copy  of  the  despatch,  among  Sir 
W.  Penn's  Papers,  published  by  Mr. 
Granville  Penn  in  his  Memorials  of 
Admiral  Sir  William  Penn,  London, 


1833,  vol.  i.  pp.  4o0-4o3. 

■^  Blake  says,  "  De  Witt  and  Ruyter 
commanded  the  Dutch  fleet,  each  of 
them  "wearing  a  flag  on  the  maintop." 
— Blake  to  the  Council  of  State,  same 
date. 

'  Admiral  Sir  William  Penn  to 
George  Bishop,  Esq.,  Whitehall — James, 
in  Margate  Roads,  October  2,  1652  ; 
from  the  original  in  Sir  W.  Penn's 
handwriting,  published  in  Mr.  Gran- 
ville Penn's  Memorials  of  Admiral  Sir 
William  Penn,  vol.  i.  pp.  446-450. 

*  Life  of  Cornelius  Van  Tromp, 
p.  83. 


352 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIV. 


«.  • 


astern,  by  reason  of  their  late  weighing  in  the  Downs, 
which  I  suppose  was  occasioned  bj  the  late  storm  we  had 
there.  As  soon  as  a  considerable  part  was  come  np  to  us, 
the  Dutch  then  tacking,  we  bore  in  right  with  them,  their 
Admiral  in  the  head.  I  commanded  no  guns  to  be  fired 
till  we  came  very  near  them;  and,  by  means  of  their 
tacking,  the  greatest  part  of  our  fleet  came  suddenly  to 
be  engaged,  and  the  dispute  was  very  hot  for  a  short  time, 
continuing  till  it  was  dark  night."  ^ 

The  statement  that  the  greatest  part  of  the  English  fleet 
came  suddenly  to  be  engaged  by  means  of  the  Dutch 
fleet's  tacking  is  somewhat  explained  by  the  report  of 
Sir  W.  Penn.  "About  four,"  he  says,  " most  of  our  fleet 
being  come  near,  our  General  bore  in  amongst  them.  We 
presently  filled  to  bear  after  him;  but  it  pleased  God 
to  disappoint  us,  being  aground  upon  a  sand,  supposed 
the  Kentish-Knock.^  It  was  reasonably  smooth,  and 
for  my  part  I  did  not  feel  her  strike ;  the  master  and 
others  said  they  did ;  but  the  man  that  hove  the  lead 
overboard  said  we  had  not  three  fathoms  water,  by  which 
account  it  was  too  true.  The  Sovereign  was  near  musket- 
shot  without  us,  and  struck  several  times.  The  goodness 
of  God  was  eminent  to  us  in  this  particular,  for  hereby  we 
were  forced  to  tack  our  ship  to  clear  ourselves  of  the  sand  ; 
and,  indeed,  it  fell  out  better  for  doing  execution  upon  the 
enemy  than  we  could  have  cast  it  ourselves ;  for,  as  the 
Dutch  fleet  cleared  themselves  of  our  general,  he  standing 
to  the  northward,  and  they  to  the  southward,  we  fell  patt 
to  receive  them,  and  so  stayed  by  them  till  the  night 
caused  our  separation."  ^ 

'  Blake    to   the    Council   of    State,  the  mouth  of  the  Thames."— Note  in 

October  2,  1652.  Granville  Penn,  vol.  i.  p.  447. 

*  "  A  small   sand,  about  S.  by  W.,  '  Admiral  Sir  "W.  Penn  to  George 

from  the  east  end  of  the  Long  Sand,  at  Bishop,  Esq.,  October  2,  1652. 


1662.] 


BATTLE   OF  THE   NORTH   FORELAND. 


853 


The  Dutch  account  of  the  battle  is  this  : — "  De  Kuyter 
had  the  vanguard,  De  Witt  the  main  body  of  the  fleet, 
and  De  Wilde  commanded  the  rear.  And  Evertz  attended 
besides  with  a  body  of  reserve,  to  be  ready  to  give  assistance 
to  those  that  should  have  need.  The  two  fleets,  piercing 
one  into  the  other,  plied  one  another  hotly  with  their 
cannon.  De  Eu^i;er  and  De  Witt  did  wonders,  but  for  all 
they  could  do,  in  a  little  time  they  were  so  roughly 
handled  that  they  had  much  ado  to  turn  themselves.  De 
Ru}d:er  had  a  great  many  killed  and  wounded;  he  had 
received  four  shots  between  wind  and  water.  The  main- 
yard  of  his  ship  was  overturned  to  the  left  side,  and  his 
main  and  mizen  sails,  as  well  as  his  rigging,  were  all  torn 
to  pieces."  ^ 

Comparing  these  three  accounts,  we  are  led  to  the  con- 
clusion that  Blake,  on  this  occasion,  broke  the  Butch  line, 
and,  to  use  the  words  of  Lord  Rodney  (already  quoted  in 
this  chapter),  "  defeated  the  broken  j)arts  by  detail."  The 
operation  must  have  appeared  to  Blake  so  much  a  matter 
of  course,  and  any  other  proceeding  so  "  contrary  to  com- 
mon sense,"  as  Lord  Eodney  says,  that  he  considered  it 
quite  needless  and  a  waste  of  words  to  dilate  upon  it. 

That  night  the  two  fleets  lay  in  sight  of  each  other ; 
"  we,"  says  Blake,  "  refitting  our  ships,  which  were  much 
torn."  ^  "  All  night,"  writes  Penn,  "  we  could  see  their 
lights  plain,  a  small  distance  to  leeward  of  us ;  which 
made  us  believe  they  wished  to  engage  us  the  next  morning. 
As  the  day  broke,  we  saw  the  Dutch  fleet  N.E.  more  than 
two  leagues  from  us.  .  .  .  Now  I  shall  tell  you  what 
damage,  visibly,  we  did  them  in  the  engagement.  One 
of  my  squadron.  Captain  John  Mildmay,  in  the  Nonsuch, 

• 

'  Lifeof  Cornelius  Van  Tromp,  p.  78.     ber  2,  165*ii  in  Granville  Penn,  vol.  i. 
2  Blake  to  the  Council  of  State,  Octo-     p.  451. 

VOL.  II.  A  A 


354 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIV. 


took  a  fly-boat  of  near  500  tons,  with  thirty  pieces  of 
ordnance  *;  and,  presently  after,  took  possession  of  another 
frigate  of  thirty  guns,  twelve  whereof  brass,  who  had  all 
her  masts  shot  by  the  board,  and  lay  like  a  wreck  in  the 
sea.  This  he  was  forced  to  quit  again  about  midnight, 
being  driven  to  leeward  near  the  Holland's  fleet.  He 
took  the  Hollanders  out  of  her,  and  suffered  her  to  sink, 
she  being  very  leaky.  On  board  the  fly-boat  he  had  De 
Witt's  rear-admiral,  who  quitted  his  frigate,  that  had  in 
her  two  brass  guns,  but  also  in  the  other's  condition,  without 
masts.  On  Tuesday,  before  we  engaged,  we  told  fifty-nine 
sail,  besides  small  vessels,  and  the  next  morning  could 
not  tell  above  fifty-two,  two  whereof  without  bolt-sprits. 
In  the  morning  betimes,  we  saw  one  ship  without 
masts  in  the  midst  of  their  fleet,  which  was  presently  after 
sunk." ' 

"  The  next  morning  "  (29th  September),  continues  Blake, 
*' being  little  wind  and  variable,  we  bore  with  them  as  fast 
as  we  could,  they  seeming  awhile  to  stay  for  us,^  till  after 
noon,  when  the  wind  coming  northerly,  they  made  all  sail 
they  could,  and  stood  away  to  the  eastward,  towards  their 
own  coast.  We  followed  them  as  much  as  possibly  we 
could,  they  then  having  the  wind  of  us.  Many  shots 
passed  between  some  of  our  headmost  ships  and  their  stern 
fleet ;  but  nothing  could  engage  them.  Then,  it  beginning 
to  grow  dark,  we  tacked  to  get  our  fleet  together ;  and,  if 
we  might,  get  to  the  weather-gage.  And  being  then  half 
Channel  over,  it  was  advised  by  the  captain,  master,  and 

'  Sir  W.  Penn  to  George   Bishop,  the  plans  of  the  Dutch   commander. 

Esq.,  October  2,    1652,    in    Gran\'ille  It  is  stated  that  the  desire  of  De  Witt 

Penn,  vol.  i.  p.  449.  to  risk  another  engagement  was  over- 

2  This  and  the  expression  used  by  ruled  in   a    council    of    war    by    De 

Penn,  as  quoted  above,  would  seem  to  Ruyter  and  Evertz. — Life  of  Cornelius 

indicate  that  a  change  took  place  in  J^cm  Tro)nj>,  p.  79. 


1652.] 


EETREAT   OF  THE  DUTCH. 


355 


mates,  the  pilot  and  others,  to  lie  close  upon  that  tack  till 
ten  of  the  clock,  that  so  we  might  have  length  enough 
to  spend  that  night,  presuming  likewise  that  they  would 
tack  before  the  morning,  which  would  again  have  brought 
us  together  if  the  wind  had  stood ;  but  it  pleased  God  that 
it  proved  but  little  wind  that  night,  which  was  westerly. 
The  next  morning  (30th)  the  wind  came  at  S.W. ;  and 
from   the   topmast-head,   we   discovered   their  fleet,  and 
stood  away  after  them  ;  many  of  our  frigates  ahead  of  us, 
some  so  far  that  they  saw  West  Gable.     Then,  perceiving 
that  they  fled  from  us  as  fast  as  they  could,  and  bent  their 
course  for  Goree,  it  growing  less  wind,  I  sent  for  the  vice 
and  rear-admiral ;  and  also  a  great  part  of  the  captains 
being  then  come  aboard  for  a  supply  of  some  necessaries, 
we  advised  together  what  was  fittest  to   be   done;  and, 
it  appearing  that  the   merchant-ships   were   almost,   the 
most  part  altogether,  out  of  victuals,  and  ours  not  able  to 
supply  them,  it  was  resolved  that  we  should  return  to  our 

coast. 

"  What  harm  we  have  received  by  loss  of  men,  or  other- 
wise, I  cannot  yet  give  your  Honours  a  just  account.  In 
our  ship  we  have  only  three  that  we  know  slain,  whereof 
our  lieutenant.  Captain  Purvis,  is  one  ;  about  twenty  Imrt ; 
which  is  a  great  mercy  of  God,  considermg  the  multitudes 
of  shot  flying  among  us,  and  our  nearness  each  to  other  in 
the  fight.  We  are  also  bound,  with  much  thankfulness, 
to  acknowledge  God's  goodness  towards  us,  in  affording 
ns  such  fair  weather  and  smooth  water  at  our  engage- 
ment;  otherwise,  many  of  our  great  ships  might  have 
perished  without  a  stroke  from  the  enemy ;  for  both  this  ship 
[the  Resolution]  and  the  James  touched  once  or  twice,  and 
the  great  ship  ISovereigti]  had  three  or  four  rubs  upon  the 
Kentish  Knock.     What  loss  the  enemy  hath  sustained  we 


A    A    2 


356  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XIV. 

Imow  not.  Three  of  their  ships  were  wholly  disabled  at 
the  first  brunt,  having  lost  all  their  masts ;  and  another, 
as  he  was  towing  off  the  rear-admiral,  was  taken  by  Captain 
Mildmay;  and  the  second  day  they  were  many  less  in 
number  than  the  first.  The  rear-admiral  and  two  other 
captains  are  prisoners,  who  say  that  they  conceive  by  the 
striking  of  De  Witt's  antient,  and  the  putting  forth  another 
of  a  blue  colour,  that  he  is  slain."  * 

On  the  4th  of  October  the  Council  of  State  ordered  a 
letter  to  be  written  to  the  Lord  Mayor,  directing  him  to 
prepare  reception  in  the  several  hospitals  and  in  the  Savoy 
for  the  wounded  in  the  late  engagement  between  General 
Blake  and  the  Dutch.  They  also  ordered  the  Governors 
of  Deal  and  Sandown  Castles  to  draw  into  their  respective 
castles  the  guns  placed  in  works  for  defence  of  the  fleet 
commanded  by  Sir  George  Ayscue.  At  the  same  time  thirty 
frigates  were  ordered  to  be  built.  ^ 

The  following  minute,  which  I  transcribe  from  a-  rough 
draft  in  Secretary  Thurloe's  handwriting,  affords  very  im- 
portant evidence  respecting  the  difference  between  the 

'  Blake   to   the  Council    of    State,  England.     The  length  of  her  keel  is 

October  2, 1652.  in  Granville  Penn,  vol.  128   foot,   her  main  breadth  48  foot, 

1.  pp.  4ol,  452.    De  Witt  was  not  slain,  her  length  232  foot,  her  height,  from 

2  Order  Bookof  the  Council  of  State,  the  bottom  of  the  keel  to  the  top  of 

October  4, 1652,MS.  State  Paper  Office,  her  lanthorn,  76  foot.    She  carries  144 

-Thefollowing  minute  shows  the  size  great   guns  of  several  sorts,  and  11 

of    some    of    their    frigates:    "That  anchors ;  one  weighing  4  400  lb«  "— 

Captain  Pett  be  directed  to  build  the  Strafford's  Letters  and  Dispatchs,  vol 

frigate  which  he  IS  now  going  in  hand  ii.    p.    ne.     This   shows    that    some 

with  115  foot  [sic]  by  the  keel."-76/^.  portion,  though  not  a  large  portion,  of 

July  2,  1652.     It  would  appear  from  the  "  ship-money"  was  applied  to  the 

this  that  the  Parliament  were  building  purpose  of  shipbuilding.       This  un- 

larger  frigates   than    those  formerly  usually  large   ship   was   intended   to 

built.      The    Sovereign,   before   men-  make  a  show  of  the  use  of  the  ship- 

tioned,  was  much  above  the  average,  money.     It  was  but  a  show,  for  the 

A  correspondent  of  Strafford,  writing  utter  inefficiency  of  the    nav^,  at  the 

in   October  1637,  thus  describes  the  time  when  Charles  I.  levied  ship-money 

Sovereign:    "She  is    1,637   tons,  the  is  notorious, 
goodliest  ship  that  was  ever  built  in 


1652.] 


PETITION   OF   SIR   OLIVER  FLEMING. 


357 


Government  of  the  Long  Parliament  and  the  Government 
of  the  Stuarts  :  — 

"  The  Council,  having  considered  of  a  petition  of  Sir 
Oliver  Fleming,  Knight,  find  that  by  an  Ordinance  of  Par- 
liament, made  the  2nd  November,  1643,  Sir  Oliver  Fleming 
vras  appointed  Master  of  the  Ceremonies.  That  the  Coun- 
cil is  informed  that  the  profits  and  incidents  of  the  said 
office  were  in  the  king's  time  worth  about  £1,000  per  an- 
num ;  but  now  there  is  only  the  antient  £200  per  amium, 
payable  out  of  the  Exchequer,  gratuities  from  foreign  j^uhlic 
Tninisters  and  other  profits  being  laid  down  as  dishonourable 
to  the  Commonwealth,  That  the  said  sum  of  £200  per  annum 
is  not  wages  sufficient  for  the  support  of  the  said  Sir  Oliver 
Fleming  in  the  quality  the  said  employment  doth  necessi- 
tate him  to  live  in ;  the  slenderness  whereof  for  the  time 
past  having  (as  is  set  forth  in  his  petition)  reduced  him  to 
wants,  and  constrained  him  to  contract  great  debts.  Upon 
consideration  of  all  which,  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  Council 
that  the  case  and  condition  of  the  said  Sir  Oliver  Fleming 
be  humbly  represented  to  the  Parliament,  to  the  end  they 
may  be  pleased  to  settle  a  fit  and  competent  salary  upon 
the  said  office,  that  neither  the  said  Sir  Oliver  Fleming, 
nor  others  that  shall  enjoy  it  after  him,  may  be  under  the 
temptation  of  doing  things  dishonourable  to  the  Common- 
wealth. And  in  res]3ect  he  hath  served  for  many  years  past 
for  so  small  an  allowance  as  £200  per  annum  in  which 
time  his  services  have  been  very  many,  wherein  he  hath 
demeaned  himself  faithfully  to  the  Commonwealth,  and 
very  diligently,  having  under  him  no  Marshal  of  the  Cere- 
monies, as  formerly — to  confer  upon  him  such  reward 
as  the  Parliament  shall  think  fit;  which  may  in  some 
measure  help  him  out  of  his  present  debt,  and  remain  upon 
him  and  his  family  as  a  mark  of  their  boimty.     And  the 


358 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XIV. 


Lord-General  and  Mr.  Neville,  or  either  of  them,  are  de- 
sired humbly  to  represent  this  to  the  Parliament."  ^ 

The  following  minute  also  presents  important  evidence 
of  the  exemption  of  the  Council  of  State  from  all  corrupt 
favouritism,  as  well  as  of  their  conscientious  care  in  their 
choice  of  those  employed  in  their  service — evidence  emi- 
nently corroborative  of  the  testimony  even  of  their  enemies, 
that  "  they  were  a  race  of  men  most  indefatigable  and  in- 
dustrious in  business,  always  seeking  for  men  fit  for  it,  and 
never  preferring  any  for  favour,  nor  hy  importunity^'  ^ — 

"  That  the  petition  of  Andrew  Brograve,  Christopher 
Pett,  and  Mr.  Taylor,  desiring  the  place  and  employment 
of  Mr.  Peter  Pett  [Master- Shipwright,  corresponding  to 
Surveyor  of  the  Navy],  deceased,  be  referred  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  Committee  for  the  Admiralty,  who  are  to 
inform  themselves  of  the  fitness  of  the  petitioners,  or  any 
other  persons,  for  that  employment,  and  report  what  they 
find  concerning  them  to  the  Council."^ 

I  have  in  a  former  page  noticed  some  errors  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  State  in  political  economy ;  and  I  may  therefore  give 
here,  as  the  more  remarkable,  the  following  minute  on  the 
subject  of  Free  Trade  with  France  : — 

"  That  it  be  humbly  represented  to  the  Parliament  as 
the  opinion  of  this  Council,  that  it  is  of  great  advantage  to 
this  State  in  many  respects  to  have  a  free  trade  and  com- 
merce between  this  Commonwealth  and  many  ports  and 
places  in  France ;  and  therefore  that  the  Parliament  be 
humbly  moved  to  give  liberty  and  licence,  by  such  means 
and  under  such  restrictions  as  they  shall  think  fit,  for  such 


^  OrderBookof  the  Council  of  State,  and  State  of  England,  vol,  ii.  p.  30. 
Thursday,  July  15,   1652,  MS.   State        ^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 

Paper  Office.  Monday,  August  2,  1652,  MS.  State 

^  Roger  Coke,  Detection  of  the  Court  Paper  Office. 


1652.]     AMBASSADORS  FROM  THE  KING   OF  DENMARK.        359 

trade  and  commerce  as  aforesaid,  notwithstanding  an  Act, 
intituled  An  Act  prohibiting  the  importing  of  any  Wines, 
Wool,  or  Silk,  from  the  Kingdom  of  France  into  the  Com- 
monwealth of  England  or  Ireland,  or  any  of  the  Dominions 

thereunto  belonging."  ^ 

On  the  18th  of  May,  two  ambassadors-extraordinary 
had  arrived  in  London  from  the  King  of  Denmark.^  The 
mode  of  their  reception  will   be  seen  by  the  foUowing 

minutes  of  that  date  : — 

"  That  thirty  coaches  be  provided,  to  accompany  the 
Danish  ambassadors  from  Tower  Hill."  ^ 

"  That  the  same  proportion  of  diet  as  to  the  Dutch 
viz.,  foi%  dishes  for  first  and  second  courses,  and  twenty 
dishes  of  fruit  and  sweetmeats  for  each  meal— be  allowed, 
and  a  convenient  allowance  for  other  tables  for  their  at- 
tendants." * 

"  That  the  ambassadors  be  entertained  nine  meals,  and 
that  sewers,  butlers,  and  such  other  officers  as  shaU  be 
requisite  be  provided;  and  that  £300  be  immediately 
paid  to  Mr.  Bond,  to  make  provisions  against  their  arrival, 
to  be  paid  out  of  the  Council's  contingencies."  * 

"  That  some  members  be  appointed  to  dine  with  them, 

and  sup  with  them."  ° 

"  That  plate  be  delivered  out  for  their  service."  ^ 


»  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Thursday,  July  29,  1652,  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 

2  Ibid.  Tuesday  morning.  May  18, 
1652. 

»  Ihkl.  Tuesday  afternoon,  May  18, 


1652. 

*  Ibid,  same  time. 

*  Ibid,  same  time. 
^  Ibid,  same  time. 
'  Ibid,  same  time. 


CHAPTEE  XV. 

The  two  ^eat  naval  Powers  of  the  world  were  now  at  open 
war  with  each  other.  The  Dutch  Government  sought  to 
strengthen  themselves  by  engaging  other  nations  in  their 
quarrel  with  the  English  Parliament.  They  sent  ambas- 
sadors to  Denmark,  to  Poland,  and  to  other  Powers  in  the 
North  of  Europe,  to  engage  them  in  a  league  against 
England.  The  English  Council  of  State  showed  that  they 
were  fuUy  aware  of  the  importance  of  this  step,  by  their 
manner  of  treating  the  ambassadors  of  the  King  of 
Denmark.  The  following  minutes  furnish  very  signi- 
ficant evidence  on  this  point : — 

"  That  letters  be  written  to  the  Lord  Grey  and  Mr. 
Th'  mas  Chaloner,  to  desire  them  to  permit  the  Lords 
Ambassadors  Extraordinary  from  the  King  of  Denmark 
to  take  their  pleasure  in  the  parks  imder  their  command, 
and  to  kill  in  them  what  venison  they  shall  think  fit."* 

"  That  Sir  OHver  Fleming,  Master  of  the  Ceremonies, 
do  acquaint  the  Lords  Ambassadors  Extraordinary  from 
the  King  of  Denmark  that  the  Council  have  given  order 
to  the  keepers  of  Hide  [sic]  Park,  and  of  Hampton-Court 
Park,  to  permit  their  ExceUencies  to  take  their  pleasure 
in  those  parks  as  oft  as  they  shall  think  fit,  and  in  them 
to  kill  what  venison  they  please."  ^ 

There  were  reasons  stronger  than  those  arising  from 

'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,     Paper  Office. 
Wednesday,  July  28,  1652,  MS.  State        2  /^  ^^^^  ^^^^^ 


1652.]       SHIPS  SEIZED   BY  THE  KING   OF  DENMARK. 


361 


any  fear  of  the  naval  power  of  Denmark — which,  in  truth, 
was  never  at  any  time  great,  except  in  the  form  of  pirates 
or  sea-robbers — to  induce  the  sagacious  statesmen  who 
then  governed  England  to  ofPer  such  civilities  to  the 
Danish  ambassadors.  There  was  at  that  very  time  in  the 
harbour  of  Copenhagen  a  fleet  of  English  merchantmen, 
laden  with  naval  stores,  which  were  urgently  needed  in 
the  English  dockyards,  and  which  the  Council  of  State 
were  most  anxious  to  secure.  But  when  Frederick  III., 
then  King  of  Denmark,  had  succeeded  to  the  crown,  four 
years  before  this  time,  the  kingdom  of  Denmark  had  been 
brouo-ht  to  a  very  low  condition  by  the  wars  of  the  last 
reign;  and  it  appeared  to  Frederick  III.  that  the  best 
mode  of  replenishing  his  exliausted  exchequer  was  to  seize 
the  fleet  of  English  merchantmen  laden  with  naval  stores 
in  the  harbour  of  Copenhagen.^  By  this  act  of  piracy  (for 
such  I  think  it  may  be  fairly  considered),  this  Danish 
King  obtained  at  once  a  large  supply  to  his  exchequer. 


'  "  That  the  paper  concerning  the 
detaining  of  the  English  ships  at 
Copenhagen  by  the  King  of  Denmark, 
which  was  now  sworn  at  the  Council, 
be  part  of  the  report  which  is  to  be 
made  to  the  Parliament  concerning 
that  affair." — Order  Book  of  tJie  Coun- 
cil of  State,  Thursday  morning,  Oc- 
tober 21,  1652,  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 
"  That  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee 
for  Foreign  Affiiirs  to  confer  with  some 
from  New  England,  concerning  the  fur- 
nishing from  them  of  the  commodities 
usually  had  from  the  Eastlands  for  the 
accommodating  of  the  shipping  of  this 
nation." — Rid.  Monday,  November  1, 
1652.  "  That  a  letter  be  written  to 
General  Blake,  to  desire  him  to  give 
orders  to  all  the  ships  in  the  service 
of  the  Commonwealth,  to  make  stay  of 


all  ships  and  vessels  which  they  .^hall 
meet  with  belonging  to  the  King  of 
Denmark,  and  to  send  them  into  the 
first  convenient  port  free  from  all  em- 
bezzlement, to  be  there  kept  till  fur- 
ther orders  shall  be  given  concerning 
them,  by  the  Parliament  or  Council." 
— Ihid.  same  day.  The  following 
minute  also  shows  the  care  of  the 
Council  to  make  provision  for  the 
great  naval  war  they  were  now  en- 
gjiged  in  :  "  That  a  letter  be  written 
to  the  wardens  of  the  several  forests 
throughout  this  nation,  to  require  them 
to  suflPer  no  timber  to  be  felled  in  their 
respective  forests,  upon  any  pretext 
whatsoever,  without  special  ordf^r  from 
the  Parliament  or  Council  of  State." 
—Ibid.  Friday,  October  29,  1652. 


362 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


and  an  alliance  with  Holland.  The  alliance  with  Holland 
was  probably  more  nseful  to  him  than  an  alliance  with 
England  would  have  been ;  for  Holland  was  much  nearer 
to  him,  and  therefore  more  able  either  to  injure  or  assist 
him.  But  if  Blake,  in  requital  for  the  wrong  and  insult 
done  to  England,  had  destroyed  his  fleet  and  battered 
down  his  capital  about  his  ears,  he  would  not  have  had* 
much  cause  to  congratulate  himself  on  the  wisdom  of  his 
policy.  And  something  of  that  kind  Blake  would  have 
probably  done  had  not  Cromwell,  for  his  own  purposes, 
preferred  to  keep  Blake  at  as  great  a  distance  from  himself 
as  he  could. 

As  the  naval  stores  thus  seized  by  the  King  of  Denmark 
consisted  chiefly  of  hemp  and  tar,  the  Council  of  State, 
with  their  usual  vigilant  activity,  looked  about  to  supply 
the  wants  of  the  navy  by  other  means,  as  appears  by  the 
foUowinor  minute  : — "  That  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee 
of  the  Admiralty  to  confer  with  a  certain  person,  who  pro- 
pounds the  making  of  pitch  and  tar  out  of  the  fir-timber 
in  Scotland  "  [a  proof  that  Scotland  was  not  then  bare  of 
timber,  as  Dr.  Johnson  affirmed  it  to  be  a  century  after 
this  time]  ;  "  and  to  report  to  the  Council  their  opinions 
concerning  the  business,  after  they  have  had  conference 
with  him."  ^ 

As  the  Dutch  lied  enormously  in  their  statements  re- 
specting their  transactions  with  the  English  at  this  time, 
and  in  none  more  than  with  regard  to  the  English  treat- 
ment of  the  Dutch  prisoners,  it  will  be  proper,  in  vindi- 
cation of  the  English  Government,  to  give  one  or  two  mi- 
nutes on  this  point  from  the  Order  Book.  A  report  was 
spread  abroad  in  Holland,  no  doubt  for  the  purpose  of 

»  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  Friday,  July  30,   1652,    MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 


1652.]  TREATMENT   OF  THE  DUTCH   PRISONEES.  363 

exasperating  the  Dutch  people  against  such  "  supposed 
barbarity,"  ^  that   the  Dutch  prisoners  in  England  were 
most  of  them  shut  up  in  the  then  unfinished  and  uncovered 
College  of  Chelsey,  between  four  bare  walls,  laid  upon  straw 
without  anything  to  cover  them,  exposed  to  the  open  sky, 
and  to  all  the  rigours  of  the  season ;  so  that  many  of  them 
died  of  their  ill-treatment.     It  was  further  affirmed  that 
the  hard-heartedness  of  the  English  went  so  far  as  to  forbid 
those  of  the  Dutch  nation  that  lived  in  London  to  assist 
them ;  so  that  many  of  them  died  of  starvation,  and  others, 
attempting  to  escape  from  such  sufferings,  were  mercilessly 
shot  or  put  to  the  sword  by  the  soldiers.^     In  answer  to 
this  statement,  I  will  give  some  minutes  of  the  Council  of 
State  respecting  the  treatment  of  the  Dutch  prisoners, 
reminding  the  reader  that   6d,  a  day  was  at  that  time 
equivalent  to  about  2s,  a  day  at  present,  and  that  it  was 
the  rate  of  pay  the  English  Parliament  allowed  to  their 
own  soldiers  of  the  infantry  regiments  : — 

"That  6d.  per  diem  be  allowed  for  the  keeping  of 
such  Dutch  prisoners  as  have  been  taken  and  are  secured 
at  Falmouth."  » 

"  That  orders  be  given  to  the  Commissioners  for  sale  of 
Dutch  prizes,  to  allow  6d,  per  diem  a  man  for  the  main- 
tenance of  such  Dutchmen  as  are  prisoners  in  this  Common- 
wealth." ' 


*  The  Dutch  writers  themselves  use 
this  guarded  expression. 

'■*  Life  of  Cornelius  Van  Tromp, 
pp.  162,  163:  London,  1697. 

3  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
Tuesday,  August  24,  1652,  MS.  State 
Paper  Ofl&ce. 

Ibid.  Tuesday,  September  7,  1652. 
"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Mayor 


of  Dover,  to  desire  him,  out  of  the  last 
£500  assigned  to  him  for  the  charge 
of  wounded  men  and  prisoners,  to  pay 
unto  Mr.  William  Whiting,  of  Canter- 
bury, the  sum  of  £8  9s.  6d.,  being  for 
so  much  disbursed  by  him  at  Canter- 
bury for  the  maintenance  of  the  Dutch." 
—Ibid.  Monday,  October  18,  1652. 


364 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


"  That  the  Dutch  prisoners  at  Hull  be  discharged,  and 
5s.  a  man  given  them  to  carry  them  home."  ^ 

The  following  minutes  respecting  the  treatment  of  the 
French  prisoners  taken  in  the  engagement  with  the  Duke 
of  Yendome's  fleet  afford  further  evidence  of  the  humane 
treatment  exercised  by  the  Council  of  State  towards  their 
prisoners  of  war,  even  while  they  complained,  as  the 
minutes  show,  that  such  prisoners  were  "  a  very  great 
charge  to  the  Commonwealth  "  ; — 

"  That  order  be  given  to  the  collectors  for  prize-goods 
to  allow  6d,  per  diem  a  man  for  the  maintenance  of  such 
French  as  are  prisoners  in  this  Commonwealth."  ^ 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Mayor  of  Dover  and 
Governor  of  Dover  Castle,  to  let  them  know  that  they  are 
to  send  away  into  France  the  Frenchmen  which  were 
lately  taken  prisoners,  and  landed  there,  reserving  only 
the  masters  of  the  ships  taken,  and  so  many  of  the  mariners 
as  maybe  sufficient  to  give  testimony  in  the  Court  of 
Admiralty,  when  they  shall  proceed  to  the  adjudication  of 
the  ships,  in  which  they  were  taken  ;  to  let  them  know 
that  6cl  per  diem  is  ordered  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
private  men ;  and  for  the  officers  they  are  to  take  care 

"  Order  Book   of    the    Council    of  Dutch,  and  dismissed  in  order  to  repair 

State,    Friday    afternoon,    September  to  England."— /6jW.  same  day.    **  That 

17,    1652,  MS.  State  Paper    Office.—  a  letter  be  written  to  General  Blake,  to 

There  was,    at    least    at    this    time,  let  him  know  that  he  is  to  discharge  the 

a    discharge    of    prisoners    on    both  Dutch  captains  with  him,  and  to  permit 

sides,  as  appears  from  the  following  them  to  return  home,  unless  he  knows 

minutes :     "  That  such   of  the  Dutch  tliat  the  Dutch  detain  any  Englishmen 

prisoners  as  are  now  at  Dover  and  Can-  of  that  quality  prisoners,  which,  if  he 

terbury  be  released,  and  permitted  to  do,  he  is  to  detain  them,  or  such  of 

repair  to  their  own   country."— Ihid.  them   as   he   shall   think   fit,  for  the 

Wednesday,  October  6,  16o2.     "  That  making  of  exchange  for  such  of  the 

the  Mayor  of  Dover  do  pay  the  sum  English  of  that  quality  as  shall  be  de- 

of  £20  to  the  master  of  the  vessel  who  tained  by  the  Butch"— Ibid.  Monday, 

brought  over  from  Ostend  120  English  October  11,  1652. 
seamen,  who  had  been  taken  by  the         «  Ibid.  Tuesday,  September  7,  1652. 


1652.] 


DISPOSAL  OF  DUTCH  PEIZE-GOODS. 


365 


that  they  be  civilly  treated ;  and  for  the  charge  thereof, 
the  Council  will  take  care  to  order  the  payment  of  it ;  and 
they  are  to  be  desired  to  take  care  likewise  of  the  sick  me^i."  ^ 

The  following  minutes  show  what  Blake's  energy  and 
success  did  towards  the  support  of  the  Government : — 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Committee  for  the 
Navy,  to  desire  them  that  such  moneys  as  shall  arise  upon 
the  sale  of  Dutch  prizes  may  be  reserved  towards  the  pay- 
ing of  seamen.'^  ^ 

''  That  order  be  given  to  the  Commissioners  for  sale  of 
Dutch  prizes,  to  pay  unto  the  Treasurer  for  the  Navy  such 
money  as  they  have  made  by  the  sale  of  Dutch  prizes,  it 
being  for  the  paying  off  of  the  ships  in  the  State's  service, 
as  they  come  in  from  sea."  ^ 

"That  the    Commissioners  for  Prize-goods  do  deliver 
unto  the  Corporation  for  the  Poor  the  three  busses  taken 
from  the  Dutch,  now  in  the  Eiver  of  Thames,  together 
with  the  nets  and  other  fishing  utensils  which  were  taken  ^ 
with  them,  to  be  employed  by  the  said  Corporation."  ^ 

"  That  order  be  given  to  the  Commissioners  for  Dutch 
Prize-goods,  to  give  direction  to  one  of  their  deputies  at 
Plymouth  to  bring  up  the  chests  of  gold  taken  and  brought 
in  by  Captain  Stoakes,  and  to  be  very  careful  in  the 
bringing"of  them  up,  that  they  be  not  violated  and  the 
gold  embezzled ;  and  that  it  be  signified  unto  them  that 
order  is  given  to  Major-General  Desborowe  to  appoint  a 
fit  guard  of  horse  to  come  along  with  the  gold ;  as  also 
that  they  are  to  take  especial  care  that  a  strict  search  be 
made  after  such  writings  and  papers  as  were  found  aboard 
the  ships  in  which  the  gold  was  at  their  taking,  that  none 
may  be  lost  which  may  be  of  use  in  the  adjudication  of 


'  Order  Book  of  tlie  Council  of 
State,  Wednesday,  September  8,  1652, 
MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


2  Ibid.  Monday,  September  6,  1652. 

3  nml.  Thursday,  September  9, 1652. 


Ibid,  same  day. 


366 


COMMONWEALTH   OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


1652.] 


CASE  OF  CAPTAIN   WARREN. 


367 


the  said  ships,  which  they  are  in  this  case,  and  in  all 
others  of  this  nature,  to  deliver  to  Doctor  Walker  to  be 
made  use  of  by  him."  ^ 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  Major-General  Desborowe, 
to  acquaint  him  with  the  taking  of  the  gold  chests  from 
Guinea ;  to  desire  him  to  afford  a  competent  guard  of 
horse  for  the  bringing  of  them  up  in  safety  to  London."  ^ 

In  their  great  need  of  money  at  this  time,  the  Council 
entertained  some  propositions  for  the  discovery  of  gold 
nearer  home  than  Guinea  : — 

"  That  all  the  members  of  the  Council,  or  any  three  of 
them,  be  appointed  a  Committee,  to  consider  of  such  pro- 
positions as  shall  be  made  unto  them,  for  the  discovery  of 
mines  of  gold  and  silver  in  any  of  the  territories  of  this 
Commonwealth,  and  to  report  the  same  to  the  Council, 
with  their  opinions  thereupon."  ^ 

"  That  the  proposition  delivered  in  to  the  Council  by 

.  Mr.  Scot,  concerning  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Scotland,  be 

referred  to  the  consideration  of  the  Committee  for  Mines."  * 

The  all-pervading  vigilance  and  prompt  and  energetic 
action  of  this  Council  of  State  were  equal  to  those  of  the 
most  energetic  single  ruler.  If  such  an  affair  as  a  sea- 
man's being  killed  by  his  captain  had  occurred  under  the 
Government  of  the  Stuarts,  it  would  most  probably  never 
have  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Government.  It  cer- 
tainly never  would,  if  the  captain  had  been  a  Prince  Eu- 
pert,  or  anyone  favoured  by  him.  The  Council  of  State 
proceeded  in  a  different  fashion.  One  of  their  captains 
had  killed  one  of  his  seamen.  The  following  minutes  show 
what  followed : — 

"  That  three  of  the  deputies  of  the  Serjeant-at-Arms 
do  go  down  to  Eye,  and  take  into  their  custody  the  late 

*  Order   Book   of    the    Council    of        ^  Ibid,  same  day. 
State,  Friday,  September  24,  1652,  MS.         »  Ibid.  Monday,  September  20, 1652. 
State  Paper  Office.  *  Ibid-  same  day. 


captain  of  the  Merlin  frigate,  and  bring  him  up  to  the 
Council."  ' 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  master  of  the  Merlin 
frigate,  to  desire  him  to  send  up  three  such  persons,  along 
with  the  late  captain,  as  can  testify  concerning  the  action 
of  his  killing  a  man  aboard  the  frigp^te."  ^ 

"  That  a  warrant  be  drawn  for  the  committal  of  Captain 
Warren  to  Newgate  for  murther,  in  order  to  be  tried  for 
the  same."  ^ 

By  the  21st  of  October,  that  is,  just  three  weeks  later. 
Captain  Warren  had  been  tried,  found  guilty  of  murder, 
and  executed,  as  appears  from  the  following  minute, 
relating  to  a  petition  to  the  Council  of  State  from  his 
widow : — "  That  the  petition  of  Elenor  Wan-en,  widow, 
be  referred  to  the  Committee  of  the  Admiralty,  who  are  to 
consider  what  may  be  done  thereupon,  and  report  their 
opinion  thereupon  to  the  Council."  * 

The  vigilance  of  the  Council  of  State  is  further  mani- 
fested by  the  following  minute  : — "  That  it  be  referred  to 
the  Committee  for  Examinations,  to  examine  the  complaint 
made  by  some  prisoners,  of  great  fees  exacted  from  them 
by  certain  persons  who  have  solicited  their  release ;  and 
to  send  for  such  persons  before  them,  as  can  give  testimony 
herein,  and  likewise  for  such  persons  as  have  exacted  such 
fees ;  and  examine  and  report  the  state  of  the  whole  busi- 
ness to  the  Council."  ^ 

And  their  attention  to  details  is  shown  by  the  following 
order : — 

"That  the  Dutch  prize  taken  by  Captain  Peacocke, 
called  the  Morning  Star,  be  now  named  the  Plover.^^  ^ 

»  Order    Book    of    the   Council   of        *  j/,ij  Monday,  October  25,  1652. 
State,   Friday,    September  24,    1652,         «  Ibid.  Saturday  morning,    October 

MS.  State  Paper  Office.  30,  1652.     At  tlie  same  meeting,  there 

'^  Pjid.  same  day,  is  made   in  the  Order  Book  tlie  fol- 

'  77>i6?.Thursday, September 30, 1652.  lowing     memorandum:     "Look    out 

*  Ibid.  Thursday,  October  21,  1652.  General  Blake's   commission." 


\ 


368 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


"  That  an  extract  of  the  intelligence,  now  read  in  the 
Council,  from  Holland,  be  sent  unto  General  Blake." ' 

The  following  minute,  of  12th  November,  has  reference 
to  a  resolution  of  the  Council,  to  send  twenty  ships  at  this 
time  to  the  Mediterranean.  The  Council  here  committed 
a  great  blunder.  Bj  sending  off  those  twenty  ships,  they 
so  weakened  Blake  that  he  was  not  a  match  for  Tromp, 
and  thus  met  with  the  only  disaster  that  befel  him  in  the 
whole  course  of  his  career.  The  intelligence  they  had 
received,  respecting  the  plans  of  the  Dutch,  render  their 
proceeding  the  more  inexcusable  :  — 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  General  Blake,  to  acquaint 
him  with  the  resolution  of  the  Council,  for  the  sending  of 
twenty  ships  to  the  Streights ;  to  give  him  9.  list  of  the 
names  of  the  ships,  to  let  him  know  that  it  is  not  the  in- 
tention of  the  Council  to  disable  him  "  [of  course  it  was  not 
their  intention,  but  the  result  was  to  disable  him  effectually] 
"  (by  the  taking  of  these  ships)  from  waiting  upon  the 
service  in  these  parts,  which  the  Council  doubt  not  but 
will  be  supplied  by  the  coming  out  of  others  appointed  for 
the  winter  guard.  However  they  thought  fit,  before  they 
came  to  any  positive  resolution  concerning  this  business,  to 
acquaint  him  therewith,  to  the  end  that  if  he  had  anything 
to  offer  concerning  it,  it  might  be  taken  into  consideration."^ 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
AVednesday,  November  10,  1652,  MS. 
State  i'.-ipei-  Office :  "  That  a  letter  be 
written  to  the  Mayor  of  Dover,  to  desire 
him  to  speak  to  the  master  of  the  pac- 
quet-boat  which  passeth  between  that 
place  and  Flanders  ;  that  it  is  the  Coun- 
cil's pleasure  that  he  do  take  aboard  him 
in  Flanders  all  such  English  seamen  as 
do  come  thither  to  pass  into  England, 
as  well  those  who  have  left  the  service 
of  the  Dutch,  in  obedience  to  an  Act  of 
Parliament,  as  also  those  who  haA'e  been 


taken  prisoners  by  the  Dutch,  and  have 
been  released,  and  do  and  shall  repair  to 
Dunquerque  for  passing  into  England; 
and  to  let  him  know  that  he  is  to  re- 
lieve each  of  them   as  shall  want  it 
upon  their  landing,  and  place  it  to  ac- 
count.    And  further,  to  signify  to  him 
that  the  master  of  the  pacquet-boat 
shall  have,  for  eveiy  person  which  he 
shall  so  bring  over,  according  to  the 
rate   he   usually  hath   of   other  pas- 
sengers."—7i/(/.  same  day. 
2  Ibid.  Friday,  November  12,  1652. 


1652.] 


NEW   COUNCIL  OF  STATE  FOR   1652 


369 


The  sending  of  a  fleet  of  twenty  ships  to  the  Streights, 
at  that  particular  time,  was  one  blunder  of  the  Council  of 
State ;  the  granting  of  so  great  a  number  of  letters  of 
marque  to  privateers  or  private  men-of-war  was  another. 
In  regard  to  the  latter,  Blake  complains  in  his  letter  after 
the  fight  with  Tromp ;  and  it  would  appear,  from  the 
following  minute,  that  he  had  remonstrated  on  the  subject 
of  the  want  of  men  before  the  fight : — 

"  That  the  letter  from  General  Blake,  dated  the  21st 
instant,  for  so  much  of  it  as  refers  to  men  and  victuals, 
be  referred  to  the  consideration  of  the  Committee  of  the 
Admiralty."  ^ 

In  November  1652  the  House  proceeded,  for  the  fifth 
and  last  time,  to  the  election  of  a  new  Council  of  State  for 
the  ensuing  year.  The  Serjeant-at-Arms  was  ordered  to  go 
out  with  his  mace,  and  summon  all  the  members  in  West- 
minster Hall,  and  the  parts  adjacent,  to  attend  the  House. 
The  doors  were  then  ordered  to  be  shut,,  when  the  nimiber 
of  members  present  appeared  to  be  122.  )  The  twenty-one 
members  of  the  Council  of  State  tQj>e  continued  for  the 
year  ensuing  were  the  Lord-General  Cromwell,  Lord- 
Commissioner  Whitelock,  Lord  Chief  Justice  St.  John, 
Lord  Chief  Justice  Eolle,  Sir  Henry  Yane,  jun..  Sir  Arthur 
Haselrig ;  Thomas  Scott,  Herbert  Morley,  and  Dennis  Bond, 
Esquires;  Colonel  Pm^efoy,  John  Bradshaw,  Serjeant-at-law, 
John  Gurdon,  Esq.,  Lord-Commissioner  Lisle,  Colonel 
Wanton,  Sir  James  Harrington,  Sir  William  Masham, 
Thomas  Chaloner,  and  Robert  Wallop,  Esquires ;  Sir  Gilbert 
Pickering,  Sir  Peter  Wentworth,  and  Nicholas  Love,  Esq. 
The  twenty  new  members  now  elected  were  Robert  Good- 
win,  Esq.,  Alderman  Allen,  Colonel  Thompson,  Walter 

1  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  Monday,  November  22,  1652,  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 

VOL.  II.  B    B 


1 


( 


I 


370 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


! 


\ 


\ 


Strickland,  Esq.,  Sir  Henry  Mildmay,  Major-General  Skip- 
pon.  Lord  Grey,  Colonel  Sydney  (Algernon  Sydney), Edmund 
Prideanx,  Esq.  (Attorney-General),  Sir  John  Trevor,  Colo- 
nel Norton,  Thomas  Lister,  Esq.,  Colonel  Ingoldsby,  Sir 
John  Bourchier,  William  Earl  of  Salisbury,  William 
Cawley,  Esq.,  Sir  William  Brereton,  John  Fielder  and 
William  Say,  Esquires,  and  Major-General  Harrison.^ 

It  will  be  observed  that  Blake  was  not  one  of  the  twenty- 
one  members  of  the  Council^^f^ate  for  the  preceding 
year  who  were  re-elected.  He  was  ndt,  therefore,  for 
more  than  one  year  a  member  of  the  Council  of  State. 
It  will  also  be  observed  that  Algernon  Sydney,  who  had 
never  before  been  a  member,  was  one  of  the  twenty  new 
members  who  were  now  elected  members  of  the  Council,  to 
fill  up  the  places  of  the  twenty  members IJT  the  last  year's 
Council  who  now  went  out.  As  Blake  was  at,  this  time 
constantly  with  the  fleet,  he  could  not,  even  if  he  had  been 
re-elected,  have  been  present  at  the  deliberations  of  the 
Council.  ' 

On  Thursday,  the  25th  of  November  1652,  the  Council  of 
State  ordered,  "Thatthe  two  letters  of  the  24th  instant,  from 
General  Blake  to  the  Council,  be  humbly  presented  to  the 
Parliament ;  and  the  Parliament  put  in  mind  that  General 
Blake's  commission  determines  upon  the  4th  of  December 
next,  to  the  end  they  may  be  pleased  to  declare  their 
pleasure  touching  the  same."  ^  Blake  requested  that  two 
colleagues  should  be  joined  with  him  in  the  command,  as 
had  been  the  case  in  the  first  year  of  his  naval  service. 
Accordingly,  Colonel  Deane  (his  former  colleague)  and 
General   Monk  were    appointed    his   colleagues    in   the 


'  Commons'    Jouraals,    November,     State,  Thursday,  November  25,  1652, 
1652,  Pari.  Hist.,  vol.  iii.  p   1379.  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 

=^. Order  Book    of    the    Council    of 


1652.] 


CRIPPLING   OF  THE  CHANNEL  FLEET. 


371 


command  of  the  fleet.  Both  these  officers,  being  then  em- 
ployed in  Scotland,  could  not  for  some  time  take  any  active 
part  in  the  naval  war. 

I  at  one  time  thought  that,  notwithstanding  the  inces- 
sant care  of  the  Council  of  State,  and  the  large  sums  paid 
by  them  for  intelligence,  their  information  was  defective 
about  this  time  in  regard  to  the  movements  of  the  Dutch ; 
and  that  they  made  a  distribution  of  their  fleet  for  the 
winter,  as  if  the  Dutch  preparations  for  renewing  the  con- 
test would  not  be  completed  till  the  spring.  But  a  careful 
examination  of  their  Order  Books  shows  that  they  were  by 
no  means  uninformed  of  the  state  of  the  Dutch  fleet  and 
the  great  preparations  of  the  Dutch  Government.  Evi- 
dence of  this  has  already  been  given.  And  further,  on  Thurs- 
day, the  25th of  November  1652,  there  is  a  minute,  "That 
the  Lord-General  be  desired  to  give  order  to  some  foot 
forces  of  the  army  to  march  to  Dover,  Sand  own,  and  Deal, 
to  be  there  in  readiness  to  go  aboard  the  ships  of  this  Com- 
monwealth, when  they  shall  receive  orders  from  the  same 
from  General  Blake."  ^  And  on  the  following  day  there  is 
a  minute,  "  That  so  much  of  the  Dutch  letters  as  gives  the 
state  of  the  Dutch  fleet  be  signified  to  General  Blake."  ^ 

Notwithstanding  all  these  warnings,  however,  the  Council 
of  State  had,  as  we  have  seen,  despatched  twenty  ships  of 
war  to  the  Mediterranean.  Moreover,  twenty  ships  of  the 
English  fleet  had  been  sent  to  Elsinore,  under  Captain  Ball.^ 
Penn  sailed  northward  with  an  equal  number  of  vessels, 


*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Thursday,  November  25,  1652, 
JVIS.  State  Paper  Office. 

2  Ibid.  Friday,  November  26,  1652. 

^  "  Instructions  to  Captain  Ball 
upon  his  repair  to  the  Sound: — 1.  You 
are  forthwith  to  go  to  the  Sound,  with 
the  squadron  of  ships  ordered  for  that 


purpose  by  the  letter  you  shall  here- 
with receive,  and  there  take  into  your 
charge  sucli  English  ships  as  are  home- 
ward bound  from  thence,  and  use  voiir 
best  endeavours  to  convoy  them  safely 
home  to  their  several  ports."  The 
6th  instruction  is  "  to  observe  such 
orders  as  you  shall  receive  from  the 

B  2 


I 


372 


COMMOJSWKAXTH   01'  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


to  convoy  a  fleet  of  colliers  from  Newcastle  to  London. 
Twelve  ships  were  stationed  in  Plymouth  Sound,  and  fifteen 
of  the  sMps^  that  had  been  most  damaged  were  ordered 
into  the  river  for  repair.  Towards  the  end  of  November 
the  Council  of  State  began  to  perceive,  whfen  it  was  too  late, 
the  blunder  they  had  committed  in  crippling  their  Channel 
fleet.  On  Saturday,  the  27th  of  November,  the  Council 
ordered,  "  That  a  letter  be  written  to  General  Blake,  to  ac- 
knowledge the  receipt  of  his  of  the  26th,  anS  of  his  intention 
to  go  to  sea,  wherewithal  the  Council  is  satisfied ;  and  that 
the  Council  have  written  to  Portsmouth,  for  the  State's 
ships  there  to  repair  to  him  immediately."  ^  And  on  the 
same  day  they  order,  "  That  a  letter  be  written  to  Mr. 
Willoughby  at  Portsmouth,  to  hasten  out  the  Spenlcer  and 
other  ships  of  the  State  there  to  General  Blake ;  and  to 
enclose  to  him  a  warrant  to  all  captains  of  ships,  to  re- 
pair forthwith  with  their  ships  to  General  Blake."  ^  But 
these  orders  would,  manifestly,  not  be  in  time  to  furnish 
any  eff*ectual  reinforcement  to  Blake  by  the  29th  of  No- 
vember. Accordingly,  on  the  29th  of  November,  Blake 
rode  in  the  Channel,  between  Dover  and  Calais,  with  a 
fleet,  consisting  of  37  men-of-war  and  frigates,  the  fire- 
ships,  and  a  few  hoys. 

After  the  defeat  of  De  Witt,  related  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  the  States  of  the  United  Provinces  again  cast  their 
eyes  upon  Martin  Tromp,  who,  as  has  been  before 
stated,  "  was  as  much  beloved  by  the  seamen  for  his  mild 
temper,  as  De  Witt  was  hated  by  them  for  his  cruelty."  ^ 

Parliament,  the  Council  of  State,  or  hagen. 

General  Blake." — Order  Book  of  the  '  Ibid.     Saturday,    November     27, 

Council  of  State,  Monday,  August  30,  1652. 

1652,  MS.  State  Paper  Office.     How-  ^  Ibid,  same  day. 

ever,  as  has  been   said,  the  King  of  '  Life    of  Cornelius    Van    Tromp, 

Denmark  seized  the  fleet  of  English  p.  83. 

merchantmen  in  the  harbour  of  Copen- 


1652.] 


MEETING  OF  THE  HOSTILE  FLEETS. 


373 


Accordingly,  at  the  beginning  of  November,  the  States  re- 
solved to  give  him  the  command  of  the  fleet  they  were  then 
fitting  out.  Yice-Admirals  Evertz  and  De  Witt,  and  Kear- 
Admiral  Floritz,  were  appointed  to  command  under  him. 
But  De  Witt  falling  sick  was  put  ashore,  and  De  Euyter 
was  substituted  in  his  place.  ^  The  Dutch  accounts  say 
that  this  Dutch  fleet  was  composed  of  73  men-of-war,  be- 
sides fireships  and  other  smaller  vessels,  and  tenders.* 
Blake's  own  statement  is  that  the  Dutch  fleet  "  consisted 
of  95  sail,  most  of  them  great  ships."  ^ 

On  Monday,  the  29th4  of  November  1652,  the  hostile 
fleets  found  themselves  in  presence  of  each  other,  between 
Dover  and  Calais.  Blake  called  a  council  of  war  on  board 
the  Triumph,  his  flag-ship ;  but  it  was  rather  to  apprise  his 
captains  of  what  he  had  resolved  to  do,  than  to  ask  their 
opinion  of  what  ought  to  be  done.  He  spoke  of  the  situa- 
tion of  the  two  nations  at  that  moment,  of  the  superior 
force  of  the  enemy,  of  the  distance  of  his  own  squadrons ; 
and  ended  by  declaring  his  resolution  to  fight,  if  it  were 
necessary,  but  on  no  account  to  fall  down  the  Channel, 
leaving  the  coast  towns  to  be  insulted,  and  perhaps  de- 
stroyed, by  that  powerful  armament.  The  captains,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  when  the  Admiral  was  a  man  of  Blake's 
commanding  character,  accepted  his  decision — though,  as 
the  result  proved,  they  could  hardly  have  all  of  them  ac- 
cepted it  with  alacrity — and  returned  to  their  several  ships. 

All  that  day  the  two  admirals  watched  each  other's 
movements,  with  a  view  to  gain  the  weather-gage.    Blake's 

•  Life  of  Cornelius  Van  Tromp,  p.  83.     the  original  letter  to  the  Council,  with 
«  Ibid.  Blake's  signature,  among  Sir  W.  Penn's 

•  Blake's   letter  to   the  Council   of    papers. 

State,  from  aboard  the  Triumjph,  in  the  ♦  This  was  Old  Style,  by  which  tho 

Downs,  December  1,  1652;  printed  in  English  th»!n  reckoned.     The  Dutch, 

Granville   Penn's    Memorials    of    Sir  who   reckoned   by  the   "  New  Style," 

Wm.  Penn  (vol.  i.  pp.  458-460),  from  make  it  December  9. 


374 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


own  account  is,  that  the  wind,  "  which  was  awhile  some- 
what variable,  after  blew  strongly  at  north-west,  so  that 
we  could  not  that  day  engage.  The  wind  increased  at 
night,  we  riding  in  Dover  Eoad,  and  the  enemy  about  two 
leagues  to  leeward  of  us  at  anchor.  "^  Next  morning,  the 
wind  having  somewhat  abated,  the  two  fleets  weighed  and 
stood  away  to  Dungeness,  the  English  keeping  the  wind. 
"  About  the  pitch  of  the  Nesse,"  ^  says  Blake,  "  the  head- 
most of  our  fleet  met  and  engaged  the  enemy's  fleet,  con- 
sisting of  95  sail,  most  of  them  great  ships — three  ad- 
mirals,3  two  vice-admirals,  and  two  rear-admirals.  They 
passed  many  broadsides  upon  us  ^  very  near,  and  yet  we  had 
but  six  men  slain  and  ten  wounded.  About  the  same  time, 
the  Vidmy  was  engaged  with  divers  of  the  enemy,  but 
was  relieved  by  the  Vanguard  and  some  others.  The  Gar- 
land sped  not  so  well ;  but  being  boarded  by  two  of  their 
flags  and  others,  and  seconded  only  by  Captain  Hoxton, 
was,  after  a  hot  fight  board-and-board,  carried  by  them. 


'  Blake  to  the  Council  of  State, 
December  1,  1652.— Granville  Penns 
Memorials  of  Sir  Wm.  Penn,  vol.  i. 
pp.  4.58-460. 

'  Some  writers  have  supposed  that 
hy  "  Nesse  "  here  Blake  meant  the  Naze, 
a  headland  in  Essex  near  the  border 
of  Suffolk.  The  minutes  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  State  place  the  matter  beyond  a 
doubt.  There  is  a  minute  of  January 
26,  165|,  relating  to  the  petition  of 
"Kachel  Hoxon,  relict  of  Captain 
Hoxon,  commanderof  the  ship  Anthony 
Bona  venture,  who  was  slain  in  the 
late  fight  with  the  Dutch  oif  Dungey 
Nesse." — Order  Book  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  State,  Wednesday,  January  26 
165?,  MS.  State  Paper  Office.  Also 
in  a  minute  of  January  12,  165|, 
relating  to  the  trial  of  Captains 
Young  and  Taylor,  "the  late  fight 
with  the  Dutch  "  is  stated  to  have  been 


"  off  Dunginesse." — Ihid.  Wednesday, 
January  12,  165|.  The  name  of  the 
opposite  French  headland,  "  Cap  Gris 
Nez,"  has  a  close  resemblance  to  the 
name  of  the  English,  if  the  latter 
means  "  dun  nose." 

*  There  seems  to  be  some  confusion 
here.  There  was  Tromp,  the  admiral ; 
De  Ruyter  and  Evertz,  vice-admirals  ; 
and  there  were  also,  probably,  two 
rear-admirals. 

*  By  "  us  "  he  means  his  own  ship, 
the  Triumph.  "  Out  of  200  men  on 
board  the  Garland,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  action,  the  Captain  and  60  officers 
and  men  were  killed,  and  a  still  greater 
number  severely  wounded.  The  Bon- 
aventure  had  suflfered  to  an  equal 
extent."— 7)wY)w'5  Hohirt  BlaJce,^.  223, 
London,  1852:  p.  185,  new  edition, 
London,  1858. 


1652.] 


BATTLE  OF  DUNGENESS. 


and  his  second  with  him.  It  was  late  before  I  took  notice 
of  it,  whereupon  I  gave  order  to  bear  up  to  them ;  but  im- 
mediately our  foretopmast  was  shot  away,  our  mainstay 
being  shot  off  before,  and  our  rigging  much  torn,  so  that 
we  could  not  work  our  ship  to  go  to  their  relief.  And  by 
occasion  thereof,  and  night  coming  on,  we  were  saved  our- 
selves, who  were  then  left  almost  alone.  As  soon  as  it  was 
nio-ht,  we  made  sail  towards  Dover  Eoad,  and  came  to 
anchor.  This  morning,  the  weather  growing  thick,  and 
fearing  a  south  wind,  we  stood  away  to  the  Downs,  where 
(by  God's  providence)  we  now  are."  ^ 

Few  are  the  men  who  can  or  will  acknowledge  a  defeat. 
It  may  indeed  be  assumed,  as  a  maxim  of  strategic  science, 
that  it  is  one  of  the  duties  of  a  commander  to  turn  a 
defeat  into  a  victory,  at  least  in  his  narrative  of  it.     But 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Dutch  had  on  this  occa- 
sion gained  a  victory,  and  were,  for  the  time,  masters  cf 
the  Channel.     The  common  story  that  Tromp,  after  this 
affair,  carried  a  broom  in  his  maintop,  thereby  intimating 
that  he   would   sweep   the   narrow   seas   of  all   English 
shipping,   seems   unworthy   of  the   general   character  of 
Tromp,  who  might  have  been  supposed  too  great  a  com- 
mander, and  too  brave  a  man,  to  be  a  braggart.     But  there 
is   no   occasion   on   which   the    manly   truthfulness    and 
genuine  modesty  of  Blake's  nature  shine  forth  more  con- 
spicuously than  they  do  on  this.     His  letter  to  the  Council 
of  State   begins  thus  :    "  Eight  Honourable,  I   presume 
your  Honours  do  long  for  an  account  of  what  hath  passed 
between  us  and  the  Dutch  fleet;  and  I  hope  you  have 
hearts  prepared  to  receive  evil,  as  well  as  good,  from  the 
hands  of  God."  * 


•  Blake   to   the   Council   of  State,     pp.  458,  459. 
December  1,  1652,  in  Granville  Penn's         '  Ihid.  vol.  i.  p.  458. 
Memorials  of  Sir  Wm.  Penn,  vol.  i. 


376 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


1652.] 


BLAKE'S  FLEET   IS  REINFORCED. 


After  a  short  account  (already  cited)  of  the  battle,  Blake 
thus  proceeds :— "  In  this  account,  I  am  bound  to  let  your 
Honours  know  in  general,  that  there  was  much  baseness 
of  spirit,  not  among  the  merchantmen  only,  but  many  of 
the   State's  ships ;  and,  therefore,  I  make  it  my  earnest 
request,  that  your  Honours  would  be  pleased  to  send  down 
some  gentlemen,  to  take  an  impartial  and  strict  exami- 
nation of  the  deportment  of  several  commanders,  that  you 
may  know  who  are  to  be  confided  in,  and  who  are  not. 
It  will  then  be  time  to  take  into  consideration  the  grounds 
of  some  other  errors  and  defects,  especially  the  discourage- 
ment and  want  of  seamen.     I  shall  be  bold  at  present  to 
name  one,  7iot  the  least — which  is,  the  great  number  of  private 
men-of'War,  especially  out  of  the  River  of  Thames.     And  I 
hope  it  will  not  be  unreasonable  for  me,  in  behalf  of  myself, 
to  desire  your  Honours,  that  you  would  think  of  giving 
me,  your  unworthy  servant,  a  discharge  from  this  employ- 
ment,   so   far   too   great   for   me;  especially,   since  your 
Honours  have   added  two   such  able  gentlemen^  for  the 
undertaking   of  that  charge:  that  so    L  may  spend   the 
remainder  of  my  days  in  private  retirement,  and  in  prayers 

to  the  Lord  for  a  blessing  upon  you  and  the  nation 

At  the  close  of  this,  I  received  your  Honours'  of  the  30th 
of  November,  together  with  yqur  commission,  which  I 
shall  endeavour  to  put  in  execution  with  all  the  power  and 
faithfulness  I  can,  until  it  shall  please  your  Honours  to 
receive  it  back  again,  which  I  trust  will  be  very  speedily ; 
that  so  I  may  be  freed  from  that  trouble  of  spirit  which 
lies  upon  me,  arising  from  the  sense  of  my  own  insuffi- 
ciency, and  the  usual  effects  thereof— reproach  and  con- 
tempt of  men,  and  disservice  of  the  Commonwealth,  which 
may  be  the  consequent  of  both. 

'  Deane  and  Monk. 


"  Into  what  capacity  or  condition  soever  it  shall  please 
the  Lord  to  cast  me,  I  shall  labour  still  to  approve  myself 
a  faithful  patriot,  and 

"  Your  Honours'  most  humble  servant, 

Robert  Blake. 

"  Triumph,  in  the  Downs,  this  1st  December,  1652."  ^ 

On  Wednesday,  the  1st  of  December,  1652,  the  number 
present  in  the  Council  of  State  was  twenty-eight,^  being 
eight  or  ten  above  the  average  number.  Colonel  Sydney 
(Algernon  Sydney)  was  one  of  those  present.  The  Lord- 
General  (Cromwell)  was  not  present. .  The  energy  and 
ability  with  which  the  Council  of  State  immediately  set 
about  repairing  the  error  they  had  committed,  in  crippling 
their  Channel  fleet,  are  well  worthy  of  the  most  careful 
attention,  and  are  very  interesting  as  well  as  very  in- 
structive. On  that  day,  the  1st  of  December,  1652,  they 
made  an  order  : — 

"That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  three  frigates  at 
Plymouth,  to  acquaint  them  with  what  is  come  to  the 
Coun^  concerning  the  engagement  with  the  Dutch ;  to 
desire  them,  therefore,  to  sail  towards  General  Blake,  now 
in  the  Downs,  and  to  send  a  ketch  before  them  to  the 
General,  to  acquaint  him  with  the  orders  they  have  received 
from  the  Council ;  and  to  desire  his  directions,  unless  they 
have  already  received  orders  from  him  in  reference  to  this 

service."  ^ 

On  the  following  day,  Thursday,  2nd  December,  the 
Council  of  State  made  the  following  orders : — 

>  Blake   to   the    Council   of    State,  ^  Order    Book    of    the   Council   of 

from    the    original    among     Sir    W.  State,  Wednesday,  December  1,  1652, 

Penn's      papers.— Granville      Penn's  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 

Memorials   of    Sir  W.    Penn,   vol.    i.  '  Ibid,  same  day. 
pp.  458-460. 


if 


378 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


"  That  a  warrant  be  drawn,  to  give  power  to  the  captains 
of  the  private  men-of-war  now  in  the  River  of  Thames  (for 
the  enabling  of  them,  npon  the  present  occasion,  to  join 
with  the  fleet  with  General  Blake),  to  imprest  [sic]  seamen 
for  their  respective  ships ;  and  that  this  warrant  be  con- 
tinued in  force  for  the  space  of  one  month,  and  no  longer ; 
and  the  captains  of  the  several  ships  are  to  bring  in  the 
numbers  of  men  which  thev  desire."  ^ 

"  That  three  members  of  the  Council — Colonel  Wauton,^ 
Colonel  Morley,  and  Mr.  Chaloner — be  sent  as  Commis- 
sioners to  the  fleet  with  General  Blake,  to  pursue  such 
measures  as  the  Council  shall  give  unto  them."  ^  These 
Commissioners  are  empowered  to  take  up  money  not  ex- 
ceeding £500,  to  be  disposed  by  them  as  they  shall  see 
occasion."* 

"  That  Mr.  Smyth  and  Major  Thompson  do  repair 
aboard  the  several  ships  in  the  State's  service  now  in  the 
river,  and  use  all  possible  endeavours  for  hastening  them 
out  to  General  Blake."  ^ 

"That  a  letter  be  written  to  General  Blake,  to  take 
notice  to  him  of  the  receipt  of  his,  giving  an  account  of 
the  late  engagement  with  the  Dutch ;  to  take  notice  to  him 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Thursday,  December  2,  1652, 
MS.  State  Paper  Office. 

*  This  name  is  sometimes  spelt 
"Walton,"  and  sometimes  "  Wauton;" 
it  is  on  this  occasion  spelt  "  Wauton." 

'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
Thursday,  December  2,  1652,  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. — The  following  are 
among  the  instructions  to  these  Com- 
missioners :  "  6.  You,  with  the  Gene- 
ral, are  hereby  authorised  to  examine 
the  deportment  of  several  captains  and 
commanders,  as  well  of  the  State's 
ships  as  merchantmen,  in  the  late 
fight  with  the  Dutch  fleet ;  and  to  re- 


move  from  the  command  such  of  the 
captains  and  other  commanders  as 
you,  upon  examination,  shall  find  not 
to  have  performed  their  duty  in 
the  said  action,  and  to  supply  their 
places  with  other  fit  persons,  until  the 
Council  shall  take  further  order. — 7. 
You  are,  during  your  residence  there, 
to  be  present  at  councils  of  war,  and 
advise  in  all  things  that  may  emerge 
or  fall  into  consideration  upon  the 
place  relating  to  the  premises." — Ibid. 
same  day. 

*  Ibid,  same  day. 

^  Ibid,  same  day. 


1652.]       SHIPS  ENGAGED  FOE   THE  PUBLIC   SERVICE.  379 

of  his  good  deportment  in  that  action,  and  to  give  him 
thanks  for  the  same ;  and  also  to  acquaint  him  that  the 
CouncH  have  despatched  some  Commissioners  to  him,  to 
visit  him  from  them,  and  to  consult  with  him  concerning 
the  carrying  on  of  the  public  service."  ^ 

"  That  the  Lord-General  be  desired  to  give  order  to  such 
foot  forces  of  the  army  as  he  shaU  find  necessary,  to  march 
down  towards  Dover  and  the  seaside  in  those  parts,  and  to 
be  there  in  readiness  for  further  service."  * 

On  the  following  day,  Friday,  the  3rd  of  December,  1652, 
the  Council  of  State  ordered  :— 

"  That  waiTants  be  issued  to  the  Yice-Admirals  of  the 
adjacent  counties,  and,  where  there  are  no  Yice-Admirals, 
to  the  Mayors  or  Bailiffs  and  other  officers  of  the  port 
towns,  to  imprest  seamen  for  the  service  of  the  Common- 
wealth." 3 

"  That  it  be  referred  to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy, 
to  treat  with  Mr.  Marston  concerning  the  setting  out  of 
his  ships  into  the  public  service ;  and  to  offer  unto  him 
protection  for  the  freeing  of  his  men  from  being  pressed 
into  the  State's  ships,  he  undertaking  to  carry  the  said 
ships  to  the  General  [Blake]  by  a  certain  day,  as  they  can 
agree,  and  wind  and  weather  shall  serve  ;  and  to  remain 
there  for  some  time,  which  the  said  Commissioners  are  like- 
wise to  ascertain  with  him  as  they  shall  be  able." ' 

On  Saturday  the  4th  of  December  they  made  the  foUow- 

ing  orders  : — 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  commanders  of  the 
State's  ships  of  war  at  Harwich  and  Yarmouth,  to  requke 

»  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  minute,  made  the  same  day,  has  re- 
State  Thursday,  December  2,  1652,  ference  to  Blake's  remonstrance  re- 
MS  State  Paper  Office.  .  spccting  the  number  of  private  men- 
^■i/>i^.  same  day.  of-war:  "That  all  petitions  for  pn- 
3  lidd  Friday,  December  3,  1652.  vate  men-of-war  be  read  publicly  at 
*  Ibid     same   day.— The   following  the  Council."— /6iV7.  same  day. 


r 


V 


( 


\ 


380  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XV. 

them  to  make  haste  to  General  Blake,  now  in  the  Downs, 
and  to  go  in  consort  together ;  and  to  take  especial  care,' 
in  their  passage  thither,  that  they  be  not  surprised  or 
unawares  set  upon  by  the  enemy."  » 

"  That  the  like  letters  which  were  sent  to  the  western 
ports  last  night,  for  the  giving  notice  to  them  of  what  hath 
happened  between  the  English  and  Dutch  fleets,  be  de- 
spatched thither  again,  and  the  same  also  to  the  northern 
ports."  2 

"  That  a  warrant  be  directed  to  Mr.  WiUoughby  and 
Mr.  Coytmore,  to  repair  down  the  Eiver  of  Thames  to  all 
ships  of  war,  whether  the  State's  or  private  men-of-war, 
and  require  them  from  the  Council  to  hasten  to  General 
Blake,  now  in  the  Downs,  wild  all  possible  expedition ; 
and  all  Justices  of  the  Peace  are  required  to  permit  the 
said  Mr.  WiUoughby  and  Mr.  Coytmore  to  ^ass  u^pon  the 
Lord's  Day,  it  being  for  a  special  service,"^ 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  General  Blake,  to  acquaint 
him  with  what  the  Council  hath  done  for  the  giving  him 
an  addition  of  strength;  to  let  him  know  that  (in  regard 
the  state  of  affairs  is  before  him,  and  he  hath  a  perfect 
understanding  of  them),  the  Council  do  leave  it  to  him, 
upon  the  place,  to  do  what  he  may  for  his  own  defence  and 
the  service  of  the  Commonwealth. ".^ 

"  That  General  Monk  be  sent  unto,  and  desired  to  be  in 
readiness,  at  twenty-four  hours'  warning,  to  go  to  sea,  to 
take  upon  him  the  charge  to  which  he  hath  been  appointed 
by  the  Parliament."  * 

"  That  the  Parliament  be  humbly  moved  to  give  orders 


1652.] 


THE   COAST   GARRISONS   STRENGTHENED. 


381 


•  Order  Book  ofthe  Council  of  State, 
Saturday  afternoon,  December  4,  1652, 
MS.  State  Paper  Office. 

'  Ibid,  same  time. 


'  Ibid,  same  time. 
*  Ibid,  same  time. 
^  Ibid,  same  time. 


for  the  granting  of  commissions  to  General  Deane  and 
General  Monk,  as  to  the  exercising  that  command  at  sea, 
to  which  they  have  already  been  appointed  by  order  of 
Parliament;  and  the  Lord  President  [of  the  Council  of 
State]  is  desired  humbly  to  move  the  Parliament  herein."* 

"  The  Lord-General  Cromwell  acquainting  the  Council 
that  he  had  drawn  out  500  men  out  of  the  guards  here,  and 
given  them  orders  to  march  to  Dover  and  the  seacoast 
thereabouts,  and  likewise  had  commanded  Colonel  Rich's 
regiment  of  horse  to  draw  together  upon  that  coast,  the 
Council  doth  approve  thereof;  and  desire  his  Lordship  to 
give  further  orders  for  speeding  away  the  said  500  men, 
and  also  to  give  orders  to  another  regiment  of  horse  to 
strengthen  the  seacoast  with."^ 

The  indefatigable  exertions  of  the  Council  of  State,  to 
put  their  fleet  into  that  thoroughly  efficient  condition 
which  it  displayed  in  the  next  great  fight  with  the  Dutch, 
in  the  following  February,  can  only  be  known  completely 
by  a  careful  perusal  of  their  minutes.  But  to  give  these 
minutes  in  full  would,  I  fear,  appear  tedious  to  the  reader. 
On  this,  however,  the  last  and  greatest  occasion  they  were 
to  have  for  the  exercise  of  their  great  administrative 
genius,  some  indulgence  may,  perhaps,  be  accorded  to  an 
attempt  to  give  as  many  of  them  as  may  convey  some  idea 
at  least  of  the  labours  of  the  most  remarkable  body  of 
statesmen  that  ever  sat  together  in  Council. 

On  Sunday  the  5th  of  December,  1652,  the  Council  recom- 
mend Harwich  to  Blake,  as  a  port  to  refit,  instead  of  Lee 

'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  Commander-in-Chief  there,  the  Parlia- 

Saturday  afternoon,  December  4,  1652,  ment  having  appointed  Major-General 

MS.  State  Paper  Office. — At  the  same  Deane,    the    present     Commander-in- 

time,  "  The  Lord-General  is  desired  to  Chief,  to  be  one  of  the  Generals  ofthe 

think  of  some  fit  person,  to  be  imme-  Fleet." — Ibid,  same  time. 

diately  despatched  into  Scotland,  to  be  ^  Ibid,  same  time. 


'■I 


.1 


382 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


Road,  but  leave  the  decision  to  hiin.  Blake  chose  to  come 
into  the  river,  to  Lee  Eoad.  On  Monday  morning  the 
Council  order,  "That  a  letter  be  written  to  General  Blake, 
to  take  notice  to  him  of  his  coming  into  Lee  Eoad ;  to  desire 
him  that  he  will  forthwith  give  a  particular  account  to  the 
Council  of  the  state  of  the  fleet,  and  be  very  careful  in  the 
keeping  of  his  men  aboard."^  On  the  afternoon  of  the  same 
day,  the  Council  ordered,  "  That  letters  be  sent  to  desire 
those  of  the  western  ports  to  set  out  some  small  boats  to  give 
notice  to  merchant- ships  homewards  bound  of  what  hath 
happened,  that  they  may  take  care  of  their  o^vn  safety."  ^ 

"  That  the  Council  do  approve  of  the  Lord  President's 
opening  of  letters  directed  to  the  Council,  and  authorise 
him  to  open  such  as  shall  come,  and  thereupon  to  summon 
the  Council  if  he  shall  see  cause."  ^ 

On  the  1 7th  of  December  the  Council  of  State  wrote 
to  Blake,  "  to  let  him  know  they  have  received  an  account 
from  the  Commissioners  sent  down  to  him  of  the  state 
of  the  fleet,  and  of  h:,s  readiness  to  give  them  assistance 
in  the  business  for  which  they  were  sent ;  to  return  him 
thanks  for  his  faithful  service,  and  to  acquaint  him  that 
all  possible  endeavours  are  using  for  the  speedy  setting 
forth  of  the  fleet  to  sea."  ^ 

"  Upon  consideration  had  of  the  qualities  and  rates  of 
the  several  ships  which  are  to  be  set  forth  in  the  fleet  for 
the  next  summer,  it  is  ordered  that  it  be  declared  that  all 
such  merchant-ships  as  shall  be  taken  on  and  hired  for 
that  service,  shall  be  vessels  carrying  twenty-six  guns  at 
the  least,  and  not  under."  ^ 

'  Order  Book    of   the    Council   of  "  Ibid.    Wednesday   morning,    De- 
State,    Monday    morning,     December  ceniber  8, 
6,  1652,  MS.  State  Paper  Office.  *  Ibid.  Friday,  December  17,  1652. 

"^  Ibkl.  Monday  afternoon,  December  ^  Ibid,  same  day. 
6,  1652. 


1652.] 


KIGOUR   OF   THE    PRESS-WARRANTS. 


383 


"  That  the  captains  of  such  ships  as  shall  be  hired  for 
the  service  of  the  Commonwealth  shall  be  chosen  and 
placed  by  the  State  ;  and  the  other  officers  are  likewise  to 
be  approved  of."  ^ 

The  following  minute  affords  a  graphic  picture,  in  a 
small  compass,  of  the  rigour  with  which  the  press-warrants 
were  executed,  in  order  to  man  the  State's  ships  in  that 
great  naval  war  : — 

"  That  a  warrant  of  protection  be  granted  to  Thomas 
Girhng,  waterman,  son  of  Christopher  Girling  of  Eichmond, 
in  the  county  of  Surrey,  waterman,  to  protect  him  from 
being  imprested  into  the  State's  service,  in  regard  that  by 
his  labour  only  his  aged  father  is  supported,  who  is  unable 
now  to  support  himself;  and  that  he,  the  said  Christopher, 
hath  lost  two  sons  already  in  the  service  of  the  Common- 
wealth." 2 

"  That  order  be  given  to  the  Commissioners  for  Prize- 
goods,  to  bring  up  the  prize-silver  and  cochineal  from  Ply- 
mouth, and  to  coin  the  silver  in  the  Tower  of  London ; 
and  to  let  them  know  that  Major-General  Desborowe  is 
written  unto,  to  afford  convoy  to  the  bringing  of  it  up."  ^ 

^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  the  loss  of  all,  when  they  may  be  quiet 
Friday,  December  17,  1652,  MS.  and  receive  the  same  pay." — Granville 
State  Paper  Office.— Sir  Wm.  Pcnn,  in  Penn^s  Memorials  of  Sir  Wm.  Peim, 
a  letter  to  the  Lord-General  Cromwell,  vol.  i.  p.  427,  from  Milton's  Collection, 
dated  June  2,  1652,  says  :  "  My  Lord,  ^  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
it  is  humbly  conceived  that  the  State  State,  Wednesday,  January  5,  165§, 
would  be  far  better  served  if,  as  for-  MS.  State  Paper  Office, 
merly,  they  placed  commanders  in  all  '  Rid.  Fiiday,  January  7,  165f. — 
the  merchant-ships  taken  up ;  for  the  On  the  same  day  an  order  was  made, 
commanders  now  employed,  being  all  "  That  Mr.  Isaac  Dorislaus  be  ap- 
part-owners  of  their  ships,  I  do  believe  pointed  Solicitor  in  the  Court  of  Ad- 
will  not  be  so  industrious  in  engaging  miralty  on  the  behalf  of  the  Common- 
an  enemy  as  other  men  ;  especially  con-  wealth,  and  that  he  have  the  allow- 
sidering  that  by  engagement  they  not  ance  of  £250  per  annum  for  himself, 
only  waste  their  powder  and  shot,  but  and  a  clerk  in  consideration  of  this 
are  liable  to  receive  damage  in  their  employment."  At  the  same  time  in- 
masts,  rigging,  and  hull,  and  endanger  structions  for  the  directing  of  him  in 


384 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


165f.] 


ENGLISH   CAPTIVES   AT  ALGIERS. 


385 


The  wording  of  the  following  minute  is  curious,  and 
would  seem  to  show  that  the  Council  of  State  had  some 
doubts  as  to  the  precise  meaning  of  the  word  Common- 
wealth. They  would  have  been  more  accurate,  however,  if 
they  had  left  out  the  word  "  Eepublique,"  to  which  title 
the  Government  of  Venice  had  very  small  claim,  less  than 
their  own  Government  had  : — 

"  That  Sir  Oliver  Fleming  do  carry  the  letters  from  the 
Parliament  directed  to  the  Eepublique  of  the  Commonwealth 
of  Venice  to  the  Secretary  now  here  from  that  Common- 
wealth." 1 

The  business  of  the  Council  of  State  extended  to  trans- 
actions with  all  the  Powers  of  the  world.  At  this  time 
they  had,  besides  their  conferences  with  the  ambassadors 
of  some  Powers,  correspondence  by  letters  to  carry  on  with 
many  others — with  the  Great  Duke  of  Tuscany,  with 
"  Jacobus  Duke  of  Courland,"  with  the  Archduke  Leopold.^ 
Their  mode  of  dealing  with  those  personages  may  be  seen 
from  the  minute  respecting  a  letter  from  the  Duke  of  Ven- 
dome,  complaining  of  the  destruction  of  his  fleet  by  Blake 
in  September  of  this  year.     This  minute  is  as  follows  : — 

"  The  Council  of  State  having,  in  pursuance  of  the  Order 
of  Parliament  in  that  behalf,  taken  into  consideration  the 
Duke  of  Vendome's  letter,  and  the  matter  of  fact  of  taking 
the  ships  mentioned  therein,  do  find  the  state  of  it  to  be, — 
That  General  Blake,  being  with  the  fleet,  in  the  Narrows, 
about  the  5th  of  September  last,  part  of  the  fleet,  after 
some  hours'  chase,  did  take  .  .  .  [hlanlc  in  orig.]  French 
men-of-war,  being  the  King's  own  ships,  who,  as  the  com- 
mander said,  were  with  several  other  ships  going  to  the 
relief  of  Dunkirk." 

that  employment  were  signed  and  de-     State,   Tuesday,   January    11,    165f , 
livered  to  him.  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 

•  Order   Book   of    the   Council    of        ^  jjjij^  Thursday,  January  6,  165§. 


Whether  any  further  explanation  or  satisfaction  the 
Council  may  have  given  in  their  letter  I  do  not  know,  as, 
though  the  "draught  of  a  letter"  to  the  Duke  of 
Vendome  is  said  in  the  minute  to  be  "annexed  here- 
unto," »  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  any  such  draught. 
But  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  substance  of  the  minute 
given  above  formed  the  substance  of  the  letter. 

On  the  11th  of  January  165f  letters  were  ordered  to  be 
sent  to  the  Vice-Admirals  and  Mayors  of  port  towns,  for  the 
impresting  of  seamen  in  their  respective  jurisdictions,  for 
the  effectual  manning  of  the  fleet  now  to  go  forth ;  and 
the  ships  at  Portsmouth  and  Plymouth  and  in  the  western 
ports  were  ordered  to  cruise  up  and  down  in  the  Channel 
for  the  discovery  of  the  enemy.  ^ 

On  the  following  day  a  letter,  which  shows  in  a  striking 
manner  the  extent  to  which  the  Barbary  pirates  earned  on 
their  depredations,  particularly  in  carrying  Englishmen 
into  captivity,  was  written  to  "  Mr.  Longland,  to  acquaint 
him  that  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Council  that,  for  the 
furnishing  of  the  English  shipping  in  the  Straits  with 
Englishmen,  he  do,  by  such  vessels  as  he  shall  have  occa- 
sion from  time  to  time  to  send  to  the  African  shore,  bring 
from  Algiers  some  of  the  English  captives ;  which  the 
Council  conceive  may  now  be  effected  upon  the  paying  for 
every  man  who  shaU  be  brought  away  the  price  of  his 
redemption  ;  which  the  Council  is  informed  is  now  set  and 
agreed  upon.**" 


"3 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
Tuesday,  November  23, 1652,MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 

2  3ld.  Tuesday,  January  11,  165§. 

•''  Ibid.  Wednesday,  January  12, 165f . 
On  the  same  day  the  Council  made  an 
order,  "  That  Mr.  Thui-loe  do  prepare 
a  paper  to  be  brouglit  into  the  Council, 

VOL.  II.  c  C 


in  pursuance  of  an  Order  of  Parlia- 
ment, whereby  it  may  be  signified  to 
the  ambassadors  and  public  ministers 
now  here,  sent  from  foreign  states  and 
princes  to  this  CommouM-ealth,  that 
they  are  not  to  permit  any  of  the 
people  of  this  Commonwealth  to  re- 
sort to  the  hearing  of  Masse  in  their 


386 


COMMONWEALTH   OF   ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


I  have  repeatedly  had  occasion  to  call  attention  to  the 
sensitiveness  of  the  Council  of  State  on  the  subject  of  what 
they  termed  "  libellous  and  scurrilous  books  and  pamph- 
lets." It  is  due  to  the  memory  of  the  statesmen  who 
composed  that  Council  to  state  that  their  aversion  to  scur- 
rility extended  even  to  scurrility  against  their  enemies,  as 
will  appear  from  the  following  minute  of  27th  of  January 
165|:— 

"That  the  printed  paper  this  day  brought  into  the 
Council,  containing  scurrilous  matter  against  the  Dutch- 
men, be  referred  to  the  Committee  of  the  Council  appointed 
for  putting  in  execution  the  late  Act  for  regulating  the 
press;  who  are  to  cause  enquiry  to  be  made  after  the 
author,  printer,  and  publishers  of  the  said  paper,  and  also 
search  to  be  made  for  them,  and  seizure  of  such  of  them  as 
can  be  found ;  and  to  report  to  the  Council  what  they  shall 
do  herein."  ^ 

An  adequate  conception  cannot  be  obtained  of  the 
labours  of  the  Council  of  State  without  mentioning  that  a 
vast  number  of  petitions  came  in  almost  every  day,  which 
necessarily  occupied  some  part  of  their  time.  Many  of 
these  petitions  were  from  the  widows  who  had  lost  their 
husbands  in  the  service  of  the  State.  All  these  petitions 
received  careful  attention ;  even,  when  the  Council  could 
do  nothing  for  the  petitioners,  as  in  the  following  case : 


houses,  it  being  contrary  to  the  laws 
of  the  nation." — Order  Book  of  the 
Council  of  State,  January  12,  165§, 
MS.  State  Paper  Office. 

'  Ihid.  Thursday,  January  27,  165f . 
— Some  specimens  of  the  "scurrilous 
matter"  here  referred  to,  matter 
containing  more  scurrility  than  wit, 
may  be  seen  in  the  King's  Pamphlets, 
Anno  1 65^3,  Brit.  Mus.     The  English 


scurrility  had,  however,  the  excuse 
that  it  had  been  provoked  by  the 
demeanour  of  the  Dutch,  who  had 
made  bragging  and  scurrilous  songs 
of  their  own  success  in  the  war — 
a  success  of  which  they  had,  in  truth, 
small  cause  to  boast,  since  they  owed 
it  to  a  superiority  of  force  amounting 
to  three  to  one. 


165i] 


RELATIONS  WITH   FOREIGN   POWERS. 


387 


"  Upon  the  reading  of  the  petition  of  Susanna  Cowlino- 
it  is  ordered  that  it  be  returned  in  answer  to  the  said 
petition,  that  the  matter  of  the  petition  is  not  within  the 
cognizance  of  the  Council."  ^  And  yet  Cromwell  charged 
this  Council  of  State  with  neglect  of  their  duty  and  delays 
of  business. 

On  Wednesday,  the  19th  of  January,  it  was  ordered  :— 

"  That  it  be  signified  to  the  Commissioners  for  the  Navy, 
that  the  Council  hold  it  fit  that  directions  be  by  them 
given  to  such  as  they  employ  under  them  as  prest-masters, 
that  they  do  not  for  the  future  press  out  of  any  vessel 
trading  for  coal  to  Newcastle,  any  man  who  is  aged  above 
forty-five  years,  or  any  boy  under  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  to 
the  end  that  that  trade,  which  is  so  necessary  to  this  Com- 
monwealth, may  be  continued,  and  the  ships  in  the  service 
of  this  Commonwealth  be  well  and  effectually  manned."  2 

"  That  the  paper  in  answer  to  the  ambassadors  from  the 
King  of  Spain  and  Duke  Leopold  be  humbly  reported  to 
the  Parliament  by  Colonel  Sydney."  ^ 

I  will  give  here  several  other  minutes,  throwing  light 
on  the  Parliament's  relations  with  the  Great  Powers  of 
Europe  at  that  time : — 

"  That  six  thousand  pounds  be  allowed  unto  the  Lord 
Viscount    Lisle"     [Algernon    Sydney's    elder    brother], 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
Tuesday,  January  18,  165f,  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 

^  Ibid.  Wednesday,  January  19, 
165§. 

'  Ibid,  same  day. — Such  minutes 
prove  that  Algernon  Sydney  did  not 
speak  without  authority  when  he  said, 
"All  the  states,  kings,  and  potentates 
of  Europe  most  respectfully,  not  to 
say  submissively,  sought  our  friend- 
sliip." — Algernon  Sydney  on   Govern- 

c  c 


7nent,  chap.  ii.  sect.  28.     I  may  add 
here  another  minute,  showing  the  active 
part  taken  by  Sydney  in  the   business 
of   the    Council   of    State  : —  "  That 
Colonel  Sydney,  Mr.  Strickland,  Colonel 
Purefoy,  Sir  H.  Mildmay,  or  any  two 
of  them,  be  desired  to  go  out  to  treat 
with  the  French  agent,  they  being  the 
Commissioners  formerly  appointed  to 
that   business." — Order  Book  of  the 
Council  of  State,  Thursday,  February 
10,  165|,  MS.  State  Paper  Office. 

2 


388 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


"  nominated  ambassador  for  Sweden,  for  his  preparations, 
joumej,  house-expenses,  and  all  other  ordinary  necessaries 
for  the  space  of  six  months ;  of  which  £3,000  be  paid  unto 
him  in  money  here,  and  the  other  three  thousand  to  be  sent 
over  by  bills  of  exchange  either  to  Stockholme,  or  Ham- 
burgh, as  shall  appear  most  convenient ;  and  that  £6,000 
be  set  apart  for  that  service  by  the  Council  out  of  the  exi- 
gents accordingly."  ^ 

"  That  Mr.  Thurloe  do  prepare  the  letter  this  day  passed 
in  the  Parliament  to  be  sent  to  the  Archduke,  for  the  sig- 
nature of  Mr.  Speaker ;  and  that  it  be  sent  by  Sir  Oliver 
Fleming  to  the  Lord  Ambassador  of  Spain,  in  order  to  be 
sent  to  the  Archduke  Leopold."  ^ 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
Monday,  January  24,  165^,  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. — It  appears,  there- 
fore, that  Ludlow  was  in  error  when 
he  stated  that  at  this  time  "  The 
Parliament  sent  the  Lord-Commis- 
sioner Whitelock  on  an  extraordinary 
embassy  to  the  Crown  of  Sweden." 
—  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  p.  439  : 
2nd  edition,  London,  1721.  But  as  it 
would  appear  that  Lord  Viscount 
Lisle,  though  nominated,  did  not  go, 
probably  in  consequence  of  the  change 
in  the  English  Government  that  took 
place  soon  after,  Ludlow  might  easily 
confuse  this  appointment  of  Lord 
Lisle  with  that  of  Whitelock  by 
Cromwell  in  less  than  a  y^^ar  after. 
A  story  told  by  Whitelock,  in  his  ac- 
count of  his  embassy  to  Sweden,  may 
show  that  the  English  Parliament  had 
special  reasons  for  nominating  to  that 
appointment  a  man  of  the  rank  of  the 
Lord  Viscount  Lisle.  Wlien  White- 
lock,  after  having  had  the  honour  of 
dancing  with  Christina,  the  Queen  of 
Sweden,  had  conducted  the  Queen 
to  her  chair  of  state,  she  said  to  him. 


"  Par  Dieu  !  these  Hollanders  are 
lying  fellows."  "I  wonder,"  replied 
WTiitelock,  "how  the  Hollanders 
should  come  into  your  mind  upon 
such  an  occasion  as  this  is,  who  are 
not  usually  thought  upon  "  in  such 
solemnities,  nor  much  acquainted  with 
them."  "  I  will  tell  you  all,"  replied 
the  Queen.  "  The  Hollanders  reported 
to  me  a  great  while  since,  that  all  the 
noblesse  of  England  were  of  the  King's 
party,  and  none  but  mechanics  of  the 
Parliament's  party,  and  not  a  gentleman 
among  them.  Now  I  thought  to  try 
you;^  and  to  shame  you  if  you  could 
not  dance ;  but  I  see  that  you  are  a 
gentleman,  and  have  been  bred  a  gen- 
tleman ;  and  that  makes  me  say  the 
Hollanders  are  lying  fellows,  to  report 
that  there  was  not  a  gentleman  of  the 
Parliament's  party,  when  I  see  by  you 
chiefly,  and  by  many  of  your  company, 
that  you  are  gentlemen." — Whitelock' s 
Journal  of  his  Swedish  Embassy,  vol. 
ii.  pp.  155,  156,  2  vols.  London,  1772. 
*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State, 
Thursday,  January  27,  165|,  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 


165f.] 


OEDEES   EELATING   TO   THE   FLEET. 


389 


"  That  the  Commissioners  of  the  Council  appointed  to 
meet  with  the  public  minister  from  the  King  of  France  do 
give  a  meeting  unto  him  to-morrow,  in  the  afternoon,  at  the 
usual  place  in  Whitehall.  And  Sir  Oliver  Fleming,  Master 
of  the  Ceremonies,  is  to  give  notice  hereof  unto  him,  and 
to  bring  him  to  the  place  of  meeting." ' 

"  That  the  members  appointed  to  meet  with  the  public 
minister  from  the  King  of  France,  or  any  two  of  them,  be 
appointed  to  receive  from  the  agent  of  the  Prince  of  Conde 
what  he  hath  to  offer."  2 

"  That  Sir  Oliver  Fleming,  Master  of  the  Ceremonies,  do 
carry  to  Seigneur  Armerigo  Salvetti,  Eesident  with  this 
Commonwealth  from  the  Great  Duke  of  Tuscany,  the  letter 
written  from  the  Parliament  to  the  Duke  of  Tuscany  ;  and 
he  desired  to  transmit  the  same  to  the  Duke,  his  master.  "^ 

"  That  the  letter  now  read  to  the  Duke  of  Venice  be  ap- 
proved of  and  translated  into  Latin,  and  sent  to  the  secre- 
tary of  that  Commonwealth  now  here,  in  order  to  be  sent 
by  him  to  Venice.  And  the  Commissioners  of  the  Council 
appointed  to  treat  with  the  said  secretary  are  to  represent 
unto  him  the  state  of  the  business  contained  in  the  letter, 
and  to  press  him,  on  behalf  of  the  merchants  concerned, 
that  justice  may  be  done  unto  them  according  to  the  desire 
of  the  CounciFs  letter."  ^ 

"  That  Mr.  Thurloe  do  send  a  letter  to  the  Mayor  of 
Gravesend,  about  sending  in  men  to  the  fleet,  according 
as  hath  been  sent  to  other  Justices  of  the  Peace  to  that 
purpose."  ^ 

'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  *  Ibid.  Friday,  January  28,  1 65§  — 

Friday,  January  27,   165f,  MS.  State  In  the  jnargin  of  this  minute   in   the 

Paper  Office.  Order  Book  is  this  marginal  note,  in 

'  ^^>^-  same  day.  Secretary  Thurloe's  hand  (the  minute 

3  Ibid.  January  14,  165§.  being  in  a  clerk's  hand,  though  a  rough 

*  Ibid.     Wednesday,    February    2,  draft  written  fast) :—"  Let  a  duplicate 

^^^§-  of  the  former  letter  be  writt." 


390 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


The  minutes  of  the  next  meeting  of  the  Council  of 
State  (held  on  the  following  day,  Saturday,  the  29th  of 
January  165f ),  are  all  in  Secretary  Thurloe's  hand — a  hand 
which  persons  more  accustomed  to  read  manuscript  than 
Tony  Lumpkin  might  be  excused  for  describing  as  a  very 
"  cramp  piece  of  penmanship."  At  this  meeting  there 
were  eighteen  members  of  the  Council  present.* 

At  this  meeting  of  the  Council  the  following  orders  were 
issued : — 

"  That  Mr.  Scott  be  desired  to  make  extracts  of  such 
of  the  intelligence  now  read  by  him,  as  is  fit  for  the 
knowledge  of  the  Generals  of  the  fleet,  and  to  send  it  unto 
them."  2 

"  The  Council,  upon  consideration  of  the  whole  business 
now  before  them  concerning  the  fleet,  do  think  fit  and 
order  that  all  the  three  Generals  go  forth  to  sea  with  the 
fleet  upon  this  present  expedition."  ^ 

"  That  the  Council  doth  declare  and  order,  that  there  be 
one  secretary  for  the  three  Generals  of  the  fleet,  and  that 
the  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty  do  allow  him  a  suffi- 
cient salary."'* 

"  That  Francis  Harvey,  late  secretary  to  General  Blake, 
be  not  employed  in  the  service  of  the  fleet."  ^ 

"  That  Captain  Benjamin  Blake  be  discharged  from  his 
present  command  in  the  fleet,  and  that  he  be  not  employed, 
nor  go  forth  in  the  service."  ^ 

Campbell,  in  his  Life  of  Blake,  places  the  supercession  of 
Benjamin  Blake,  the  General's  brother,  at  the  attack  on 
Santa  Cruz,  in  1657,  on  the  authority  of  a  work  entitled 

>  On  Monday,  1  Tth  of  the  same  month,  MS.  State  Paper  Office, 

there  were  thirty  members  present. —  ^  /^^-^  g^^j^^g  ^^^^^ 

Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  *  Ibid,  same  day. 

Monday,  January  17,  165§.  ^  /J j^.  game  day. 

^  Ibid.  Saturday,  January  29,  16o§,  **  Ibid,  same  day. 


1G5§.] 


SOLDIERS  SENT   ON  BOARD   THE  FLEET. 


391 


"  Lives,  English  and  Foreign."  And  as  Campbell  has  not 
noticed  this  supercession  in  1653,  it  is  evident  that  he  has 
confounded  this  case  of  Benjamin  Blake,  in  1653,  with 
that  of  General  Blake's  brother  Himiphrey  at  the  attack 
on  Santa  Cruz  in  1657.  Benjamin  Blake  was  in  the 
autumn  of  the  following  year  (1654)  appointed  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  Gloucester,  in  the  fleet  sent  under  Penn  to  the 
West  Indies;  and  there  are  good  reasons  for  believing 
that  Benjamin  Blake  was  not  in  his  brother's  fleet  in 
1657.1 

On  the  2nd  of  February  165|,  the  Council  of  State  made 
the  following  orders  : — 

"  Upon  consideration  had  of  what  hath  been  offered  to 
the  Council  from  the  Commissioners  for  the  Admiralty, 
for  the  better  manning  of  the  fleet  now  going  forth  to  sea ; 
it  is  ordered,  that  1,200  land-soldiers,  besides  officers,  be 
sent  with  all  expedition  to  the  fleet ;  wherein  care  is  to  be 
taken  that  they  be  persons  fitly  qualified  for  that  service, 
according  as  it  is  propounded  by  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Admiralty."  ^ 

"  That,  for  the  rendering  of  the  land-soldiers  the  more 
serviceable  when  they  shall  come  on  shipboard,  it  is 
ordered,  that  one  sergeant  and  two  corporals  be  appointed 
to  each  sixty  men ;  and  that  each  soldier  have  the  pay  of 
eighteen  shillings  jper  mensem ,  and  his  victuals ;  and  the 
officers  to  have  their  victuals,  and  also  their  pay  as  when 
employed  ashore — viz.,  for  a  sergeant,  eighteen  pence  per 
diem ;  and  a  corporal,  twelve  pence."  ^ 

*  Granville   Penn's    Memorials    of  of  the  Council  present,  including  the 

Admiral  Sir   William   Penn,    vol.    i.  Lord-General  Cromwell, 
pp.  471,  472;  London,  1833.  ^  Ibid,  same  time.— It  may  be  in- 

■■*  Order   Book    of    the   Council    of  ferred  from   this   and   the   following 

State,  Wednesday  night,  February  2,  order,  that  no  officers  above  the  rank 

1 6 5§,  MS.  State  Paper  Office. — At  this  of  sergeants  were  to  accompany  the 

meeting  there  were  thirteen  members  "  land-soldiers  "  aboard  ship. 


1 


892 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


"  That  the  aforesaid  officers  and  soldiers  now  appointed 
to  go  to  the  fleet  are  (when  they  shall  come  there)  to  per- 
form, as  far  as  they  are  able,  all  service  as  seamen ;  and 
to  be  ordered  in  the  like  capacity  as  the  rest."  ^ 

On  Friday,  the  4th  of  February  165f,  the  Council  made 
the  following  orders : — 

"  That  Sir  John  Bourchier  be  desired  to  communicate 
with  the  Lord-General  the  letter  from  Mr.  Eymer  of  York, 
informing  of  great  robberies  committed  by  companies  of 
armed  men  in  that  county ;  and  to  desire  his  Lordship 
from  this  Council  to  give  orders  that  some  forces  may  be 
appointed  for  the  suppressing  of  them."  ^ 

"  That  the  intelligence  this  night  received,  contained  in 
three  letters,  concerning  the  state  and  condition  of  the 
Dutch  fleet,  be  sent  to  the  Generals  of  the  fleet."  ^ 

"  That  the  order  made  by  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Admiralty,  concerning  the  entertainment  of  midshipmen 
on  board  the  several  ships  for  the  year  ensuing,  in  such 
manner  as  in  the  said  order  is  expressed,  be  approved  of."^ 

When  the  following  order  was  made,  on  Wednesday,  the 
9th  of  February,  there  were  twenty -four  members  present 
at  the  Council,  including  the  Lord-General  [Cromvv'ell] ,  Sir 
Henry  Yane,  and  Colonel  Sydney  [Algernon  Sydney]  : — 

"  That  the  regiment  of  the  Lord-General,  out  of  which 
500  men  have  been  taken  for  the  supplying  of  the  fleet, 
be  recruited  to  the  former  numbers.  And  that  the  Lord- 
General  be  desired  to  give  order  to  his  officers  for  the  re- 
cruiting of  his  regiment  accordingly."  ^ 

On  Friday,  the  11th  of  February,  the  following  order 
was  made  : — 

'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  "  Ihkh  same  day. 

Wednesday  night,    February  2,  165§,  ^  Ihid.  same  day. 

MS.  State  Paper  Office.  ^  Ihid.    Wednesday,     February     9, 

2  Ibid.  Friday,  February  4,  16-3§.  IC5§. 


16o§.]        CEOMWELL  AND   THE   COUNCIL  OF  STATE. 


393 


"That  the  Lord-General  [Cromwell],  Colonel  Purefoy, 
Mr.  Bond,  Sir  Henry  Mildmay,  Major-General  Harrison, 
Mr.  Strickland,  Mr.  Scot,  Colonel  Sydney,  and  Mr.  Gurdon, 
or  any  four  of  them,  be  appointed  a  Committee,  to  go  forth 
and  confer  with  Mr.  Douglas,  Mr.  Hamilton,  Mr.  Smith, 
and  Mr.  Kerr,  ministers  of  the  Scottish  nation,  to  receive 
from  them  what  they  shall  say  by  way  of  explanation  upon 
what  they  have  already  spoken  to  the  Council,  concerning 
their  engagement  to  live  peaceably  and  inoffensively  in 
Scotland,  as  becomes  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel."  ^ 

The  result  of  this  conference  is  shown  by  the  following 
minute,  made  at  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  evening 
of  the  same  day,  at  which  there  were  fourteen  members 
present,  including  the  Lord-General,  Mr.  Scot,  Colonel 
Purefoy,  and  Mr.  Gurdon.     Sydney  was  not  there : — 

"  That  Mr.  Eobert  Douglas  and  Mr.  James  Hamilton, 
prisoners  in  the  Tower  of  London,  be  discharged  from 
their  imprisonment,  and  be  at  their  full  liberty."  ^ 

Now  these  minutes  of  9th  and  11th  of  February  prove 
that  Cromwell  was  acting,  even  so  late  as  within  a  few 
weeks  of  his  turning  round  upon  them,  as  the  (to  all  ap- 
pearance) sincere  friend  and  colleague  of  Yane,  Scot,  and 
Sydney.  They  also  prove  that  Cromwell  performed  his  part 
of  the  business  of  government,  as  a  member  of  the  admin- 
istrative council,  though  not  as  dictator  or  sole  ruler.  K 
it  could  be  shown  that  any  attempts  were  made  by  the  other 
members  of  the  Council  of  State  to  deprive  Cromwell  of 
his  legitimate  voice  and  vote  as  a  member  of  the  Council 
of  State,  there  might  be  some  colour  for  what  his  son 
Henry  Cromwell  afterwards   said  to  Ludlow  in  Ireland. 

'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  11,  165f.     Marginal  note  m  AVLoXlvcr 

Friday,  February  11,  165§,  MS.  State  hand:— "Send   this   warrant    to   tho 

Paper  Office.  Lord  Bradshaw  this  night,  who  will 

2  Ihid.  Friday,  at  night,  February  take  care  of  it." 


I 


394 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[CiiAP.  XV. 


Ludlow  having  made  this  remark,  that  "  his  [Cromwell's] 
power  [as  Lord-General  and  member  of  the  Council  of 
State]  was  as  great,  and  his  wealth  as  much,  as  any  rational 
man  could  wish  to  procure  to    himself,  without    raising 
envy  and   trouble,"    Henry    Cromwell    replied : —  "  You 
that  are  here  may  think  he  had  power,  but  they  made 
a  very  kickshaw  of  him  at  London."  ^     This,  as  Ludlow 
observes,  was  in  fact  to  "acknowledge  the  ambition  of 
his  father."     For,  if  the  Government  were   to  be   by  a 
Parliament  and  a  Council  of  State,  the  Council  of  State 
being  the  Executive,  it  will  be  seen,  from  many  of  the 
minutes  I   have  transcribed,  that  their  Lord-General  or 
Commander-in-Chief  had  no   reason  to  complain  of  any 
undue  interference  with  his  particular  department ;  that 
in  all  matters  relating  to  the  employment  of  the  military 
forces,  they  acted  through  the  Lord-General — their  form 
of  words  being,  "  That  the  Lord-General  be  communicated 
with  " — "  That  the  letter  be  referred  to  the  Committee,  who 
are  to  confer  with  the  Lord-General,  and   report  their 
opinions  to  the  Council," — "  That  his  Lordship  be  desired 
from  this  Council  to  give  orders,"  &c.     This  indeed  was 
not  a  military  despotism ;  and  it  seems  it  was  a  military 
despotism  that  Cromwell  desired,  that  is,  provided  that  he 
was  the  despot.     In  fact,  so  far  was  the  Council  of  State 
from  making  "  a  kickshaw   of  him,"  that  they  favoured 
him  only  too  much.     While  the  pay  of  the  rest  of  the 
army  was  often  kept  many  months  in  arrear,  we  find,  from 
such  minutes  as  the  following,  that  they  paid  special  at- 
tention to  the  payment  of  "  the  Lord-General's  regiment " 
— a  regiment  which  made  a  return  for  such  good  treatment 

'  Ludlow's     Memoirs,    vol.    ii.    p.  fenders.      Many  arguments  might  be 

491  :    2nd  edition,  London,  1721.— It  found  in  defence  of  Caesar  and  Bona- 

ib  astonishing,  indeed,  that  CromweU's  parte,  which  do  not  apply  in  the  least 

conduct   should  ever  have  found  dc-  to  the  case  of  Cromwell. 


i65y 


BATTLE   OF   PORTLAND.  ^^ 


^ 


395 


by  the  most  disgraceful  act  ever  committed  by  English 
soldiers : — 

"That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Committee  for  the 
Army,  to  desire  them  that  the  two  months'  pay,  due  to 
the  Lord-General's  regiment  on  Saturday  last,  according 
to  the  muster  of  1,200  men,  may  be  speedily  paid."  ^ 

It  appears  from  a  petition  of  the  Levant  merchants  to 
the  Council  of  State  that  several  of  their  ships  returning 
from  Turkey  were  obliged,  for  their  security  from  the 
Dutch  men-of-war  in  the  Mediterranean,  to  put  into  har- 
bour upon  the  coast  of  Italy,  where  they  landed  aU  their 
silks  and  fine  goods.  They  were  then  taken  into  the 
service  of  the  State,  the  English  Government  being  in 
want  of  ships  of  war  in  the  Mediterranean.  For  which 
reason,  and  "  in  regard  of  the  present  dangerousness  of 
those  seas  by  the  Dutch,"  the  petitioners  prayed  that 
they,  bringing  their  goods  overland  to  Dunquerque,  might 
"  have  liberty  to  import  them  thence  to  England,  without 
seizure  or  penalty  imposed  by  the  Act  of  Parliament  for 
encouragement  of  navigation :  "  "  ordered,  that  the  case 
be  humbly  reported  to  the  Parliament,"  ^  which  amounted 
to  granting  the  prayer  of  the  petition. 

It  had  now  become  evident  that  a  great  battle  must  be 
fought  with  the  Dutch  fleet  before  many  days  passed. 
On  the  15th  of  February,  165|,  the  Council  ordered: — 

"  That  new  warrants  be  drawn  for  all  the  messengers  of 


»  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Thursday,  February  10,  165§, 
MS.  State  Paper  Office.— On  the  same 
day  the  Council  ordered,  "That  the 
sum  of  £200  be  paid  out  of  the  exi- 
gent moneys  of  the  Council  to  Mr. 
Marchmont  Needham,  in  consideration 
of  his  great  labour  and  pains  in  the 
translation  of  Mr.  Selden's  book  en- 


titled '  Mare  Clausum.'  " — Ibid,  same 
day. 

*  Ibid,  same  day. — The  Order  of 
Parliament,  giving  power  to  the  Coun- 
cil according  to  the  prayer  of  the 
petition,  is,  by  a  minute  of  March  14, 
referred  to  the  Committee  for  Foreign 
Affairs. 


396 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


the  Council,  for  the  enabling  them  to  ride  post,  to  press 
horses  upon  all  roads,  and  also  any  fit  vessel  in  any  port 
they  shall  come  unto,  whither  they  are  directed,  in  order 
to  sail  towards  the  fleet."  ^ 

On  Sunday  the  20th  of  February,  the  Council  received 
a  despatch  from  the  fleet,  the  importance  of  which  is  shown 
by  this  order : — "  That  £10  be  given  to  Mr.  Symball,  for 
his  diligence  in  bringing  a  despatch  from  the  fleet."  ^ 

On  that  Sunday  there  were  fourteen  members  of  the 
Council  present,  including  Yane  and  Scot.  Bradshaw 
was  president.  Cromwell  was  not  present ;  neither  was 
Sydney.  Yane  was  on  that  day  evidently  the  directing 
spirit  of  the  Council,  as  appears  from  the  following  orders, 
which  formed  the  business  of  that  day  : — 

"That  it  be  referred  to  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Admiralty  to  speak  with  the  Lord-General  [Cromwell], 
concerning  putting  aboard  the  fleet  1,200  or  1,500  land- 
soldiers,  upon  the  same  terms  as  the  other  land-soldiers 
were  sent,  and  to  give  orders  therein  accordingly."  ^ 

"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Navy,  to  let  them  know  the  necessity  of  having  the  ships 
now  fitting  forth  completely  ready  by  the  1st  of  March ; 
and,  therefore,  that  they  take  care  of  supplying  them  with 
all  things  necessary,  and  especially  with  men."  ^ 

On  the  following  day,  Monday,  the  21st  of  February, 
165|,  an  order  was  made  : — 

"  That  the  Council  do  sit  to-morrow  morning  at  8  of  the 

*  Order    Book   of    the   Council   of  pursuance  of  an  Order  of  Parliament, 

State,    Tuesday,   February  15,    165§,  for  bringing  the  letter  from  the  Gene- 

MS.  State  Paper  Office.  rals  of  the  fleet,  containing  an  account 

"^  7?>zc?.  Sunday,  February  20, 165§. —  of  the  late  action  against  the  Dutch." 

On  March  2,  there  is  another  order  — Jhid.  Wednesday,  March  2,  165§. 

respecting  the  payment  of  this  mes-  '  Thid.  same  day. 

senger :     "  That  the  sum  of  £20  be  *  Jhid.  same  day. 
paid  to  Henry  Symball,  messenger,  in 


165§.] 


FIRST  DAY'S  BATTLE. 


397 


clock;  and  that  Mr.  Thurloe  do  by  that  time  make  extracts 
of  the  intelligence  sent  to  the  Council,  of  the  late  fight  with 
the  Dutch,  in  order  to  report  the  same  to  the  Parliament."  ^ 
On  Tuesday,  the  22nd  of  February,  the  following  orders 
were  made : — 

"  That  the  sum  of  £5  be  paid  to  Edward  Proctor,  water- 
man, in  consideration  of  his  bringing  a  pacquet  of  good 
news  to  the  Commissioners  for  the  Admiralty."  ^ 

"  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  Commissioners  for  the 
Admiralty  to  take  care  that  physicians  and  chirurgeons 
may  be  forthwith  despatched  to  Dover  and  Portsmouth,  to 
take  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded  men  there."  ^ 

"  That  Sir  Henry  Yane  do  humbly  acquaint  the  Parlia- 
ment with  the  intelligence  come  concerning  the  late 
engagement  with  the  Dutch."  '* 

"  That  Sir  Henry  Yane  do  humbly  move  the  Parliament 
to  take  into  consideration  the  families  of  such  as  have 
been  slain  in  the  engagement  with  the  Dutch,  some 
whereof  are  already  known,  and  further  particulars  ex- 
pected every  hour."  ^ 

On  the  18th,  the  19th,  and  the  20th  of  February,  165f, 
was  fought  the  greatest  battle  that  had  yet  been  fought 
between  the  English  and  the  Dutch  fleets,  which  were 
about  equal  in  the  number  of  ships,  each  fleet  consisting 
of  about  80  line-of-battle  ships  and  frigates.  The  best 
and  largest  ships  of  the  two  nations,  commanded  by  the 
best  admirals  that  the  world  had  ever  seen — on  the  Dutch 
side  by  Tromp,  De  Euyter,  Evertz,  Floritz,  De  Wilde,  on 
the  English  side  by  Blake,  Deane,  Penn,  Lawson — were 
engaged.     On  board  of  the  English  fleet  were  also  many 

'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  '  Ihid.  same  day. 

Monday,  Februaiy  21,  16o§,  MS.  State  *  Ihid.  same  day. 

Paper  Office.  a  Hid.  same  day. 

2  Ihid.  Tuesday,  February  22,  165§. 


398 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


165§.] 


SECOND   DAY'S   BATTLE. 


hundreds  of  the  veteran  soldiers  of  the  Parliamentary  army, 
men  who  had  passed  through  a  thousand  dangers,  and  had 
been  victorious  in  a  hundred  battles  and  sieges. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  18th  of  February,  the 
English  fleet  being  in  that  part  of  the  English  Channel 
between  the  Isle  of  Portland  and  Cape  de  la  Hogue,  and 
some  ^ve  leagues  distant  from  the  English  shore,  the 
English  admirals  descried  the  Dutch  fleet,  consisting — "  as 
we  then  judged,"  say  the  English  admirals^  in  their  letter 
to  the  Speaker,  "  and  are  since  informed  by  some  of  their 
own  number — of  80,  all  men-of-war,  and  some  200  ^ 
merchantmen,"  a  league  and  a  half  to  windward  of  the 
weathermost  of  their  ships,  and  two  or  three  leagues  to 
windward  of  most  of  the  English  fleet. 

Blake's  ship,  the  Triumph,  with  the  Fairfax  (Rear- 
Admiral  Lawson),  the  Spealcer  (Yice-Admiral  Penn),  and 
about  twenty  more  ships,  being  nearest  to  the  Dutch, 
Tromp  "might  probably,"  says  the  despatch  of  the  English 
admirals,  "  if  he  had  pleased  to  have  kept  the  wind,  have 
gone  away  with  his  whole  fleet,  and  we  had  not  been  able 
to  have  reached  him  with  our  main  body,  only  with  a  few . 
frigates,  our  best  sailers,  which  had  not  been  likely  to 
have  done  much  upon  them."  ^  But  Tromp,  seeing  that 
the  main  body  of  the  English  fleet  was  about  a  league  and 


'  Blake,  Deane,  and  Monk  to  the 
Speaker,  February  27,  165f,  in  Old 
Parliamentary  History,  vol.  xx.  p.  116. 

'^  The  Dutch  writer  of  the  *'  Life  of 
Cornelius  Van  Tromp"  states  the  mer- 
chantmen at  250.  He  says  :  "  Lieu- 
tenant-Admiral Tromp,  after  he  had 
cruised  some  time  in  the  Channel,  to 
wait  for  the  ships  that  were  to  come 
from  Holland,  arrived,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  February,  near  the  isle  of 
Ilheo^  to  convoy  250  merchant-ships 


that  were  there  assembled  from  divers 
parts  of  Europe ;  and  after  having 
staid  there  seven  days,  he  set  out 
with  that  fleet  to  conduct  them  home 
to  their  own  country.  But  as  he  came 
near  Portland,  he  descried  the  English 
fleet  under  the  command  of  Blake, 
upon  which  he  stood  directly  towards 
them." — Life  of  Cornelius  Van  Tromp, 
p.  89. 

^  Blake,  Deane,  and  Monk  to  the 
Speaker,  February  27,  165|. 


a  half  distant,  at  once  perceived  the  adva^age  this  pre- 
sented to  him,  of  attacking  with  a  greatly  superior  force 
these  twenty-three  ships,  forming  hardly  more  than  a 
fourth  part  of  the  English  fleet.  Accordingly,  he  put  all 
his  merchantmen  to  windward,  and  ordered  them  to  stay 
there—"  as  some  that  we  have  taken  have  since  informed 
us,"  say  the  English  admirals^—"  and  himself,  with  his 
body  of  men-of-war,  drew  down  upon  us  that  were  the 
weathermost  ships,  when  we  were  in  a  short  time  engaged." 

Nothing  could  more  strikingly  manifest  the  extraordi- 
nary fighting  qualities  of  the  Englishmen  who  manned 
those  twenty-three  ships,  than  the  fact  that  those  ships 
fought  the  whole  Dutch  fleet  for  two  hours,^  without  that 
result  which,  under  such  circumstances,  Lord  Rodney  pro- 
nounced inevitable,  when  he  said  that  the  officer  who 
brings  the  whole  fleet  under  his  command  to  attack  half 
or  part  of  the  enemy,  will  be  sure  of  defeating  the  enemy 
and  taking  the  part  attacked.  Tromp,  indeed,  did  take 
several  of  the  English  ships  in  this  first  encounter.  The 
English  admirals,  in  their  despatch  to  the  Speaker,  mention 
three  by  name,  "  and  some  other  ships,  but,"  they  add, 
"  we  repossessed  them  again." 

But  if  the  Dutch  had  pretty  hard  work  even  with  those 
twenty-three  ships,  as  the  rest  of  the  English  fleet  came 
up,  and  "had  got  so  far  ahead,  that,  by  tacking,  they 
could  weather  the  greatest  part  of  the  Dutch  fleet,"  Tromp 
perceived  that  the  tables  were  turned  against  him,  and. 


'  Blake,  Deane,  and  Monk  to  the 
Speaker,  February  27,  165§. 

^  The  want  of  clearness  in  the  de- 
spatch might  make  it,  at  first  sight, 
appear  that  these  twenty-three  ships 
fought  the  whole  Dutch  fleet  till  4 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.     But  a  sen- 


tence brought  in  afterwards  throws  a 
different  light  on  the  matter  :  "  The 
leewardmost  part  of  our  ships  con- 
tinued fighting  till  night  separated 
them,  being  engaged  within  two  hours 
as  soon  as  we." 


COMMONWEiiLTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


accordingly,  "he  tacked  likewise,  and  those  with  him, 
and  left  us."  ^ 

On  the  19th  of  Febrnary,  as  soon  as  it  was  day,  the  Eng- 
lish fleet  made  what  sail  they  could  after  the  Dutch,  but,  it 
being  calm,  the  main  body  of  the  English  could  not  get  up 
with  the  Dutch  till  2  o'clock.  The  two  fleets  then  fought 
till  night  parted  them.  The  English  this  day  took  and 
destroyed  five  of  the  Dutch  men-of-war.  "  The  Dutch 
fleet  steered  up  the  Channel  with  their  lights  abroad  ;  we 
followed  ;  the  wind  at  WNW.,  a  fine  little  gale  all  night."^ 

The  account  of  the  English  admirals  agrees  in  the  main 
points  with  the  description  given  by  foreigners  of  this 
battle.  Paul  Hoste,  in  his  work  on  Naval  Evolutions, 
says  that  in  this  battle,  which  he  calls  the  "  Combat  de 
Portland,"  the  two  fleets  met  in  sight  of  Portland ;  that  the 
Dutch  had  the  wind ;  that  Tromp,  though  it  appeared  that 
he  ought  to  avoid  a  battle  in  which  he  should  hazard  his 
convoy  of  200  merchantmen,  yet,  considering  that  if  the 
wind  should  change,  he  would  be  obliged  to  fight  with  less 
advantage,  resolved  to  bear  down  on  the  enemy,  after 
having  placed  his  convoy  to  windward ;  that  the  battle  on 
the  first  day  was  very  sanguinary,  many  ships  being  dis- 
abled, sunk,  or  fired ;  that  nothing  was  able  to  separate 
two  enemies  so  furiously  excited,  but  the  darkness  of  the 
night,  during  which  both  parties  prepared  themselves  to 
renew  the  combat,  which  had  remained  undecided.  Hoste 
then  says,  that  on  the  second  day.  Admiral  Tromp  found 
himself  exceedingly  perplexed ;  and,  after  many  delibera- 
tions, he  determined  to  retreat.^ 

>  Blake,  Deane,  and  Monk  to  the  Paul  Hoste,  Professeur  de  Math^ma- 

Speaker,  February  27,165f.  tiques  dans   le  Seminaire    Eoyale  de 

2  ihid.  Toulon.  A  Lyon.  Fol.  1696  and  1727,  p. 

5  Art  des  Armees  Navales ;  ou  Traiti  90.     GrauTille  Penn,  vol.  i.  pp.  481- 

des'  Evolutions  Navales.     Par  le  P6ro  484. 


^j'^m^-m^^t*:^  .     "m>^. 


165i] 


THIRD  DAY'S  BATTLE. 


Accordingly,  on  the  third  day,  Tromp  drew  up  his  fleet 
in  the  form  of  a  half-moon  or  semicircle ;  and,  as  a  hen 
covers  her  chickens  with  her  wings,  the  Dutch  admiral 
put  his  convoy  of  200  merchantmen  richly  laden  in  the 
middle — that  is,  within  the  semicircle  composed  of  his 
men-of-war,  his  own  ship  occupying  the  post  of  danger  and 
honour;  for  his  own  ship  formed  to  windward  the  ex- 
treme point  of  the  semicircle,  and  the  rest  of  his  fleet 
extended  on  each  side  to  form  the  segments  of  the  semi- 
circle which  covered  the  convoy.  In  this  order  he  re- 
treated with  the  wind  astern,  firing  to  the  right  and  left 
on  all  the  English  ships  that  approached  to  insult  his 
wings.  Tromp  continued  to  fight  till  night,  which  gave 
him  time  to  renew  his  order  of  retreat ;  and  Hoste  says, 
that  though  pursued  the  following  day  by  the  English,  he 
entered  his  ports  "  with  the  glory  of  having,  by  his  valour 
and  skill,  preserved  for  his  country  a  rich  convoy  which 
was  on  the  point  of  becoming  a  prey  of  the  enemy." 

How  far  this  last  statement  is  correct,  may  be  judged 
by  the  despatch  of  the  English  admirals,  which  thus 
j)roceeds : — 

"  On  the  20th,  about  nine  in  the  morning,  we  fell  close 
in  with  them,  with  some  fine  great   ships,  and  all  the 
frigates  of  strength,  though  very  many  could  not  come  up 
that  day.     And  seeing  their  men-of-war  somew^iat  weak- 
ened, we  sent  smaller  frigates,  and  ships  of  less  force,  that 
could  get  up  amongst  the  merchantmen,  w^hich  put  their 
whole  body  to  a  very  great  trouble,  so  that  many  of  them 
and  their  men-of-war  began  to  break  off  from  their  main 
body;  and  towards  evening  we  pressed  so  hard  upon  them, 
that  they  turned  their  merchantmen  out  of  their  fleet  upon 
us  (as  is  conceived),  for  a  bait ;  but  we  gave  strict  order, 
that  none  of  our  ships  that  could  get  up  to  their  men-of- 

VOL.  II.  D  D 


402 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


war,  and  had  force,  should  meddle  with  any  merchantmen, 
bnt  leave  them  to  the  rear.  We  continued  still  fighting 
with  them  until  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  by  which  time 
we  were  some  three -and-a-half  leagues  off  Blackness,^  in 
France  (four  leagues  W.  from  Calais),  the  wind  at  N.W. ; 
we  steering  directly  for  the  point  of  land,  having  the  wind 
of  the  Dutch  fleet.  So  that  if  it  had  pleased  the  Lord,  in 
His  wise  providence,  who  sets  bounds  to  the  sea,  and  over- 
rules the  ways  and  actions  of  men,  that  it  had  been  but 
three  hours  longer  to-night,  we  had  probably  made  an  in- 
terposition between  them  and  home ;  whereby  they  might 
have  been  obliged  to  have  made  their  way  through  us  with 
their  men-of-war,  which  at  this  time  were  not  thirty-five, 
as  we  could  count — the  rest  being  destroyed  or  dispersed. 
The  merchantmen,  also,  must  have  been  necessitated  to 
have  run  ashore,  or  fallen  into  our  hands ;  which,  as  we 
conceive,  the  Dutch  admiral  being  sensible  of,  just  as  it 
was  dark,  bore  directly  in  upon  the  shore,  where,  it  is 
supposed,  he  anchored  ;  the  tide  of  ebb  being  then  come, 
which  was  a  leewardly  tide.  We  consulted  with  our  pilots, 
and  men  knowing  those  coasts,  what  it  was  possible  for 
the  enemy  to  do  ?  Whose  opinions  were,  that  he  could 
not  weather  the  French  shore,  as  the  tide  and  wind  then 
was,  to  get  home ;  and  that  we  must  likewise  anchor,  or 
we  could  not  be  able  to  carry  it  about  the  flats  of  the 
Somme ;  whereupon  we  anchored.  Blackness  being  N.E. 
and  by  E.,  three  leagues  from  us. 

"  This  night  being  very  dark,  and  blowing  hard,  the 
Dutch  got  away  from  us  ;  so  that,  in  the  morning  of  the 
21st,  we  could  not  discover  one  ship  more  than  our  own, 
which  were  betwixt  forty  and  fifty,  the  rest  being  scattered, 

'  Cap  Oris  Noz,  opposite  to  Dimgenese. 


1651] 


RESULTS   OF   THE   BATTLE   OF   PORTLAND 


and  as  many  prizes  as  made  up  sixty  in  all.  We  spent  all 
this  night  and  day,  while  [till]  twelve  o'clock,  in  fitting  of 
our  ships,  masts,  and  sails,  for  we  were  not  capable  to  stir 
till  they  were  repaired ;  at  which  time,  being  a  windward 
tide,  and  the  Dutch  fleet  gone,  we  weighed  and  stood  over 
to  the  English  shore,  fearing  to  stay  longer  upon  the  coast, 
being  a  lee- shore." 

The  despa-tch  thus  concludes  : — 

"  Thus  you  see  how  it  hath  pleased  the  Lord  to  deal 
with  us,  poor  unworthy  instruments,  employed  in  this  late 
transaction ;  wherein  He  hath  delivered  into  our  hands 
some  seventeen  or  eighteen  of  their  ships  of  war,  which 
have  been  by  your  fleet  (without  the  loss  of  any  one  ship 
save  the  Sampson)  taken  and  destroyed  ;  besides  merchant- 
men, whose  numbers  we  know  not,  they  being  scattered  to 
several  ports. 

"We  have  many  men  wounded,  and  divers,  both  of 
honesty  and  worth,  slain. 

(Subscribed)     Robert  Blake, 

RiCHAED  Deane, 
George  Monk." 

"P.S. — Several  of  the  Dutch  are  driven  ashore  in 
France,  one  without  any  men  at  all  in  her."  ^ 

In  this  Battle  of  Portland,  Blake  himself  waftjg^gunded, 
some  accounts  say  severely,  others  slightly.  Lord  Lei- 
cester-isfc-^ie  JouTnB.1  says,  "General  Blake  was  hurt  in 
the  thigh  with  a  crossbow-shot."  ^  Another  cotemporary 
account  says,  "  General  Blake  was  slightly  wounded  in  the 
neck  at  Portland   fight."  ^     Lord   Leicester   says,  "Van 

*  Blake,  Deane,  and  Monk  to  the         ^  Sydney  Papers,  edited  by  R.  W. 
Speaker,  aboard  the  2 Vmw^/i  in  Stokes     Blencowe,  p.  139:  London,  1825. 
Bay,  February  27,  165f,  in  Old  Pari,         "  Granville   Penn,  vol.   ii.   p.  615, 
Hist.  vol.  XX.  p.  116  e^  seq.  Appendix  M. 

D  D  2 


404  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XV 

Tromp  got  home  into  Holland  with  some  of  his  men-of- 
war,  leaving  aU  his  merchants  which  he  was  to  convoy, 
many  whereof  feU  daily  into  the  hands  of  the  English.  It 
is  said  the  Hollanders  lost  4,000  men,  the  English  not 
above  400." '  But  the  loss  on  both  sides  was  probably 
much  greater  than  this.  In  another  letter  the  General  of 
the  fleet  says,  "  The  loss  on  our  side  is  greater  than  was 
expected,  for  we  have  lost  many  precious  commanders, 
besides  many  wounded— some  having  lost  their  legs,  and 
others  their  arms."  Among  the  slain  were  Captains  Ball, 
Mildmay,  and  Barker,  "  with  our  secretary  Mr.  Sparrow, 
whose  deaths  are  much  lamented."  ^    " 

On  the  24th  of  February,  the  Council  of  State  ordered 
a  letter  of  thanks  to  be  written  to  the  Generals  of  the 
fleet.3 

Whatever  was  the  nature  or  severity  of  Blake's  wound, 
it  would  appear  that  soon  after  the  battle  he  was  suffering 
from  an  ilhiess  which  alarmed  the  Council  of  State ;  for 
on  Sunday,  the  6th  of  March,  the  Order  Book  contains 
the  following  minute,  which  is  the  only  minute  made  on 
that  day.  The  minute  is  headed,  "  Lord's  Day,  6th  March, 
1 65f ,"  and  is  as  foUows :  "  Whereas  it  is"just  now  sig- 
nified to  the  Council,  that  General  Blake  is  faUen  very  ill 
at  Portsmouth,  It  is  ordered  ^that  Colonel  Walton  and 
Mr.  Scot  be  desired  to  speak  with  Dr.  Pridean  and  Dr. 
Bates ;  and  to  desire  them,  in  the  name  of  the  Council,  to 
take  a  journey  to  Portsmouth  to  contribute  their  advice 
and  assistance  for  the  restoring  of  him  to  health  again,  if 
the  Lord  please ;  and  to  desire  them  to  go  away  this  night, 
to  which  end  the  Council  have  given  order  for  a  coach 

'  Sydney  Papers,  p.  139:  London,     480,  48L 

^^f^^.     .    ^       ,,  'Order   Book    of    the    Council   of 

Xmg  s  Pamphlets,  No.  555,  Brit.     State,   Thursday,   February   24    165^ 
Mus,    Granville  Penn,  vol.  i.  pp.  479,     MS.  State  Paper  Office.  '        ^' 


165§.] 


EFFECT  OF  THE   GREAT  BATTLE. 


405 


and  six  horses   to  be  made   ready,  and  a  messenger  to 
attend  them  for  defraying  the  charge  of  their  journey."  * 

On  Monday,  the  14th  of  March,  there  is  the  following 
order  relating  to  the  same  matter :  "  That  fifty  pounds 
apiece  be  paid,  out  of  the  exigent  moneys  of  the  Council, 
to  Dr.  Pridean  and  Dr.  Bates,  in  consideration  of  their 
pains  in  their  journey  to  visit  General  Blake  at  Poi-tsmouth, 
by  the  order  and  at  the  desire  of  the  Council."  ^ 

On  Wednesday  the  16th  of  March,  the  Council  made  the 
following  order,  with  a  view  to  remedy  the  want  of  men  to 
man  the  fleet,  arising  from  the  "  great  number  of  private 
men-of-war,"to  which  Blake  had  called  their  attention  in  his 
despatch  of  December  1,  1652,  quoted  in  a  former  page : — 
"  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Generals  of  the  fleet,  to 
let  them  know  that  the  Council  have  put  a  stop  to  the 
granting  of  any  more  commissions  for  private  men-of-war, 
unless  they  shall  be  certified  of  the  supply  of  the  fleet 
with  men ;  and  do  give  power  unto  them,  for  the  speedy 
manning  of  the  fleet,  to  take  men  out  of  the  private  men- 
of-war  as  they  shall  meet  with  them,  and  as  they  shall  find 
they  shall  stand  in  need  of  them."  ^ 

To  enable  the  reader  to  judge  of  the  effect  of  this  great 
battle  at  the  time,  I  will  quote  a  passage  from  a  cotem- 
porary  Dutch  writer,  whose  efforts  to  prove  that  the 
Hollanders  "had  not  much  less  right  to  pretend  to  the 
victory  than  their  enemies,"  only  confirm  the  truth  of  the 
English  claim  to  the  victory  : — "  The  success  of  this  battle 
made  so  great  a  noise  at  London,  that  they  made  no  diffi- 
culty to  publish  abroad  that  Tromp,  Evertz,  and  De 
Euyter  were  totally  routed,  and  that  100  merchant-ships, 

»  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,         '  jIjIj  Monday,  March  14, 165§. 
Lord's  Day,  March  6,  165§,  MS.  State        » Ibid.  Wednesday,  March  16,  1G5§. 
Paper  Office. 


406 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XV. 


and  fifty  men-of-war,  of  tlie  Dutch  were  taken  or  sunk. 
Nay,  and  this  noise  was  echoed  over  all  Europe,  and  was 
carried  into  France,  Sweedland,  Denmark ;  and  to  render 
w^hat  they  affected  to  speak  of  it  the  more  credible,  the 
Parliament  appointed  an  extraordinary  thanksgiving-day 
to  be  kept  on  that  occasion.  And  what  seemed  fully  to 
authorise  so  great  a  triumph,  and  exalt  the  glory  of  Blake, 
was,  that  the  prisoners  were  led  in  a  drove  to  Canterbur)^, 
under  the  guard  of  a  troop  of  horse ;  and  that  in  all  the 
places  through  which  they  passed,  they  rang  the  bells, 
thereby  to  make  that  defeat  to  appear  the  more  signal  and 
incontestable  ;  though  the  Dutch  at  the  same  time  no  less 
confidently  pretended  "  [this  word  "  pretended,"  used  by  a 
Dutch  writer,  is  very  significant]  "  that  the  action  did  not 
pass  altogether  so  much  to  the  advantagfe  of  the  Ens-lish, 
that  they  ought  to  have  attributed  to  themselves  all  the 
glory  of  it,  since,  say  they"  \i,e.  the  Dutch],  "excepting 
the  merchant-ships  that  fell  into  their  hands,  the  Hollanders 
had  not  much  less  right  to  pretend  to  the  victory  than 
their  enemies."  ^ 

The  English  Eoyalist  party  rejoiced  at  any  symptom 
of  disaster  to  the  Parliament  of  England,  and  affected  to 
disbelieve  their  successes.  Hyde  WTote  thus,,  on  the 
20th  of  March,  1653,  to  Secretary  Nicholas  in  Holland : 
"We  do  here  (Paris),  notwithstanding  all  their  brags 
in  England  of  their  victory,  believe  the  Dutch  to  have 
absolutely  the  best  of  it."  And  this  patriotic  English- 
man's joy  was  unbounded  because  Blake  was  unable  with 
thirty-seven  ships,  some  of  them  commanded  by  captains 
who  were  traitors  to  the  Parliament,  to  contend  successfully 
against  a  Dutch  fleet  of  ninety-five  ships.  On  the  14th  of 
December,  1652,  he  thus  wrote  to  Nicholas  :  "We  are  in 

'  Life  of  Coruoliub  Vau  Tromp,  pp.  104,  105:  London,  1697. 


165§.] 


BLAKE'S   EXPLOITS   IN   TEN   MONTHS. 


407 


great  hope  that  this  notable  fight  at  sea,  in  which  the  Hol- 
landers have  so  thoroughly  banged  the  rebels,  will  make  a 
great  alteration  in  the  counsels  with  you  and  here.  It  is  the 
first  signal  overthrow  those  devilish  rebels  have  sustained, 
either  at  sea  or  land ;  and  therefore  must  make  a  deep 
impression  upon  the  spirits  of  the  common  people  of 
England,  who  have  hitherto  been  transported  by  their  in- 
credible successes."  Hyde  hoped  to  bring  back  by  foreign 
arms  the  Stuarts,  and  himself  with  them,  upon  the  people 
of  England.  But  all  the  naval  and  military  power  of  all 
the  world  would  have  been  powerless  to  do  that,  but  for 
the  "  self  in  the  highest "  policy  of  Cromwell. 

The^me  dr  the  "English  admiral  filled  all  the  world. 
The  testimony  oT'liis'frieiid  and  cotemporary,  Algernon 
Sydney,  is  fully  borne  out  by  that  of  his  enemy  and  co- 
teTfiporary,  Clarendon,  and  confirmed  by  the  verdict  in  after- 
times  of  men  most  hostile  to  his  cause — of  Samuel  Johnson 
and  David  Hume.  "  The  reputation  and  power  of  our 
natioH^^-Hsays  Algernon  Sydney,  "  rose  to  a  greater  height 
than  when  we  possessed  the  better  half  of  France,  and  the 
Kings  of  Prance  and  Scotland  were  our  prisoners.  All  the 
states,  kings,  and  potentates  of  Europe  most  respectfully, 
not  to  say  submissively,  sought  our  friendship  :  and  Rome 
was  more"  afraid"  of  Blalfee,  and  his  fleet,  than  they  had  been 
of  the  great  King  of  Sweden,  when  he  was  ready  to  in- 
vade Italy  with  a  hundred  thousand  men.'**  Hven  according 

^  Algernon  Sydney  on  Government,  together  in  some  of  these  parts  (from 

chap.  ii.  &eck~.2S.— Alg'erfffttr^^ney  Dunkirk  to  Ostend),  hath  struck  a  very 

was  a  member  of  the  Council  of  State  great  terror  into  mosthearts;  insomuch, 

when  Blake  fought  the  great  Battle  of  that  the  most  judicious  amongst  them 

Portland.     A  letter  in  Thurloe,  after  do  begin  to  consider,  in  case  these  two 

giving  an  account  of  the  subsequent  mighty  potentates  should  join  together, 

great  battle  in  June,  thus  proceeds :  what  would  become  of  the  kings  of  tho 

"  The  very  noise  of  the  guns,  which  earth.     Doubtless  Babylon  is  upon  licr 

I   was  heard  very  plain  for  three  dayy  fall !  " — Thurloe,  vol.  i.  pp.  272,  273. 


u 


\ 


^ 


I 


^.  .,\ 


408 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap  XV. 


to  the  testimony  of  the  Dutch  themselves,  "  the  noise  of  this 
battle  was  echoed  over  all  Europe,  and  was  carried  into 
France,  Sweden,  Denmark."  ^ 

The  exploits  of  Fairfax  and  Cromwell  sink  into  insig- 
nificance besUe  those  'of  Elake.  Indeed,  we  should  find 
it  difficult"  tS^^STscover  any  equal  portioiT'of  the  lives  of 
the  greatest  names  in  war — of  Nelson,  of  Hannibal,  of 
Ca3sar,  of  Frederic,  of  Napoleon — so  full  of  great  achieve- 
ments as  this  ^sTloi^  period,  perhaps  the  most  brilliant  in 
the  history  of  England.  Within  the  space  of  ten  months, 
besides>i!niiioy  ''Exploits,  such  as  The  destruction  of  the 
French  fleet  under  the  Duke  of  Yendome,  Blake  fought 
four  great  pitched  battles  against  the  greatest  naval 
armaments  commanded  by  the  greatest  admirals  the 
world  had  ever  seen.  Three  of  these  battles'  he  won ; 
the  defeat  in  the  fourth  battle,  where  Blake  maintained  for 
many  "hours  with  thirty-seven  ships  a  fight^against  ninety - 
five,  commanded  by  Tromp,  tended  rather  to  raise   than 

,  ,    .  '     **'»'"«•-■ ..m»:^.«... 

lower  his  naval  renpwn.^ 


'  Lifo  of  Cornelius  Van  Tromp, 
p.  104. 

^  In  reference  to  the  opinion  that, 
with  such  a  disproportion  of  force  as 
thirty-seven  ships  to  ninety-five  or  one 
hundred,  Blake  ought  to  have  declined 
an  engagement,  Dr.  Johnson  says: 
"We  must  then  admit,  amidst  our 
eulogies  and  applauses,  that  the  great, 
the  wise,  and  the  valiant  Blake  was 
once  betrayed  to  an  inconsiderate  and 
desperate  enterprise  by  the  resistless 
ardour  of  his  own  spirit,  and  a  noble 


jealousy  for  the  honour  of  his  country." 
— Life  of  Blake,  Johnso7i's  Works, 
vol.  xii. '^p.-^S."' ■  Df rJolinson,  in  re- 
ference to  the  remark  of  Rapin  that  the 
Dutch  and  Spaniards  susfeined  a  great 
loss  of  ships,  money,  men,  and  mer- 
chandise, while  the  English  gained 
nothing  but  glory,  says  truly,  "  As  if 
he  that  increases  the  military  reputa- 
tion of  a  people  did  not  increase  their 
power,  and  he  that  weakens  his  enemy 
in  effect  strengthens  himself." — Ibid. 
vol.  xii.  p.  59. 


{ 


cc 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Vexilla  regis  prodeunt  inferni  verso  di  noi :  "  ^  the  Pro- 
tector's colours  loom  in  the  distance,  spread  out  by  the 
wind,  and  bearing,  in  great  golden  characters,  the  word 
Emmanuel !  That  one  word  upon  that  flag  was  indeed  a 
taliSmaiTmore  potent,  an  ensign  more  formidable,  a  sym- 
bol of  success  and  victory  more  sure,  more  unvarying,  more 
infallible,  than  the  image  of  any  beast  or  bird,  ancient  or 
modern — lion,  tiger,  leopard,  or  eagle,  whether  with  two 
heads  or  one.  For  there  have  been  times  when  the  most  for- 
tunate and  victorious  of  those  have  met  with  reverse  and 
disaster.  But  who  can  tell  the  time  when  that  banner  of 
Emmanuel  was  borne  backward  in  battle,  and  beheld  either 
in  captivity  or  flight  ?  ^   God  with  us !  ^    What  a  history  of 


'  Dante's  Inferno,  canto  xxxiv. 
w.  I,  2. 

^  It  is  to  be  observed  that  those 
troops  lost  their  character  of  invinci- 
bility after  Cromwell  had  expelled  the 
Parliament.  General  Ludlow  thus 
accounts  for  the  result  of  the  expedi- 
tion against  Hispaniola  :  "  Those  very 
men,  who,  when  they  fought  for  the 
liberties  of  their  country,  had  per- 
formed wonders,  having  now  engaged 
to  support  the  late-erected  tyranny, 
disgracefully  fled  when  there  was 
none  to  pursue  them." — Ludlow's  Me- 


moirs, vol.  11.  p.  496:   2nd    edition, 
London,  1721. 

'  "  That  the  inscriptions  which  are 
to  be  put  on  the  coin  of  England  shall 
be  written  in  the  English  tongue.  That 
the  inscriptions  shall  be  these  :  viz.,  on 
the  side  on  which  the  English  arms  do 
standalone,  this,  The  Commonwealth 
OF  England  ;  on  the  other  side,  which 
bears  the  arms  of  England  and  Ire- 
land, God  with  us." — Order  Book  of 
the  Council  of  State,  April  24,  1649, 
MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


/ 


I 


^ 


410 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XVL 


resistless  energy — of  toils  endured,  of  dangers  encountered, 
of  fields  fought  and  won,  of  towns  taken  by  assault,  of 
hostile  armies  annihilated — is  written  in  these  three  magic 
words !  More  than  sixty  years  after  the  great  leader  of 
those  who  had  marched  under  those  colours  had  fought 
his  last  fight,  and  been  carried  to  his  grave — not  indeed 
his  last  resting-place,  for  those  who  came  after  him  were 
not  ashamed  to  violate  even  the  sanctities  of  the  tomb,  and 
to  do  outrage  and  insult  to  the  bones  of  the  dead  enemy 
before  whose  living  face  they  had  so  often  fled — a  very 
ancient  laird  declared  to  an  English  officer  of  engineers, 
quartered  at  Inverness,  that  "  Oliver's  colours  were  so 
strongly  impressed  on  his  memory,  that  he  thought  he 
then  saw  them  spread  out  by  the  wind,  with  the  word 
Emmanuel  (God  with  us)  upon  them,  in  very  large  golden 
characters."  ^ 

No  wonder  that  a  halo  should  encircle  the  name  of  the 
chief  of  those  who  had  carried  those  colours  to  so  many 
victories,  and  should  so  dazzle  the  imagination  as  to  per- 
vert the  judgment.  Nevertheless,  though  they  are  not  to 
be  met  with  in  any  great  abundance,  there  are  still  men  in 


•  "  Oliver  had  1,200  men  in  and 
near  this  citadel  [Invernees],  under 
the  command  of  one  Colonel  Fitz,  who 
had  been  a  tailor,  as  I  have  been  in- 
formed by  a  very  ancient  laird,  who 
said  ho  remembered  every  remarkable 
passage  which  happened  at  that  time, 
and,  most  especially,  Oliver's  colours, 
which  were  so  strongly  impressed  on 
his  memory,  that  he  thought  he  then 
saw  them  spread  out  by  the  wind,  with 
the  word  Emmanuel  (God  with  us) 
upon  them,  in  very  large  golden 
characters." — Burt's  Letters  from  the 
North  of  Scotland,  vol.  i.  p.  217  :  new 


edition:  London,  1815.  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  in  one  of  his  notes  to  his  edi- 
tion of  Dryden's  Works  (vol.  ix.  p. 
20),  in  which  he  refers  to  the  above 
passage,  and  to  the  writer  of  it  as 
*'  an  officer  of  engineers  quartered  at 
Inverness  shortly  after  1 720,"  says  : 
'*  Tlio  garrisons  established  by  Crom- 
well upon  the  skirts  and  in  the  passes 
of  the  Highlands,  restrained  the  pre- 
datory clans,  and  taught  them,  in  no 
gentle  manner,  that  respect  for  the 
property  of  their  Lowland  neighbours, 
which  their  lawful  monarchs  had  vainly 
endeavoured  to  inculcate." 


1652.] 


THE  WORSHIPPERS  OF  SUCCESS. 


411 


the  world  whose  words  can  be  relied  on,  whose  idol  is  not 
'^  self  in  the  highest,"  and  who  (to  borrow  the  words  in- 
scribed on  the  tomb  of  one  known  to  me  in  days  long  gone 
by),  sustain  the  honour  of  their  country  by  deeds  of  bravery 
and  devotion,  and  the  honour  of  human  nature  by  an  un- 
selfish life,  and  by  benevolence  never  weary  of  well-douig. 
There  were  such  men  then,  though  the  number  of  them 
might  not  be  great.  While  the  worshippers  of  its  de- 
stroyer shower  reproaches  upon  the  broken  faction,  others 
can  remember  that  it  contained  men  who  were  willing  to 
die,  and  who  did  die,  for  that  cause  which,  in  their  last 
words  on  the  scaffold,  they  called  "  a  cause  not  to  be  re- 
pented of,"  ^  "a  cause  which  gave  life  in  death  to  all  the 
owners  of  it  and  sufferers  for  it."'^  Wlien  the  members  of 
a  legislature  have  been  expelled  from  their  House  by  armed 
men,  even  though  they  have  not  been  sent  off  in  the  felon's 
van,  the  worshippers  of  success  in  all  its  shapes  step  for- 
ward, and  pour  forth  the  vials  of  their  scorn  upon  "  such 
a  shattered  thing ;  " '  and  hang  it  up  on  the  gibbet  of 
their  eloquence  as  an  object  for  the  contempt  and  derision 
of  mankind.  Then  the  man  who,  when  "  faith  was  broken 
and  somewhat  else,"^  turns  suddenly  round  upon  his 
ancient  friends  and  comrades,  and  to-day  concentrates  in 
his  single  person  all  those  powers  of  sovereignty  which  but 
yesterday  had  been  theirs,  becomes  a  man-god,  with  slaves 
for  worshippers;  and  they  become  "a  small  faction  of 
fanatical  egotists,  uniting  to  the  love  of  power  and  the 
fanaticism  of  opinions  all  the  ridicule  of  helplessness,  and 
the  infatuation  of  pretended  legitimacy."  Is  it  really  so, 
0  Devilsdust !  worshipper  of  the  evil  spirit,  and  kneeler 


•  The  last  words  of  Thomas  Scot. 

*  Some    of  the  last  words  of  Sir 
Henry  Vane. 


'  Words  also  of  Thomas  Scot. 
*  Words  of  Thomas  Scot. 


412 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


before  the  burning  throne  ?  Something  has  been  seen  al- 
ready from  those  men's  acts  and  deeds  in  answer  to  this 
question.  Let  us  now  look  a  little  farther,  and  try  if  we 
can  see  anything  more. 

I  have  said  in  a  former  page  ^  that  Cromwell  "  gradually 
enveloped  the  men  who  sat  and  talked  at  Westminster  in 
net  within  net,  like  so  many  flies  in  the  widespread  and 
powerful  web  of  a  huge  and  active  spider."  I  will  now 
show,  on  evidence  which  has  never  been  produced  before, 
that  I  did  not  use  these  words  without  sufficient  authority. 
The  following  minute,  made  the  very  day  after  Cromwell's 
meeting  with  some  members  of  Parliament  and  chief 
officers  of  the  army  at  the  Speaker's  house,  namely  on 
Thursday,  the  11th  of  December,  1651,  looms  like  the 
terrible  shadow  of  the  future,  and  shows  that  Cromwell 
was  beffinninof  then  to  draw  his  nets  closer  around  his 
prey  :— 

''  That  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  for  the  Affairs  of 
Ireland  and  Scotland,  to  consider  where  quarters  are  to  he 
had  for  the  regiment  of  foot  of  the  Lord-General,  ivhich 
is  ordered  to  the  guard  of  the  Parliament ;  and  to  take  care 
that  the  captain  of  the  guard  may  be  spoken  to,  that  full 
and  sufficient  guards  may  be  placed  in  Whitehall  (espe- 
cially in  the  night),  upon  all  the  gates  entering  into  the 
House,  and  upon  most  of  the  principal  passages  within  the 
House."  ^ 

Now  let  it  be  observed,  that  all  the  time,  several  years, 
that  Fairfax  was  Lord-General,  and  even  all  the  time  that 
Cromwell  was  Lord-General — he  succeeded  Fairfax  on  the 
26th  of  June,  1650 — there  had  been  discovered  no  need  for 
appointing  the  Lord-General's  own  regiment  of  foot  as 

'  Vol.  L  p.  160.  State,  Thursday,  December   11,   1651, 

2  Order  Book  of    the    Council    of    MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


1652.] 


PAY   OF  THE  PARLIAMENTARY   AEMY. 


413 


the  guard  of  the  Parliament.  There  was  no  need  for  the 
change  now.  The  Parliament  and  the  Council  of  State 
had  been  very  sufficiently  guarded  hitherto  by  Colonel 
Berkstead's  regiment.  And  setting  the  Lord-General 
Cromwell's  regiment  of  foot  to  guard  the  Parliament,  was 
neither  more  nor  less  than  setting  the  wolf  to  guard  the 
sheep.  But  this  was  not  all.  On  the  25th  of  the  same 
month,  just  a  fortnight  after  the  order  last  quoted,  the 
following  order  was  made  : — 

"  That  twelve  pence  a  day  be  allowed  to  the  soldiers  of 
the  two  regiments  appointed  for  the  guards  of  the  Par- 
liament and  city,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  Lord-General's 
contingencies."  ^ 

It  here  becomes  necessary  to  ascertain,  as  far  as  possible, 
the  pay  of  the  army  of  the  Parliament  :— 

"Die  Sabbati,  Januarii  11«,  1644.— The  House,  ac- 
cording to  the  order  yesterday  made,  took  into  considera- 
tion their  armies,  and  proceeded  first  into  the  consideration 
of  the  New  Model." 

*  ^  *  #  #  ^ 

"  Eesolved  &c.  that  each  trooper  shall  receive  2^.  per  diem 
for  his  entertainment."  ^ 

Neither  the  dragoons'  nor  the  foot-soldiers'  pay  is  men- 
tioned. But  it  may  be  inferred,  from  a  minute  of  the 
Council  of  State  of  the  11th  of  May  1649,  which  states 
"  that  three  private  soldiers  of  Colonel  Pride's  regiment 
were  taken  to  attend  Dr.  Dorislaus  to  Holland,  and  agree- 
ment made  they  should  each  of  them  have  5s.  per  week, 
besides  a  gratuity  at  their  return,"  ^  that  the  pay  of  the 
foot-soldiers  was  about  6d,  a  day.     For  it  may  be  con- 

'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  Januarii  11°,  1644. 

Thursday,   December   25,   1651,    MS.  »  Order    Book  of   the   Council    of 

State  Paper  Office.  State,  May  11,  1649,  MS.  State  Paper 

*  Commons'  Journals,  Die  Sabbati,  Office. 


414 


COMMON^VEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


eluded  that  they  would  receive  a  little  more  than  their 
usual  pay  when  employed  on  this  extraordinary  service; 
and  Is,  6d,  a  week,  the  difference  between  3s.  6d,  a  week 
and  the  6s,  a  week  above  mentioned,  may  be  taken  as  an 
addition  to  their  pay  as  foot- soldiers. 

Besides  this  pay,  the  troops  of  the  Parliament  were 
allowed  money  to  pay  for  their  quarters,  at  the  rate, 
according  to  many  minutes  in  the  Order  Book  of  the 
Council  of  State,  of  6d,  a  day  for  each  foot-soldier,  and  Is. 
a  day  for  each  horse-soldier.  These  allowances  are  with 
special  reference  to  the  troops  ordered  for  transportation 
to  Ireland  in  1649,  "  during  the  stay  at  the  waterside  for 
wind  and  weather;"^  and  are  somewhat  higher  than 
those  in  the  following  order  of  the  House  of  29th  June  of 
the  same  year :— "  Ordered,  that  this  House  doth  approve 
of  what  the  General  hath  done  in  allowing  2s.  6d,  a  week 
to  each  soldier  and  non-commissioned  officer  of  foot,  and 
the  train  of  artillery,  and  3s.  8d,  the  week  to  the  horse, 
over  and  above  the  established  pay,  in  consideration  of 
billet-money,  during  such  time  as  they  did  quarter  within 
the   city   of    London   and   Westminster,    and   the   parts 

adjacent."  ^ 

It  would  appear,  however,  from  the  following  minute, 
that  about  the  beginning  of  the  year  1652,  the  pay  of  the 
foot  was  lOd,  a  day ;  and  that  the  Is.  a  day  allowed  by 
the  minute  of  December  25,  1651,  to  the  two  regiments 
appointed  for  the  guard  of  the  Parliament,  was  not  double 
the  pay  of  the  other  regiments  of  foot,  but  only  2d,  a  day 

more : — 

"  That  2d,  per  diem  be  added  to  the  pay  of  the  inferior 
officers  and  soldiers  of  the  two  regiments  appointed  for 

>  Order  Book  of   the    Council  of    March  27,  1649. 
State,  May  29, 1649,  MS.  State  Paper        ^  Commons'  Journals,  Die  Veneris, 
Office.'  Ibid.  August   25,  1649.     Bid.     Junii  29,  1649. 


1652.]  EXTEA  PAY  OF   CROMWELL'S   REGIMENTS.  415 

the  guard  of  the  Parliament  and  city,  more  than  is  allowed 
to  the  rest  of  tlie  army ;  and  that  it  be  paid  out  of  the 
Lord-General's  contingencies,  according  to  their  several 
musters,  and  to  begin  from  the  25th  of  December  last 
inclusive."  * 

This  additional  2d,  a  day,  "  to  be  paid  out  of  the  Lord- 
General's  contingencies,"  would  to  the  soldiers  have  the 
appearance  of  being  paid  out  of  Cromwell's  own  pocket. 
This,  in  fact,  amounted  to  giving  him  a  sort  of  Praetorian 
Guard.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  two  following  minutes, 
made  on  the  25th  of  December,  1651,  are  to  the  same 
purpose  and  effect : — 

"  That  it  be  especially  recommended  to  the  Committee 
of  Parliament  for  disposal  of  the  Commonwealth's  houses, 
to  cause  all  necessary  repairs  to  be  made  at  James's 
for  the  convenient  quartering  and  accommodation  of  the 
soldiers  of  both  regiments  appointed  for  the  guard  of  the 
Parliament  and  city,  so  as  that  the  three  companies  at 
Syon  College  may  be  also  brought  to  James's,  and  that 
quarter  at  Syon  College  quitted."  ^ 

"That  £50  be  paid  unto  Major  Wiggan  and  Major 
Allen  uponyiccompt,  for  fire  and  candles  for  the  several 
guards  kept  by  the  two  regiments  about  Whitehall, 
James's,  and  the  city,  and  that  this  money  be  paid  out  of 
the  Lord-General's  contingencies."  ^ 

'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  sent,  and  likewise  to  consider  how  they 
State,  Tuesday,  January  6,  165|,  MS.  may  be  speedily  furnished  with  beds; 
State  Paper  Office.  and  also  how  they  may  be  constantly 
'^  Ibid.  December  25,  1651.  supplied  for  the  future  with  a  fitting 
^  md.  same  day.— On  November  4,  proportion  of  ammunition,  and  have 
1652,  the  Council  ordered,  "That  it  be  some  of  their  musquets  chan<Ted  for 
referred  to  the  Committee  for  Irish  and  snaphances."  —  Ih\d.  Thursday,  No- 
Scottish  Affiiirs,  to  consider  of  and  ap-  vember  4,  1652.  The  body  of  mus- 
point  a  fit  proportion  of  match,  pow-  keteers  selected  by  Cromwell  to  turn 
dcr,  and  bullets  for  the  use  of  the  out  the  members  of  the  Parliament 
Lord-General's  regiment  for  the  pro-  would  naturally  be  those  supplied  by 


^^^.^-m-^       -^^^^r-    :^ 


■'■^#*— ^ 


416 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


1652.]  A   GOOD   DESPOTISM  IS  A   FALSE  IDEAL. 


417 


The  Lord-General's  regiments  were  just  as  mucli  entitled, 
if  they  were  entitled  at  all,  to  higher  pay  than  the  other 
regiments  of  the  Parliament,  when  Fairfax  was  Lord- 
General,  as  when  Cromwell  was  Lord-General.  And 
there  was  no  more  reason  for  paying  their  extra  pay  and 
their  extra  accommodation  and  conveniences  out  of  the 
Lord-General's  contingencies  when  Cromwell  was  Lord 
General,  than  when  Fairfax  was  Lord-General ;  at  least, 
no  more  reason  than  this,  that  Fairfax  was  a  man  of  whom 
it  has  been  said : 

"He  might  have  been  a  king, 
'  But  that  he  understood 

How  much  it  was  a  meaner  thing 
To  be  unjustly  great,  than  honourably  good."* 

If  any  man  ever  lived  whose   intellectual   supremacy 

I  might  so  dazzle  us  as  to  make  us  submit  without  repining 
to  a  despotism,  that  man  was  Julius  Csesar.  But  let  us 
look  at  the  result.  The  reign  of  Julius  Caesar  himself  was 
short ;  but  it  prepared  the  way  for  the  long  reign  of  his 
great-nephew  Augustus,  who,  though  far  from  possessing 
the  dazzling  intellectual  qualities  of  Julius,  had  still  suffi- 
cient ability  to  govern  in  such  a  manner,  that  Eome 
enjoyed  more  quiet  under  his  rule  than  it  had  done  for 
ages;  so  that  his  rule  might ^ be  considered  as  that  sort 
of  government  called  a  good  despotism.  But  the  effect 
was  to  change  altogether  the  Eoman  character.  Before 
that  time  the  Romans  might  be  on  the  whole  bad  men. 
But  yet  they  were  men ;  not  slaves — creatures,  half-fiend 
and  half-baboon ;  men  with  the  courage  and  enterprise, 

those  members  with  snaphances— that  '   Poem  on  th©  death  of  the  Lord 

is,  with  ilintloek  instead  of  matchlock  Fairfax,  by  George  Duke  of  Eucking- 

muskets.     Well  might  John  Lilburue  ham,  in  vol.  i.  p.  135  &c.  of  the  Works 

say,  "Alas,  poor  fools !  we  were  merely  of    His   Grace   George   Villiers,   late 

cheated   and    cozened." — See   Vol.   I.  Duke  of  Buckingham  :  2  vols.  3rd  ed- 

p_  l58.  ition,  London,  1715. 


with  the  mental  energy  and  bodily  activity,  of  statesmen- 
soldiers ;    for  it  makes  a  vast  difference,  when  a  man's 
education  comprehends  oratory  as  well  as  military  science, 
and  when  oratory  is  left  out.     The  very  cultivation  of 
oratory  has  a  twofold  significance.     On  the  part  of  the 
man  who  cultivates  it,  it  implies  a  cultivation  of  the  higher, 
though  not  of  the  highest,  mental  faculties.     And  on  the 
part  of  the  men  to  whom  it  is  intended  to  be  applied,  it 
implies  a  Government  in  which  there  is  still  a  certain 
portion  of  freedom.     Julius  Caesar  himself  studied  oratory 
under  the  same  Greek  master  as  Cicero ;  and  in  some  of 
Cicero's  greatest  causes,  he  acted  as  that  great  orator's 
junior  counsel.     This  education  forms  a  set  of  men  very 
different  from  the  mere  drill-sergeants  and  barrack-masters 
of  a  military  despotism,  where  one  man  undertakes  to  do 
all  the  thinking  of  all  the  community,  that  is  to  have  any 
practical  result,  and  where  real  and  vigorous  thinking- the 
thinking  which,  to  borrow  the  words  of  Mr.  John  Stuart 
Mill,  "  ascertains  truths  instead  of  dreaming  dreams  "—is 
totally  prohibited. 

We  have  seen  an  attempt  recently  made  to  prove  that 
despots  are  necessary  to  "  the  progress  of  humanity." 
What  sort  of  progress  that  is,  is  very  visibly  written  in  the 
records  of  what  the  Romans  were  before  and  after  the 
Empire.  In  short,  to  quote  a  great  modem  writer,  "  a  good 
despotism  is  an  altogether  false  ideal,  which  practicaUy 
(except  as  a  means  to  some  temporary  purpose)  becomes 
the  most  senseless  and  dangerous  of  chimeras.  Evil  for 
evil,  a  good  despotism,  in  a  country  at  all  advanced  in 
civilisation,  is  more  noxious  than  a  bad  one ;  for  it  is  far 
more  relaxing  and  enervating  to  the  thoughts,  feelings, 
and  energies  of  the  people.  The  despotism  of  Augustus 
prepared  the  Eomans  for  Tiberius.     If  the  whole  tone  of 


VOL.    II. 


E  E 


418 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


* 


1652.] 


A   GREAT  CEIME  BY  A   GREAT   MAN. 


419 


their  character  had  not  first  been  prostrated  by  nearly  two 
generations  of  that  mild  slavery,  they  would  probably  have, 
had  spirit  enough  left  to  rebel  against  the  more  odious 


?j  1 


one. 

The  records  of  crime  prove  that  when  any  crime  (a 
murder,  for  instance,  of  unusual  atrocity)  has  been  com- 
mitted, there  is  a  tendency  observed  to  a  repetition  of  that 
crime.     The  wretched  criminal's  sudden  celebrity  appears 
to  act  on  the  minds  of  certain  persons,  so  as  to  produce 
in  them  an  insane  desire  of  imitating  the  criminal  acts 
which  have  created  such  a  public  interest.     But  there  are 
certain  crimes,  which  have  relation,  not  to  taking  away  the 
life  of  an  individual,  but  to  crushing  out  the  life  of  a  whole 
nation,  that   appear   to   be  attended  with   consequences 
similar  to,  but   infinitely  more   fatal  than,  those  which 
follow  the  crime  of  a  common  assassin.     Then  the  great 
criminal  becomes  a  hero  in  the  eyes  of  some,  on  the  ground 
of  his  having  substituted  repose—the  repose  of  death — for 
anarchy ;  in  the  eyes  of  others,  on  the  mere  ground  of  his 
force  of  character,  his  courage,  his  energy,  and  his  strength 
of  will.     But  these  are  but  a  small  part  of  the  disastrous 
consequences  of  the  success  of  great  criminals. 

A  great  crime,  successfully  committed  by  a  great  man, 
has  consequences  that  last  for  ages ;  and  of  such  great 
crimes  none,  perhaps,  produced  more  fatal  consequences 
than  that  of  Cromwell.  The  world  saw  a  man,  who  had 
raised  himself  to  supreme  power  by  a  breach  of  the  most 
solemn  engagements,  hold  himself  up  as  the  elect  of  God. 
When  his  old  comrades  heard  this  man  tell  them,  as  he 
did  in  his  speeches — and  it  was  almost  all  that  was  intelli- 
gible in  those  emanations  of  the  kingdom  of  darkness — 

»  Considerations  on  Representative    Government,    by   John  Stnart    Mill : 
London,  1861,  p.  53. 


\ 


that  he  had  a  key  to  unlock  the  gates  of  heaven,  as  well 
as  a  sword  to  command  the  strongholds  of  the  earth ;  that 
the  Everlasting  and  Omnipotent  had  adopted  him  as  His 
favourite  ;  that  the  bowing  the  knee  to  him,  Oliver  Crom- 
well, was  an  "  owning  of  Jesus  Christ ; "  that  he,  the 
Judas  of  his  party,  was  to  reign  with  Christ  in  heaven, 
after  he  had  betrayed  the  men  who  trusted  him  on  earth : 
and  when  they  saw  that  everything  prospered  with  him— 
that  he  was  an  overmatch  for  those  of  his  party  who,  like 
Blake  and  Ireton,  were  too  highminded  to  make  use  of 
packed  cards  and  loaded  dice— can  we  wonder  that  a  re- 
vulsion took  place  in  the  minds  of  men  ?— that,  if  from  the 
apotheosis  of  James  Stuart  men  sought  refuge  in  Puritan- 
ism, and  in  fighting  for  religion  and  liberty,  from  the 
apotheosis  of  Oliver  Cromwell  they  should  seek  refuge  in 
slavery,  profligacy,  and  atheism  or  devil-worship,  which  is 
worse  ? 

There  is  something  intensely  revolting  in  this  apotheosis 
of  a  man,  who  cjyi  be  proved  to  have  been  the  cause  of 
deep  disgrace  and  innumerable  evils  to  the  English  nation ; 
to  that  nation  which,  after  having  fought  for  its  rights 
and  liberties  as  no  other  nation  had  ever  fought,  was,  as  a 
consequence  of  the  usurpation  of  Cromwell,  again  sub- 
jected to  the  tyranny  of  the  Stuarts ;  and  then  to  the 
disgrace  of  having  to  be  delivered  from  that  tyranny  by 
the  sword  of  a  Dutchman. 

I  have  said  in  a  former  page,^  that  this  Parliament  were 
most  able  and  energetic  administrators ;  but  that,  "  if  they 
had  possessed  that  higher  statesmanship  which  can  employ 
a  comprehensive  survey  of  the  past  in  a  wise  divination 
of  the  future,  they  might  have  seen  clearly  enough  what 
the  end  would  be."     The  situation,  indeed,  in  which  they 

'  See  Vol.  I.  of  this  History,  p.  216. 

E   E   2 


418 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


their  character  had  not  first  been  prostrated  by  nearly  two 
generations  of  that  mild  slavery,  they  wonld  probably  have, 
had  spirit  enough  left  to  rebel  against  the  more  odious 


one. 


55    1 


The  records  of  crime  prove  that  when  any  crime  (a 
murder,  for  instance,  of  unusual  atrocity)  has  been  com- 
mitted, there  is  a  tendency  observed  to  a  repetition  of  that 
crime.     The  wretched  criminal's  sudden  celebrity  appears 
to  act  on  the  minds  of  certain  persons,  so  as  to  produce 
in  them  an  insane  desire  of  imitating  the  criminal  acts 
which  have  created  such  a  public  interest.     But  there  are 
certain  crimes,  which  have  relation,  not  to  taking  away  the 
life  of  an  individual,  but  to  crushing  out  the  life  of  a  whole 
nation,  that   appear   to  be  attended  with   consequences 
similar   to,  but   infinitely  more   fatal  than,  those  which 
follow  the  crime  of  a  common  assassin.     Then  the  great 
criminal  becomes  a  hero  in  the  eyes  of  some,  on  the  ground 
of  his  having  substituted  repose— the  repose  of  death — for 
anarchy ;  in  the  eyes  of  others,  on  the  mere  ground  of  his 
force  of  character,  his  courage,  his  energy,  and  his  strength 
of  will.     But  these  are  but  a  small  part  of  the  disastrous 
consequences  of  the  success  of  great  criminals. 

A  great  crime,  successfully  committed  by  a  great  man, 
has  consequences  that  last  for  ages ;  and  of  such  great 
crimes  none,  perhaps,  produced  more  fatal  consequences 
than  that  of  Cromwell.  The  world  saw  a  man,  who  had 
raised  himself  to  supreme  power  by  a  breach  of  the  most 
solemn  engagements,  hold  himself  up  as  the  elect  of  God. 
When  his  old  comrades  heard  this  man  tell  them,  as  he 
did  in  his  speeches — and  it  was  almost  all  that  was  intelli- 
gible in  those  emanations  of  the  kingdom  of  darkness — 

^  Considerations  on  Kepresentative  Government,  by  John  Stuart  Mill: 
London,  1861,  p.  53. 


1652.] 


A   GREAT  CRIME   BY  A   GREAT   MAN. 


419 


that  he  had  a  key  to  unlock  the  gates  of  heaven,  as  well 
as  a  sword  to  command  the  strongholds  of  the  earth ;  that 
the  Everlasting  and  Omnipotent  had  adopted  him  as  His 
favourite  ;  that  the  bowing  the  knee  to  him,  Oliver  Crom- 
well, was  an  "  owning  of  Jesus  Christ ; "  that  he,  the 
Judas  of  his  party,  was  to  reign  with  Christ  in  heaven, 
after  he  had  betrayed  the  men  who  trusted  him  on  earth : 
and  when  they  saw  that  everything  prospered  with  him— 
that  he  was  an  overmatch  for  those  of  his  party  who,  like 
Blake  and  Ireton,  were  too  highminded  to  make  use  of 
packed  cards  and  loaded  dice— can  we  wonder  that  a  re- 
vulsion took  place  in  the  minds  of  men  ?— that,  if  from  the 
apotheosis  of  James  Stuart  men  sought  refuge  in  Puritan- 
ism, and  in  fighting  for  religion  and  liberty,  from  the 
apotheosis  of  Oliver  CromweU  they  should  seek  refuge  in 
slavery,  profligacy,  and  atheism  or  devil-worship,  which  is 
worse  ? 

There  is  something  intensely  revolting  in  this  apotheosis 
of  a  man,  who  c^  be  proved  to  have  been  the  cause  of 
deep  disgrace  and  innumerable  evils  to  the  English  nation ; 
to  that  nation  which,  after  having  fought  for  its  rio-hts 
and  liberties  as  no  other  nation  had  ever  fought,  was,  as  a 
consequence  of  the  usurpation  of  Cromwell,  again  sub- 
jected to  the  tyranny  of  the  Stuarts ;  and  then  to  the 
disgrace  of  having  to  be  delivered  from  that  tyranny  by 
the  sword  of  a  Dutchman. 

I  have  said  in  a  former  page,^  that  this  Parliament  were 
most  able  and  energetic  administrators ;  but  that,  "  if  they 
had  possessed  that  higher  statesmanship  which  can  employ 
a  comprehensive  survey  of  the  past  in  a  wise  divination 
of  the  future,  they  might  have  seen  clearly  enough  what 
the  end  would  be."     The  situation,  indeed,  in  which  they 

'  See  Vol.  I.  of  this  History,  p.  216. 

E    E   2 


i 


420 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XVI. 


stood  was  not  a  common  situation.  It  was  one  of  rare 
occurrence  ;  and  hundreds,  nay  thousands,  of  years  might 
not  present  its  exact  parallel.  Yet  there  was  a  situation, 
with  which  all  of  them  were  more  or  less  acquainted,  and 
which,  though  separated  from  them  by  near  two  thousand 
years  of  time,  as  well  as  by  distance  of  place  and  difference 
in  race,  religion,  and  laws,  might,  if  deeply  pondered  on  and 
closely  studied,  have  been  of  some  use  to  them. 

Gunpowder  and  steam  may  change  the  aspect  of  war. 
But  man  remains  unchanged — the  same  moral  and  politi- 
cal agent  that  he  was  when  there  was  neither  steam  nor 
gunpowder.  The  Enghsh  Parliament  of  the  year  1651 
made  nearly  the  same  blunder,  in  regard  to  Cromwell,  that 
the  Eoman  Senate  had  made,  1,700  years  before,  in  regard 
to  Julius  Ca3sar.  The  Roman  Senate  committed  several 
illegal  acts,  with  the  view  of  protecting  themselves  by 
keeping  down  Csesar.  But  these  acts  only  increased 
Ca3sar's  chances,  and  diminished  their  own.  The  capital 
blunder  of  the  English  Parliament  was  their  persistence  in 
not  dissolving  themselves.  They  thus  put  the  most  power- 
ful weapon  into  Cromwell's  hands  against  themselves. 

In  speaking  of  this  reluctance  of  the  Parliament  to 
put  an  end  to  their  sitting,  it  ought,  in  strict  accuracy, 
to  be  noted  that  there  were  two  parties  in  the  Parliament, 
opposed  to  each  other  on  this  point.  We  have  seen  in  a 
former  chapter,^  that  in  one  of  the  divisions  on  the  14th 
of  November  1651,  on  this  subject,  there  was  a  minority 
of  46  to  50,  in  the  other  of  47  to  49,  ao^ainst  entertainino" 
the  question  at  all  of  putting  an  end  to  their  sitting.  In 
both  divisions  Cromwell  was  one  of  the  tellers  for  the 
majority  for  fixing  a  time  for   their   dissolution.      And 


'  Chapter  XII. 


1652.]      KETEENCHMENT   OF  FOKCES  AND   GAERISONS.        421 

this  important  fact  gives  Cromwell  some  solid  ground 
for  his  assertion,  that  there  was  a  "  con-upt  party  "  in 
the  House  who  wished  to  perpetuate  themselves  ;  and,  as 
will  be  easily  seen,  it  greatly  complicates  the  question 
we  have  to  deal  with— a  question  to  which  we  shall 
have  repeatedly  to  return  in  this  chapter.  I  have  used  the 
words  "  English  Parliament,"  instead  of  "  a  part  of  the 
English  Parliament,"  because,  though  the  minority  of  46 
or  47  were  against  entertaining  at  all  the  question  of 
dissolution,  the  majority  of  49  or  50  put  off  the  dissolution 
too  lonof. 

It  would  seem  that  those  measures  of  the  Parliament 
which  most  displeased  and  alarmed  CromweU  were  mea- 
sui-es  dictated  by  the  soundest  policy.  It  is  obvious  that, 
while  the  Government  was  subjected  to  such  extraordinary 
expenditure  by  the  exigencies  of  the  war  with  Holland,  it 
was  at  once  their  interest  and  their  duty  to  diminish 
their  other  expenditure  as  much  as  possible.  The  most 
obvious  and  effective  mode  of  accomplishing  this  was  to 
make  some  retrenchments  in  regard  to  their  military 
forces.  On  the  13th  of  September  1652  the  Council  of 
State  made  the  following  order : — 

"That  the  Lord-General  [Cromwell]  and  the  General 
Officers  of  the  army  be  sent  unto,  and  desired  to 
come  to  the  Committee  for  Irish  and  Scottish  Affairs,  on 
Thursday  morning  next,  to  speak  with  the  said  Committee 
concerning  the  retrenchment  of  some  forces  and  garrisons."  * 

This  was  the  hitch,  which  Cromwell  determined  to  avoid 
by  turning  out  the  Parliament.  And  yet,  what  could  be 
more  advantageous  at  that  time  to  the  nation,  though  not 
to  Cromwell  and  his  "  creature  colonels,"  than  to  reduce 

^  Order  Book  of  the   Council  of  State,  Monday,  September  13,   1652,  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 


422  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XVL 

the  military  expenditure,  when  the  necessary  expenses  of 
the  fleet  were  so  great  ? 

There  are  several  minutes  in  the  Order  Book  in  the 
months  of  September  and  October  1652,  which  appear  to 
indicate  that  the  Council  of  State,  besides  the  general  re- 
trenchment of  their  land  forces  and  garrisons,  had  par- 
ticularly turned  their  attention  to  the  reducing  of  those 
formidable  regiments  which  were  quartered  immediately 
round  the  Parliament,  and  were  termed  the  Lord-General's 
[CromweU's],  Colonel  Ingoldsby's,  and  Colonel  Goffe's  regi- 
ments. On  Thursday  the  30th  of  September,  the  Council 
of  State  made  a  minute,  with  respect  to  "  taking  into 
consideration  the  reducing  of  the  Lord- General's,  Colonel 
Ingoldsby's,  and  Colonel  Goffe's  regiments."  ^ 

On  Thursday  next,  the  7th  of  October,  the  Council  of 
State  ordered : — 

"  That  the  Lord- General's  regiment  of  foot  be  continued, 
to  the  number  of  1,200  men, /or  six  weeks  longer;  and  that 
a  letter  be  written  to  the  Committee  for  the  Army,  to  issue 
out  their  warrants  for  the  payment  of  them  to  that  time."  * 

There  are  reasons  enough  for  these  proceedings  on  the 
part  of  the  Council  set  forth  in  their  minutes,  without  in  the 
least  ascribing  them  to  a  jealousy  of  Cromwell—reasons 
founded  on  the  imperious  necessities  of  their  situation,  on 
the  constant  and  urgent  demands  on  the  public  treasury 
for  the  Dutch  war— demands  which  tasked  for  their  supply 
all  their  genius  and  energy  as  statesmen.  All  this  is  for- 
cibly shown  in  such  minutes  as  the  following  :— 

"  That  Mr.  Salwey  be  desired  humbly  to  represent  to 
the  Parliament  the  distracted  state  of  the  Treasury  as  it 

»  Order    Book   of   the   Council    of    MS.  State  Paper  Office 
State,  Thursday,  September  30,  1G52,         ^  j^^^  Thursday,  October  7,  1652. 


1G52.] 


SIE  EOGEE   TWYSDEN'S   TESTIMONY. 


423 


now  stands,  the  great  inconveniences  of  which  the  Council 
find  every  day."  ^ 

One  day  in  November  1652,  Cromwell,  in  the  course  of 
a  conversation  with  Whitelock,  whom  he  had  met  in  St. 
James's  Park,  amid  some  just  enough  objections  against 
the  Parliament,  such  as  "  their  designs  to  perpetuate  them- 
selves, and  to  continue  the  power  in  their  own  hands," 
also  stated  "  their  meddling  in  private  matters  between 
party  and  party,  contrary  to  the  institution  of  Parliaments, 
and  their  unjustness  and  partiality  in  these  matters."  Sii^ 
Eoger  Twysden's  Journal,  lately  published  in  the  "  Archseo- 
logia  Kantiana  "  from  the  Eoydon  Hall  MSS.,  furnishes 
some  corroborative  evidence  in  support  of  this  statement 
of  Cromwell,  as  reported  by  Whitelock.  Towards  the  end 
of  his  Journal,  Sir  Eoger  Twysden  says: — "God  of  His  mercy 
grant  that,  for  the  future,  it  may  never  see  a  perj^etuity 
added  to  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament ;  nor  Committees  to 
manage  the  justice  of  the  kingdom,  and  sit  judges  of  men's 
liberties,  estates,  and  fortunes  ;  admitting  not  the  law  for 
their  rule,  but  their  own  arbitrary,  ambiguous,  revocable, 
disputable  orders  and  ordinances."  In  another  place  he 
says:  "  Certainly  their  severity  was  so  notorious,  and  their 
extortions  so  full  of  scandal,  as  the  officers  of  the  army 
(who  ever  seemed  to  me  more  full  of  honour  and  mercy  than 
the  House  of  Commons)  did  desire,  the  1st  of  August  1647, 
compositions  on  sequestrations  might  be  lessened;  and 
Cromwell,  in  his  speech  of  the  12th  of  September  1654, 
told  the  Parliament  then  assembled,  '  Poor  men,  under 
their  arbitrary  power,  were  driven  like  flocks  of  sheep,  by 
forty  in  a  morning,  to  the  confiscation  of  goods  and  estates, 
without  any  man  being  able  to  give  a  reason  that  two  of 


'  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  Thursday,  September  30,  1652,  MS. 
State  Paper  Office. 


i 


424  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XVL 

them  had  deserved  to  forfeit  a  shilling.' "  »  These  words 
would  have  come  with  much  more  effect  from  Cromwell  if 
his  own  hands  had  been  clean,  and  if  he  had  not  profited 
more  than  anyone  else  hy  the  confiscations  of  which  he 
professes  to  complain. 

But  the  principal  feature  of  their  proceedings,  strikingly 
exemplified  in  Sir  Eoger  Twysden's  case,  was  this— that  if 
you  had  any  one  enemy  in  the  Committee,  it  was  impos- 
sible to  obtain  justice,  for  "  against  malice  there  was  no 
fence."  ^  Thus,  "any  leading  man  of  a  Committee  maligning 
another  (though  never  so  quiet  a  liver),  as  having  a  better 
estate,  seat,  house,  accommodation  to  it,  than  he  wished 
him,  did  find  means  to  ruin  him,  under  the  title  of  his 
disaffecting  their  courses  and  the  present  cause."  ^  Sir 
Eoger  Twysden's  own  case  was  a  striking  example  of  this  : 
the  harsh  proceedings  against  him,  the  imprisoning  him- 
self, sequestering  his  estate  for  several  years,  cutting  down 
the  timber  about  his  mansion-house,  being  all  brought 
about  by  two  leading  men  of  the  Committee  of  Kent,  Sir 
Anthony  Weldon  and  Sir  John  Sedley. 

Sir  Eoger  Twysden  mentions  another  remarkable  case : 
"  To  which  purpose,"  he  says,  "  I  shall  here  set  down 
what  I  had  from  a  good  hand,  and  I  believe  was 
true.  A  powerful  person  of  those  times  (Sir  Arthur 
Haselrig),  riding  by  a  handsome  seat,  weU-woo'^eSr  and 
pleasant  otherwise,  in  the  North,  enquired  to  whom  it 
belonged ;  and  finding  it  unsequestered,  the  owner  not  in 
the  Parliament's  service,  he  could  not  contain  himself 
from  saying  he  had  an  earthworm  in  his  breast  must  have 

'  Sir     Roger     Twysden's   Journal,  together  and  paged  consecutiTcly,  the 

p.  66.— Tlie  Journal   was   printed  in  page  here  quoted  is  page  66. 
successive  volumes  of  the  "Archaeologia         ^  I^icl. -p,  168. 
Kantiana."     When  the  successive  por-         ^  ^^-^^ 
tions  of  the  Journal  have  been  bound 


165^.  J 


INTEGEITY  OF  VANE  AND  OTHERS. 


425 


the  estate  sequestered;  and  never  left  pursuing  the 
owner  till  he  got  it  done.  The  truth  of  this  I  cannot 
aver,  only  I  had  it  from  old  Sir  Henry  Yane,  a  person 
of  that  worth  and  honour,  I  dare  say  he  would  not 
have  spoke  it  but  on  good  grounds."  '  This  story  cer- 
tainly tends  to  add  weight  to  the  charge  of  great  rapacity 
made  against  Sir  Arthur  Haselrig  by  John  Lilburne  and 
others.^ 

TEe  fact  is  that  the  Council  of  State,  from  the  many 
domestic  and  foreign  enemies  they  had  to  encomiter,  were 
driven  to  resort  to  all  the  means  they  could  devise,  to  raise 
the  money  necessary  for  the  equipment  and  pay  of  their 
fleets  and  armies.  One  of  these  means  was  the  seques- 
tration of  the  estates  of  those  they  called  "delinquents," 
that  is,  of  those  who  favoured  the  opposite  party.  There 
are  various  minutes  in  the  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of 
State,  which,  though  we  have  not  the  key  to  unlock  their 
whole  import,  seem  to  have  reference  to  this  subject.  I 
will  transcribe  one  of  these,  which  certainly  has  the 
appearance  of  hunting  for  sequestrations  : — 

"  That  power  be  given  to  the  Lord-Commissioner  Wliite- 
lock,  and  the  rest  of  the  Committee  apx)ointed  to  receive 
a  proposition  for  the  discovery  and  hringing  in  of  money ,  to 
dispose  of  the  sum  of  £100  in  such  way,  and  to  such 
persons,  as  they  shall  think  fit,  for  the  advantage  of  the 
publique."  ^ 

But  these  things  do  not,  by  any  means,  amount  to  a 
proof  of  universal  corruption  on  the  part  of  the  Parlia- 
ment and  the  Council  of  State.  On  the  contrary,  some  of 
the  leading  members  of  that  wonderful  band  of  statesmen 

'  Sir    Eoger     Twysden's     Journal,         ^  Order     Book   of  the   Council   of 
p.  168.  State,   Thursday,  February  12,  165|, 

2  See  Vol.  I.  of  this  History,  p.  195.     MS.  State  Paper  Office. 


( 


if 


426 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


and  statesmen-soldiers  were  of  an  integrity  pure  as  the 
driven  snow.  And  the  solemn  words  uttered  by  Sir  Henry 
Vane  the  younger,  on  the  scaffold,  were  literally  true  of 
himself,  of  Ireton,  of  Blake,  of  Scot,  of  Ludlow,  of  Sydney, 
and  of  man}'  others.  Just  before  the  ti-umpets  were 
sounded  in  his  face,  to  prevent  him  from  being  heard.  Sir 
Henry  Yane,  lifting  up  his  eyes  and  spreading  his  hands, 
spoke  these  words  :  "  I  do  here  appeal  to  the  Great  God 
of  Heaven,  and  all  this  assembly,  or  any  other  person,  to 
show  wherein  I  have  defiled  my  hands  with  any  man's 
blood  or  estate,  or  that  I  have  sought  myself  in  any  public 
capacity  or  place  I  have  been  in  !  "  ' 

There  is  also  considerable  weight  in  the  answer  made 
to  Sir  Eoger  Twysden,  when  he  desired  he  might  be 
charged  with  the  breach  of  any  law  :  "  In  these  times  the 
House  could  not  look  at  the  nice  observance  of  law."  ^  It 
was,  in  fact,  a  time  of  revolutionary  struggle— a  time  when 
a  great  change  was  taking  place  in  the  English  Govern- 
ment— a  change  which  was  to  make  the  House  of  Com- 
mons what  it  has  been  ever  since,  the  supreme  power  in 
the  State — a  time  when  the  great  actors  in  the  struggle 
must  be  statesmen,  not  lawyers.  No  man  knew  this  better 
than  Cromwell,  and  no  man  had>  acted  more  thoroughly 
on  this  principle.  But  it  now  suited  him  to  turn  round 
on  the  men  with  whom  he  had  acted,  and  repudiate  both 
them  and  his  former  self.  Moreover,  the  MS.  records  of 
the  Council  of  State  prove,  that  while  the  application  in 
private  matters  to  the  Council  of  State  might  arise  from  the 
anomalous  state  of  the  Government,  the  Council  of  State 
generally  refen^ed  such  matters  to  the  proper  legal  tribunals. 
The  following  is  one  of  many  instances  of  the  Council  of 

'  Trial  of  Sir  Henry  Vane,  Knight,     p.  477. 
small. 4to,  1662,  p.  88.    vSee  title  of        ^  sir    Eogcr    Twysden's    Journal, 
this  curious  old  volume  in  full,  post,     p.  49. 


1652.] 


CROMWELL  AND  WHITELOCK. 


427 


State's  declining  to  interfere  in  matters  belonging  to  the 
Courts  of  Justice  : — 

"  That  the  petition  of  Mary  Downes,  widow,  relict  of 
Roger  Dovmes,  Esq.,  deceased,  be  recommended  to  the 
consideration  of  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Great 
Seal,  to  proceed  therein,  according  to  law  and  justice."  ^ 

The  following  is  to  the  same  effect : — 

"  Upon  reading  the  petition  of  the  Lord  Baltimore,  it  is 
this  day  ordered,  that  the  said  Lord  Baltimore  be  left  to 
pursue  his  cause  according  to  law."  ^ 

It  is  not  often  that  a  Government  has  left  behind  them 
such  conclusive  and  irrefragable  evidence  aS  this,  to  rebut 
the  calumnies  of  their  destroyers,  and  to  vindicate  their 
memory  to  after-ages. 

Cromwell,  in  the  cQurse  of  the  conversation  with  White- 
lock,  to  which  I  have  already  referred,^  put  to  Whitelock 
the  following  startling  question  : — 

"  What  if  a  man  should  take  upon  him  to  be  King  ?  " 

Whitelock. — "  I  think  that  remedy  would  be  worse  than 
the  disease." 

Cromwell. — "  Why  do  you  think  so  ?  " 

Whitelock. — "  As  to  your  own  person,  the  title  of  King 
would  be  of  no  advantage,  because  you  have  the  full 
kingly  power  in  you  already,  concerning  the  militia,  as 
you  are  General.  So  that  I  apprehend  less  envy,  and 
danger,  and  pomp,  but  not  less  power  and  opportunities  of 
doing  good,  in  your  being  General,  than  would  be  if  you 
had  assumed  the  title  of  King."  * 

^  Order    Book    of    the    Council  of  "  the  enemies  of  Cromwell  began  to 

State,   Monday,    December  22,   1651,  multiply   very   fast"  —  "that  it  had 

MS.  State  Paper  Office.  given   him  a  blow  at  the  heart,  and 

^  75/c?.  Tuesday,  December  23,  1651.  that  he  will  not  long   be   anything." 

'  See  ante,  p.  423.  —Sir  Edward  Nicholas  to  Lord   Cul- 

*  There  is  a  concurrence  of  cotem-  pepper,  June  8,  1657:     see  Granville 

porary  evidence  that,  on   Cromwell's  Penn's  Memorials  of  Sir  William  Ptnn, 

manifesting  an  ambition  to  be  King,  vol.  ii.  p.  8. 


I 


'/ 


} 


428  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XVL 

Cromwell. —''What   do   you   apprehend   would   be   the 
danger  of  taking  this  title  ?  " 

WJdteloch.—"  The  danger,  I  think,  would  be  this.    One 
of  the  main  points  of  controversy  betwixt  us    and   our 
adversaries  is,  whether   the    Government  of  this  nation 
shall  be  established  in  monarchy,  or  in  a  free  State  or 
Commonwealth.     Now,  if  your  Excellency  shall  take  upon 
you  the  title  of  King,  this  state  of  our  cause  will  be  thereby 
wholly   determined,    and   monarchy    established    in   your 
person;  and  the  question  will  be  no  more  whether  our 
Government  shall  be  by  a  monarch  or  by  a  free  State,  but 
whether  Cromwell  or  Stuart  shall  be  our  king  and  monarch. 
And  that  question,  wherein  before  so  great  parties  of  the 
nation  were  engaged,  and  which  was  universal,  will  by 
this  become,  in  effect,  a  private  controversy  only  :  before, 
it  was  national— what   kind   of  Government   we  should 
have ;  now,  it  will  become  particular— who  shall  be  our 
governor  ?— whether  of  the  family  of  the  Stuarts,  or  of  the 
family  of  the  Cromwells  ?     Thus,  the  state  of  our  contro- 
versy being  totally  changed,  all  those  who  were   for   a 
CommouAvealth  (and  they  are  a  very  great  and  considerable 
party),  having  their  hopes  therein  frustrated,  will  desert 
you." 

Cromivell~"l  confess  you  speak  reason  in  this;  but 
what  other  thing  can  you  propound,  that  may  obviate  the 
present  dangers  and  difficulties  wherein  we  are  all  engaged?" 

Whitelock  then  represents  himself  as  propounding  a 
private  treaty  with  the  King  of  Scots,  whereby  Cromwell 
might  secure  himself  and  his  friends,  and  their  fortunes ; 
and  might  j)ut  such  limits  to  monarchical  power,  as  would 
secure  the  spiritual  and  civil  liberties  of  the  nation.  To 
this  proposition  Cromwell  thus  replied:— "I  think  you 
have   much   reason   for  what  you  propound,  but   it  is  a 


1652.] 


SELF   IN   THE   HIGHEST."     y^ 


429 


matter  of  so  high  impoi-tance  and  difficulty,  that  it  deserves 
more  time  of  consideration  and  debate  than  is  at  present 
allowed  us.  We  shall  therefore  take  a  further  time  to 
discourse  of  it." 

Whitelock  adds  :  "  With  this  the  General  broke  off, 
and  went  to  other  company,  and  so  into  Whitehall,  seem- 
ing, by  his  countenance,  displeased  with  what  I  had  said ; 
yet  he  never  objected  it  against  me  in  any  public  meeting 
afterwards.  Only  his  carriage  towards  me  from  that  time 
was  altered,  and  his  advising  with  me  not  so  frequent  and 
intimate  as  before."  ^ 

The  words  of  Whitelock' s  statement,  "  by  a  treaty  with 
him  you  may  secure  yourself,  and  your  friends  and  their 
fortunes  —you  may  put  such  limits  to  monarchical  power, 
as  will  secure  our  spiritual  and  civil  liberties,"  are  exceed- 
ingly important ;  and  Cromwell's  utter  neglect  of  securing 
anybody  but  himself,  and  anything  but  his  own  power  and 
fortune — so  thoroughly  bearing  out  the  truth  of  John 
Lilburne's  happy  expression,  "self  in  the  highest" — lea\ang 
brave  and  devoted  and  single-hearted  soldiers,  such  as 
Harrison  and  Hacker,  who  had  shed  their  blood  for  him  in 
so  many  battles,  to  die  a  death  of  torture  and  ignominy, 
has  always  appeared  to  me  the  worst  and  darkest  part  of 
his  strange  character. 

When  this  conference  took  place  between  Cromwell  and 
Whitelock,  nearly  four  years  had  elapsed  since  the  death 
of  King  Charles.  During  those  four  eventful  years,  the 
Rump  of  the  Long  Parliament  had  talked  about  resigning 
their  power,  and  going  out  to  make  way  for  their  succes- 
sors ;  but  there  was  a  hitch  somewhere  in  the  matter  of 
going  out.     Whatever  arguments  may  be  used  to  show 

'  Whit  clock's  Memorials,  pp.  549-551. 


430 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


that  these  residuary  members  of  the  Long  Parliament 
really  did  mean  to  go  at  last,  and  not  to  perpetuate  the 
supreme  trust  and  power  in  their  own  persons,  and  to 
debar  the  people  from  their  right  of  elections— that  they 
were  only  waiting  till  the  right  moment  should  arrive — 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  their  delays  in  this  momentous 
business  were  the  means  of  putting  a  most  powerful 
weapon  against  themselves  into  the  hands  of  a  man  who, 
as  we  shall  see,  knew  well  how  to  make  use  of  it  for  his 
own  purposes.  K  Cromwell  had  made  use  of  the  expulsion 
of  the  Parliament  as  really  the  first  step  for  paving  the 
way  to  a  new  and  free  Parliament — if  he  had  clearly  shown 
by  his  acts  that  self-aggrandisement  was  not  his  object^ — 
the  reluctance  to  resign  their  power,  manifested  by  the 
Eump,  might  certainly  serve  as  some  justification  for  his 
doing  what  he  did  in  the  first  instance.  But  what  are  we 
to  think  of  the  consistency,  of  the  morality,  of  the  honesty 
of  a  man,  who  proceeded  to  dispose  of  by  his  will,  as  if  it 
were  a  private  property,  the  dominion  of  his  country,  after 
having  been  a  party  to  that  Eepresentation  of  the  Army 
already  quoted,  which,  in  the  clearest  terms  that  words  are 
capable  of  expressing,  declares  against  "  any  absolute  arbi- 
trary poiver,  engrossed  for  perpetuity  into  the  hands  of  any 
particular  person  or  party  whatsoever  "  ? 

The  course  pursued  by  Cromwell  has  had  indeed  de- 
fenders, some  of  whom  have  defended  him  on  the  ground 
of  his  proceeding  being  the  only  available  protection 
against  anarchy ;  while  others  have  prostrated  themselves 

*  "  If    he    had   made   use    of    his  leave  his   own  family,  together  with 

power  to  establish  the  just  liberties  of  the    whole   body  of  the  people,  in    a 

the     nation,     he    might     live     more  most  happy  and  flourishing  condition." 

honoured  and  esteemed,  have  the  plea-  —Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  p.   567  : 

sure  and  satisfaction  arising  from  so  2nd  edition,  London,  1721. 
generous  an  action,  when  he  died,  and 


1652.] 


DEFENDERS  OF  CROMAVELL. 


at  his  feet,  and  while  they  have  worshipped  him  as  an 
object  of  idolatry,  have  been  very  profuse  of  their  scorn 
and  reprobation  towards  all  who  refuse  to  do  the  like,  and 
particularly  towards  those  members  of  the  Eump  who 
persisted  in  refusing  to  recognise  his  authority. 

The  answer  to  the  latter  class  of  the  defenders  of  Crom- 
well, who  have  sought  to  deify  Cromwell,  and  to  heap  op- 
probrious epithets  on  all  who  have  refused  to  worship  their 
idol,  is  shortly  that,  as  was  long  ago  remarked,  "  no  man 
can  be  expected  to  oppose  arguments  to  epithets ; "  and 
that,  though  opprobrious  epithets  and  scurrilous  jesting 
may  pass  for  fine  writing  among  barbarians,  they  have 
little  weight  among  civilised  men,  who,  whatever  be  their 
faults,  will  admit  the  truth  of  an  observation  of  a  great 
English  writer  of  the  17th  century,  in  reference  to  some 
scurrilous  attacks  upon  himself,  that  "  to  a  public  writino- 
there  belong  good  manners."  ^ 

The  argument  of  those  who  have  defended  Cromwell  on 
the  ground  of  his  proceedings  being  the  only  protection 
against  anarchy,  is  founded  on  an  imperfect  and  incorrect 
view  of  the  facts  of  the  case — a  view  which  confounds  this 
case  with  another,  which,  though  somewhat  similar, 
is  not  identical ;  as  when  we  see,  as  we  constantly  do, 
well-informed  public  writers  asserting  that  a  Cromwell 
or  a  Napoleon  is  needed  to  prevent  anarchy.    Now,  thouo-h 


^  "  And  first  for  the  strength  of  his 
discourse,  and  knowledge  of  the  point 
in  question,  I  think  it  much  inferior 
to  that  which  might  have  been  writ- 
ten by  any  man  living,  that  had  no 
other  learning  besides  the  ability  to 
write  his  mind.  Secondly,  for  the 
manners  of  it  (for  to  a  public  writing 
there  belong  good  manners),  they 
consist    in   railing,   and    exclaiming. 


and  scurrilous  jesting.  And  lastly, 
for  his  elocution,  tlie  virtue  whereof 
lieth  not  in  the  flux  of  words,  but  in 
perspicuity,  it  is  the  same  language 
with  that  of  the  kingdom  of  darkness." 
— The  Question  concerning  Liberty, 
Ntcessity,  and  Chance,  clearly  stated 
and  debated  between  Dr.  Eramhall, 
Bishop  of  Derry,  and  Thomas  Hobbes 
of  Malmesbury :  London,  1G»5'3. 


\     ■ 


432 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


Napoleon  might  be  needed  to  prevent  anarchy,  Cromwell 
was  most  decidedly  not.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  Cromwell's 
usurpation  which  caused  the  anarchy  which,  by  confusion 
of  ideas  and  of  facts,  has  been  transferred  from  its  proper 
place  to  a  place  which  does  not  belong  to  it — namely,  from 
the  state  of  confusion  caused  by  Cromwell's  unjust  usurpa- 
tion, to  the  state  of  order  and  of  good  and  strong  govern- 
ment which  his  evil  ambition  destroyed. 

To  no  Government  that  ever  existed  upon  earth  could 
the  term  "anarchy"  be  more    unjustly  applied  than  to 
that  Government   which  existed  in  England   from  1648 
to  1653.      But  between  1653  and  1660  there   were— as 
Hobbes  has  shown,  in  a  passage  of  his  "  Behemoth,"  with 
his  characteristic  clearness  and  precision — six  changes  or 
"  shiftings  "  of   the  supreme  authority.  ^      There  never, 
probably,  has  been  a  more  complete  example  of  confusion 
of  ideas,  perversion  of  facts,  and  consequent  illogical  and 
inaccurate  conclusions,  than  is  afforded  by  the  confounding 
of  these  historical  phenomena  in  such  a  way,  and  to  such 
a  degree,  as  to  compare  the  Government  of  the  Council 
of  State— composed   of  such   statesmen   as  Yane,  Scot, 
and  Sydney,  which  was  destroyed  by  Oliver  Cromwell,  to  be 
succeeded  by,  first,  a  nan'ow  and  hard  military  despotism, 
and  then  an  anarchy — with  that  preeminently  bad  French 
Gov.ernment,  which  may  be  called  the  Government  of  the 
Guillotine,   and  by  putting  an   end  to  which   Napoleon 
Bonaparte  may  be  said   to   have  substituted  a  military 
despotism   for   anarchy.     In   the    case  of   England    and 
Cromwell,  military  despotism  did  not  prevent,  it  produced 
anarchy,  though  the  contrary  has  been  so  long  and  so  con- 
fidently asserted. 

Tlie  answer,  then,  to  those  who  affirm  that  the  course 

•  Hobbes's  Behomoth,  pp.  322,  323  :  London,  1682. 


1653.] 


OTHER  COURSES   OPEN   TO   CROMWELL. 


433 


Cromwell  pursued  was  the  only  course  practicable  under 
the  circumstances  of  the  case — that  it  was  what  is,  in  the 
modern  German  jargon,  called  a  historical  or  political 
necessity — is  that  it  was  not  a  political  necessity,  inas- 
much as,  as  has  been  already  proved  from  the  minutes  of 
the  Council  of  State  of  the  Long  Parliament,  and  can  be 
further  proved  from  the  minutes  of  Cromwell's  Council 
of  State,  the  Long  Parliament  governed  infinitely  better 
than  Cromwell ;   and,  further,  that  to  Cromwell,  as  to  all 

men  in  his  situation,  there  are  always  two  paths  open the 

one  that  which  has  been  trodden  by  ten  thousand  tyrants 

the  other  that  which  has  been  chosen  by  the  few  men  who 
have  been  able  to  resist  the  greatest  temptation  to  crime 
known  to  mortals— by  Epaminondas,  by  Timoleon,  by 
Washington— the  great  men  who,  in  the  dispute  about 
the  value  of  such  men  in  history,  at  least  are  good  to  show 
that  truth,  justice,  and  honour  are  not  altogether  extinct 
among  mankind.  Will  it  be  pretended  that  two  thousand 
years  ago,  Sicilian  Greeks— people  of  a  temperament  which 

made  them  such  easy  victims  to  tyrant  after  tyrant could 

justly  appreciate  the  magnanimity  of  Timoleon,  when,  after 
having  delivered  them  from  all  their  domestic  tyrants  and 
from  all  their  foreign  enemies,  he  voluntarily  resigned  his 
dictatorship;  and  could  universally  recognise  in  him  a 
man  who  had  amply  earned,  what  Xenophon'  calls,  "  that 

good,  not  human  but  divine,  command  over  willing  men  " 

a  man  uncorrupted  by  a  career  of  superhuman  success  "  ^ 

a  man  whom  everyone  loved,  trusted,  and  was  grieved  to 
offend— a  man  who  sought  not  to  impose  his  own  will 
upon  free  communities,  but  addressed  them  as  free- 
men, building  only  upon  their  reason  and  sentiments,  and 


a 


66 


'   Xenoph.  (Economic,  xxi.  12. 

2  Grote's  History  of  Greece,  vol.  xi.  p.  272. 


VOL.  II. 


F  F 


434 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


carrying  out,  in  all  his  recommendations  of  detail,  the 
instincts  of  free  speech,  universal  vote,  and  equal  laws ;"  ^ 
and  that  Englishmen,  living  in  the  middle  of  the 
17th  century,  would  have  been  unable  to  appreciate  at 
its  just  value,  and  to  turn  to  its  right  use,  a  similar  a-ct  of 
magnanimous  justice  on  the  part  of  Oliver  Cromwell? 
Besides  the  direct  political  consequences  of  such  an  act 
and  of  its  contrary,  which  are  great  enough,  the  social  and 
moral  consequences  are  of  unspeakable  extent  and  magni- 
tude. How  many  a  villain  on  a  small  scale  has  justified, 
at  least  to  himself,  his  career  of  self-aggrandisement, 
through  all  the  adroit  falsehoods  which  make  mean  villains^ 
rich  and  prosperous,  by  the  audacious  violation  of  truth 
and  the  gigantic  villany  of  Cromwell !  ^ 

It  is  observable  that  these  three  truly  great  men,  Epa- 
minondas,  Timoleon,  and  Washington,  were  all  alike  exempt 
from  the  irascible  and  vindictive  as  well  as  the  ambitious 
passions.  What  Mr.  Grote  has  said  of  Timoleon  is  appli- 
cable no  less  to  the  other  two.  Timoleon  "was  distin- 
guished no  less  for  his  courage  than  for  the  gentleness  of 
his  disposition.  Little  moved  either  by  personal  vanity 
or  by  ambition,  he  was  devoted  in  his  patriotism,  and 
imreserved  in  his  hatred  of  despots,  as  well  as  of 
traitors."'*     The   furious  transports  of  rage  which  took 


^  Grote's  History  of  Greece,  vol.  xi. 
p.  267. 

^  "  No  villany,  no  flagitious  action, 
was  over  yet  committed,  but  a  lie  was, 
first  or  last,  the  principal  engine  to  ef- 
fect \tr— South. 

'  It  is  one  of  the  greatest  of  human 
misfortunes,  that  the  evil  which  great 
men  do  is  so  much  more  apt  to  be  imi- 
tated than  the  good.  "  Quo  in  genere 
multum  mali  etiam  i:i  exemplo  est. 
Studiose  enim  plerique  facta  principum 
imitantur :  ut  L.  LucuUi,  summi  viri, 


virtutem,  quis  ?  at  quam  multi  villanim 
magnificentiam  imitatisunt !  " — Cicero 
De  Off.  i.  39. 

*  Grote's  History  of  Greece,  vol.  xi. 
p.  192.  Plutarch,  Timoleon,  c.  3.  .  . 
....  ^iX6iraTpis  Se  «al  vpaos  ^ia(pep- 
Si'TCDS,  oaa  fjL^  a<p6^pa  fxiaorvpavvos 
elvai  Kol  jxiaoTtdvripos.  Condorcet 
says  of  Turgot  that,  notwithstanding 
the  gentleness  of  his  character  he  could 
not  dissemble  his  hatred  for  knaves, 
his  contempt  for  cowardice  or  base- 
ness :  but  that  these  sentiments  neither 


1653.] 


GOOD  AND  BAD   GREAT  MEN. 


435 


possession  at  times  of  Cromwell,  of  Frederic,  of  Napoleon, 
never  darkened  the  clear,  calm,  and  well-tempered  minds 
of  Epaminondas,  of  Timoleon,  of  Washington.  This 
fact  alone,  however,  would  hardly  constitute  the  specific 
difference  between  the  two  classes  of  great  men;  for 
Julius  Caesar,  who  belonged  in  essentials  to  the  former 
class,  possessed  as  much  gentleness  or  mildness  in  his 
political  antipathies  as  any  of  the  latter  class. 

It  is  also  observable  that  each  of  these  three  men,  of 
politically  stainless  name,  was  born  and  educated  in  an 
oligarchical  community — a  fact  (however  philosophers 
may  interpret  its  meaning)  which  ought  to  be  recorded, 
amid  the  many  unfavourable  exhibitions  which  oligar- 
chies have  presented  to  the  world.  I  know  no  individual 
statesman  produced  in  democratical  Athens,  or  in  demo- 
cratical  America,  who  can  be  compared  to  them.  Socrates, 
who  equalled  them  in  high-souled  and  disinterested 
heroism,  was  a  philosopher  only,  and  not  a  practical 
politician.  The  very  example  of  such  men  is  of  inesti- 
mable value.  Mr.  Grote  considers  the  difference  in  the 
careers  of  Timoleon  and  Dion  to  be  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  person  whom  Timoleon  selected  for  his  pecuUar  model 
was  Epaminondas,  the  noblest  model  that  Greece  afforded, 
with  his  energetic  patriotism,  his  freedom  from  personal 
ambition,  his  gentleness  of  political  antipathy,  and  the 

inspired  him  with  a  spirit  of  injustice  them ;    the    sentiments   all   pure,  the 

nor  of  vengeance.     What    Condorcet  emotions    all  either  gentle  or   eoura- 

has  recorded  of  Turgot — "thatconstant  geous,  the  calm  spirit  full  of  candour 

agreement  between  his  conduct  and  his  and  justice"  (  f7e  de   Turgot,  p.  290, 

principles,  his  sentiments  and  his  rea-  Londres,  1786)— may  be  well  applied 

son  ;  that  union  of  an  inexorable  jus-  also  to  Timoleon;  while  in  the  latter 

tice  with  the   gentlest  humanity;    of  were  added  talents  for  action  of  the 

sensibility  with  firmness  of  character  ;  highest   order,    forming  altogether    a 

of  justness  of  understanding  with  depth  character  perhaps  unparalleled  in  his- 

and  subtlety ;  that  firm  adherence  to  tory. 
his  opinions  without  ever  exaggerating 

FF  2 


I 


\ 


436 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


perfect  habits  of  conciliatory  and  popular  dealing  which 
he  manifested,  amidst  so  many  new  and  trying  scenes,  to 
the  end  of  his  career.  While,  on  the  other  hand,  Dion,  a 
member  of  a  despotic  family,  and  bred  under  the  energetic 
despotism  of  the  elder  Dionysius,  had  never  learnt  to  take 
account  of  the  temper  or  exigencies  of  a  community  of 
freemen.  "The  source  from  which  he  drank  was  the 
Academy  and  its  illustrious  teacher,  Plato — not  from 
practical  life,  nor  from  the  best  practical  politicians  like 
Epaminondas."  ^ 

Ludlow  says  that  some  discerning  men  of  the  Parlia- 
ment, especially  those  who  had  the  management  of  the 
war  with  Holland,  observing  the  mine  which  Cromwell 
was  working,  endeavoured  to  countermine  him,  by  ba- 
lancing his  interest  in  the  army  with  that  of  the  fleet, 
procuring  an  order  from  the  Parliament  to  send  some 
regiments  from  the  army  to  strengthen  the  fleet.^  This 
statement  is  fully  borne  out  by  various  minutes  of  the 
Council  of  State  already  given,  as  well  as  by  the  two  fol- 
lowing minutes  of  Friday  the  2nd  of  January,  165| : 

"  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  Commissioners  for  the 
Admiralty,  to  take  care  that  the  supernumerary  soldiers 
now  disbanded  out  of  the  regiments  in  Scotland,  may,  when 
they  come  into  England,  be  disposed  to  the  service  of  the 
fleet,  the  Council  having  given  order  for  the  furnishino-  of 
money  for  the  bringing  of  them  into  England."  ^ 

"  The  Council,  finding  that  there  is  at  present  a  great 
want  of  men  for  the  speedy  and  effectual  manning  out  of 
the  ships  in  the  service  of  the  Commonwealth,  do  thereupon 
order,  that  it  be  recommended  to  the  Commissioners  for  the 

»  Grote's  History  of  Greece,  vol.  xi.        ^  Qj.^^^.    ^^^^    ^^   ^^^   Council   of 

P-  ^^^'  State,  Friday,  January  21,  1652,  MS 

2  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  p.  450       State  Paper  Office. 
2nd  edition,  London,  1721. 


1653.]        BLAKE'S   RELATIVE  POSITION   TO   CROMWELL. 

Admiralty  to  consider  how  a  fitting  proportion  of 
soldiers  may  be  made  use  of  for  the  present  occasion  for  the 
manning  out  of  the  fleet ;  and  that  it  be  recommended  to  the 
said  Commissioners,  to  communicate  with  the  Generals  of 
the  fleet,  concerning  the  apportioning  of  the  number  of 
men  which  shall  be  judged  necessary  for  that  service."  ^ 

Undoubtedly  the  splendour  of  Blake's  achievements,  the 
consequent  importance  which  the  fleet  acquired  both  in 
the   eyes  of  the  Parliament  and  of  the  nation,  and  the 
constant    drafting   of   soldiers    into   the   fleet,  furnished 
new  and  pressing  causes  of  uneasiness  to  Cromwell.     If 
Blake  went  on  fighting  a  few  more  battles  like  his  last, 
besides-the  power  and  honour  that  would  thence  accrue  to 
the  Parliament  itself,  thefe"w6^uld~afise~'in^lake  a  man 
invested  with  at  least  as  much  of  the  magic  that  surrounds 
a  commander,  whose  career  has  been  signalised  by  a  suc- 
cession of  the  most  brilliant  victories  on  a  large^^scale,  as 
he  himself  had  obtained;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  could 
he  in  time  transfer  the  power  of  the  Parliament  wholly  to 
himself,  Blake  and  himself  would  no  longer  be  co-ordinate 
powers,  but  Blake  would  thenceforth  stand  to  him  in  the 
relation-^-arBtrictly  subordinate  officer.     He  therefore  at 
once — with'  that  resolute  promptitude  that  neveir^eserted 
him  at  a  critical  moment,  and  which  seemed  worth  to  him 
as   much   as   all  the  strategic   genius  of  Hannibal   and 
Frederic  (which  he  did  not  possess)  was  to  them,— resolved 
that  now  was  the  time  to  strike. 

It  was"aBsolutely  necessary  for  the  attainment  of  Crom- 
well's object  that  he  should  be  quite  sure  of  the  army. 
After  the  death  of  Ireton,  the  two  men  who  had  most  in- 
terest with  the  army  were  Lambert  and  Harrison.     I  have 

*  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State,  Friday,  January  21,  165§,  MS.  State 
Paper  Office. 


/ 


438 


f 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[CuAP.  XVI. 


already  shown  how,  on  the  death  of  Ireton,  Cromwell  had 
secured  the  concurrence  of  Lambert  in  his  plot  against 
the  Parliament.^  Lambert  was  not  a  religious  fanatic, 
and,  as  a  military  man,  he  was  the  ablest  in  the  army, 
and  popular  among  the  soldiers ;  but  he  was  weak  as  a 
politician,  and  easily  fell  into  the  snare  set  for  him  by  a 
politician  so  crafty  as  Cromwell.  As  religious  fanaticism, 
therefore,  had  not  to  be  encountered  in  Lambert,  all  that 
Cromwell  had  to  do  in  his  case  was  to  create  in  him  a 
spirit  of  hostility  to  the  Parliament,  sufficiently  strong 
to  induce  him  to  agree  to  their  destruction.  This  was 
completely  effected  by  the  Parliament's  refusing  to  send 
him  to  Ireland  with  the  title  of  Deputy. 

Ludlow  has  given  a  curious  account  of  a  conversation  he 
had  with  Harrison,  after  that  enthusiast  had  discovered 
his  mistake  in  aiding  Cromwell  to  turn  out  the  Parlia- 
ment. The  perfect  sincerity  of  Harrison's  delusions  is 
there  made  apparent.  Ludlow  went  to  make  Harrison  a 
visit  at  his  house  at  Highgate,  where  Cromwell  had  per- 
mitted him  to  remain  a  prisoner,  after  he  had  been  a 
prisoner  at  Pendennis  Castle.^  Ludlow  having  asked 
Harrison  his  reasons  for  joining  with  Cromwell  in  turnino- 
out  the  Parliament,  Harrison  answered  that  his  first  reason 
was,  "  because  he  was  fully  persuaded  they  (the  Parliament) 
had  not  a  heart  to  do  any  more  good  for  the  Lord  and  His 
people."     "  Then,"  said  Ludlow,  "  are  you  not  now  con- 


•  Ante,  Chapter  XII. 

^  Ludlow. says  "  Carisbrook  Castle;" 
l)ut,  as  the  author  of  the  "  Memoir  of 
Tliomas  Harrison,"  published  in  the 
same  volume  (Family  Library,  No. 
xxxi.)  with  the  trial  of  Charles  I., 
says,  •*  Ludlow  appears  to  be  wrong, 
as  he  pccasionally  is,  as  to  dates  and 
details,  owing  to  his  having  written 


his  Memoirs  from  memory  in  Swit- 
zerland several  years  after  the  events 
happened.  Vane  was  sent  to  Caris- 
brook, but  Harrison  was  confined  at 
Fendenms.—Thurhe,  vol.  v.  p.  407  ; 
Godwin,  vol.  iv.  p.  276,  Mercurious 
Fitmigosus,  a  journal  of  the  day,  No. 
306."  p.  233,  note  2. 


1653.]        LUDLOW'S  CONVERSATION  WITH  HARRISON. 


439 


vinced  of  your  error,  since  it  has  been  seen  what  use  has 
been  made  of  the  usurped  power  ?  "  To  which  he  replied, 
"  Upon  their  heads  be  the  guilt,  who  have  made  a  wrong 
use  of  it;  for  my  own  part,  my  heart  was  upright  and 
sincere  in  the  thing."  To  this  Ludlow  answered  that, 
"  Though  it  should  be  granted  that  the  Parliament  was  not 
inclined  to  make  so  full  a  reformation  of  things  amiss  as 
might  be  desired,  yet  he  could  not  doubt  that  they  would 
have  done  as  much  good  for  the  nation  as  it  was  then  fitted 
to  receive." 

Harrison's  second  reason  was,  "  because  he  owned  a 
sort  of  men  who  acted  upon  higher  j)rinciples  than  those 
of  civil  liberty  " — the  men  called  "  saints  "  in  his  phraseo- 
logy. He  then  cited  a  passage  of  the  Prophet  Daniel, 
where  it  is  said  "  that  the  saints  shall  take  the  kingdom 
and  possess  it."  Ludlow  endeavoured  to  answer  liim,  in 
his  own  style  of  argument,  by  saying  that  the  same  prophet 
says,  in  another  place,  "  that  the  kingdom  shall  be  given 
to  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,"  and  that  if 
they  should  presume  to  take  it  before  it  was  given,  they 
would  be  guilty  of  doing  evil  that  good  might  come  of  it. 
Ludlow  further  told  him  "  that  such  proceedings  are  not 
only  unjust,  but  also  impracticable,  at  least  for  the  present ; 
because  we  cannot  perceive  that  the  saints  are  clothed 
with  such  a  spirit,  as  those  are  required  to  be  to  whom  the 
kingdom  is  promised  ;  and,  therefore,  we  may  easily  be  de- 
ceived in  judging  who  are  fit  for  government,  for  many 
have  taken  upon  them  the  form  of  saintship,  that  they 
might  be  admitted  to  it,  who  yet  have  not  acted  suitably 
to  their  pretensions  in  the  sight  of  God  or  men  :  for  proof 
of  which  we  need  go  no  further  than  to  those  very  per- 
sons who  had  drawn  him  to  assist  them  in  their  design 
of  exalting   themselves,  under  the  specious  pretence  of 


^'^^  COMxMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XVI. 

advancing  tlie  kingdom  of  Christ."  Harrison  admitted 
the  force  of  Ludlow's  argument,  as  he  well  might,  having 
discovered  that  the  reign  of  the  saints,  which  Cromwell 
had  held  out  to  him,  meant  the  reign  of  Oliver  Cromwell, 
and  having  suffered  and  still  suffering  imprisonment  for 
refusing  to  own  the  identity  of  the  reign  of  Cromwell  with 
the  reign  of  the  saints  and  their  King  Jesus ;  yet  he  said 
he  was  not  convinced  that  the  texts  of  Scripture  quoted 
by  him  were  not  to  be  interpreted  in  the  sense  in  which 
he  had  taken  them.' 

In  another  place  Ludlow  says,  that  Cromwell  "made 
higher  pretences  to  honesty  than  ever  he  had  done  before, 
thereby  to  engage  Major-General  Harrison,  Colonel  Eich, 
and  their  party,  to  himself.  To  this  end  he  took  all  occa- 
sions in  their  presence  to  asperse  the  Parliament,  as  not 
designing  to  do  those  good  things  they  pretended  to,  but 
rather  intending  to  support  the  corrupt  interests  of  the 
clergy  and  lawyers.  And  though  he  was  convinced  that 
they  were  hastening  with  all  expedition  to  put  a  period  to 
their  sitting,  having  passed  a  vote  that  they  would  do  it 
within  the  space  of  a  year,  and  that  they  were  making  all 
possible  preparations  in  order  to  it;  yet  did  he  indus- 
triously publish,  that  they  were  so  in  love  with  their  seats, 
that  they  would  use  all  means  to  perpetuate  themselves. 
These  and  other  calumnies  he  had  with  so  much  art  in- 
sinuated into  the  belief  of  many  honest  and  well-meanino- 
people,  that  they  began  to  wish  him  prosperity  in  his  un- 
dertakingf."  ^ 

This  statement  of  the  brave,  single-hearted,  and  uncom- 
promising "S^Mier  Ludlow,  is  supported  in^  all  points  by 
the  cautious,  p!iant,1T  not  obsequious  lawyer  Whitelock. 


'  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.pp.  563-         ^  Ludlow,  iMd,  p.  449. 
566:  2nd  edition,  London,  1721. 


( 


I 


1653.]        CROMWELL  CALUMNLITES  THE  PAIILIAMENT.^.^1 

After  the  entry  in  his  Memorials  or  Journal  of  the  last 

great  victory  of  Blake,  Whitelock  says  that  Cromwell  and 

some  of  his  officers  "  now  began  to  assume  to  themselves 

all  the  honour  of  the  past  actions,  and  of  the  conquests 

by  them  achieved,  scarce  owning   the    Parliament,    and 

their  assistance  and  provision  for  them  ;  but  taxino-  and 

censuring  the  members  of  Parliament  for  injustice  and 

delay  of  business,  and  for  seeking  to  prolong  their  power, 

and  promote  their  private  interest,  and  satisfy  their  own 

ambition.     With  these  and  many  others  the  like  censures, 

they  endeavoured  to  calumniate  the  Parliament,  and  judge 

them  guilty  of  those  crimes  whereof  themselves  were  faulty; 

not  looking  into  their  own  actions,  nor  perceiving  their 

own  defaults,  yet  censuring  the  actions  and  proceedings  of 

the  Parliament  very  opprobriously."  ^ 

The  utter  falsehood  of  the  charge  of  "injustice   and 
delay  of  business  "  is  made  clear  as  the  light  of  the  sun 
by   the    subsequent    fact    of    the    total   neglect,    by   the 
Government  of  Cromwell,  of  Blake's  fleet.     Blake  wrote 
to  the  Admiralty,  on  the   11th  of  March   1657rseltino- 
forth,  in  the  inost  urgent  termSj  the  wretched  condition  of 
his  fleet—"  grown  so  foul,  by  reason  of  a  long  continuance 
abroad,   that  if    a    fleet    outward-bound    should   desi<i-n 
to   avoid  us,  few  of  our  ships  would  be  able  to  follow 
them  up."      "I  have  acquainted  you  often,"  he  writes, 
"  with  my  thoughts  of  keeping  out  these  ships  so  long, 
whereby  they  are  not  only  rendered  in  a  great  measure 
unserviceable,  but  withal  exposed  to  desperate  hazards: 
wherein,    though   the    Lord    hath  most  wonderfully  and 
mercifully  preserved  us  hitherto,  I  know  no  rule  to  tempt 
Him,  and  therefore  again  mind  you  of  it,  that  if  ary  such 
accident  should  for  the  future  happen  to  the  damage  of  his 

*  Whitclock's  Memorials,  p.  518  it  seq. 


I 


I 


442 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


\ 


\ 


Highness  and  the  nation — which  God  forbid — the  blame 
may  not  be  at  our  doors,  for  we  account  it  a  great  mercy 
that  the  Lord  hath  not  given  them  [the  Spaniards]  the 
opportunity  to  take  advantage  of  these  our  damages.  Truly 
our  fleet  is  generally  in  that  condition  that  it  troubles  us 
to  think  what  the  consequences  may  prove  if  such  another 
storm,  as  we  have  had  three  or  four  lately,  should  overtake 
us  before  we  have  time  and  opportunity  a  little  to  repair. 
Our  number  of  men  is  lessened  through  death  and  sick- 
ness, occasioned  partly  through  the  badness  of  victuals, 
and  the  long  continuance  of  poor  men  at  sea.  The 
captain  of  the  Fairfax  tells  me  in  particular  that  they  are 
forced  to  call  all  their  company  on  deck  whenever  they  go 
to  tack." — All  the  answer  he  could  get  was  (instead  of  what 
he  so  urgently  asked  for,  "  forthwith  a  sufficient  supply  of 
able  seamen  ")  that  the  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty 
were  sorry  to  hear  of  his  illness,  sorry  also  to  hear  of  the 
wretched  state  of  his  ships ;  but  that  they  could  not  pro- 
mise him  any  immediate  aid,  because  the  Lord  Protector's 
time  was  completely  taken  up  with  Parliamentary  intrigues, 
the  great  question  of  Kingship  being  then  under  consi- 
deration.^ This  was  not  the  way  in  which  the  business  of 
the  navy  was  managed  when  Yane  was  Chairman  of  the 
Committee  of  the  Admiralty  that  was  appointed  from  its 
own  members  by  the  Council  of  State.  And  yet  Oliver 
Cromwell  had  the  audacity  to  charge  those  men  with 
"  delay  of  business,"  and  the  folly  to  exclaim,  in  that  fit  of 
insanity  in  which  he  turned  out  the  Parliament,  "The 
Lord  deliver  me  from  Sir  Henry  Yane  !  "  """^ 

Ludlow  goes  on  to  gay,  in  continuation  of  the  passage  1 
have  last  quoted  from  him,  "  Divers  of  the  clergy,  from 

\  Dixon's    F.obort   Blake,  pp.    344,     9304  ;  and  MS.  Orders  and  Instnic- 
345,  cites  Blako's  Despatch,  Add.  MSS.     tions.  May  2,  1657,  Admiralty  Office. 


J  653.] 


CROMWELL  AND   CALAMY. 


443 


their  pulpits,  began  to  prophesy  the  destruction  of  the  Par- 
liament, and  to  propose  it  openly  as  a  thing  desirable. 
Insomuch  that  the  General,  who  had  all  along  concurred 
with  this  spirit  in  them,  hypocritically  complained,  to 
Quartermaster-General  Yemon,  '  That  he  was  pushed  on 
by  two  parties  to  do  that,  the  consideration  of  the  issue 
whereof  made  his  hair  to  stand  on  end.  One  of  these ' 
(said  he)  '  is  headed  by  Major-General  Lambert,  who,  in 
revenge  of  that  injury  the  Parliament  did  him,  in  not  per- 
mitting him  to  go  into  Ireland  with  a  character  and  con- 
dition suitable  to  his  merit,  will  be  contented  with  nothini? 
less  than  their  dissolution:  of  the  other  Major-General 
Harrison  is  the  chief,  who  is  an  honest  man,  and  aims  at 
good  things  ;  yet,  from  the  impatience  of  his  spirit,  will  not 
wait  the  Lord's  leisure,  but  hurries  me  on  to  that  which 
he  and  all  honest  men  will  have  cause  to  repent.'  Thus 
did  he  craftily  feel  the  pulse  of  men  towards  this  work, 
endeavouring  to  cast  the  infamy  of  it  on  others ;  reserving 
to  himself  the  appearance  of  tenderness  to  civil  and 
religious  liberty,  and  of  screening  the  nation  from  the  fmy 
of  the  parties  before -mentioned."  ^ 

Though,  as  has  been  seen  from  the  passage  of  Ludlow 
last  quoted,  "  divers  of  the  clergy  "  prophesied  from  the 
pulpits  the  destruction  of  the  Parliament  as  a  thing 
desirable,  Cromwell,  part  of  whose  policy  was  to  have  the 
clergy  on  his  side,  failed  to  obtain  the  concurrence  of 
some  of  the  chief  of  them.  Cromwell  held  meetings  with 
them,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  them  over  to  his  views. 
But  with  some  of  them  the  millennial  doctrine  did  not  seem 
so  be  so  much  in  favour  as  it  was  with  Harrison. 

A  curious  scene,  that  took  place  at  one  of  these  meetings, 
is  cited  by  Mr.  Forster,  from  the  "  Life  of  Henry  IS'eville," 


; 


/  / 


in  miu 


'  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.ii.  pp.449,  450:  2nd  edition,  London,  1721. 


\ 


\ 


N 

y 


^ 


444  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XVL 

a  member  of  the  Council  of  State,  and  one  of  those  who 
remained  true  ^  to  their  Commonwealth  principles  to  the 
last -a   scene    which   is   given   as   from    Neville's    lips: 
"  Cromwell,  upon  this  great  occasion,  sent  for  some  of  the 
chief  city  divines,  as  if  he  made  it  a  matter  of  conscience  to 
be  determined  by  their  advice.     Among  these  was  the  lead- 
ing Mr.  Calamy,  who  very  boldly  opposed  Mr.  Cromwell's 
project,  and  offered  to  prove  it  both  unlawful  and  imprac- 
ticable.    Cromwell  answered  readily  upon  the  first  head  of 
'unlawful,'  and  appealed  to  the  safety  of  the  nation  being 
the   supreme  law.      '  But,'  says  he,  '  pray,  Mr.  Calamy, 
why  impracticable  ?  '     Calamy  replied,  '  Oh  !  'tis  against 
the  voice  of  the  nation ;  there  will  be  nine  in  ten  against 
you.'     'Very  well,'  says  Cromwell;  'but  what  if  I  should 
disarm  the  nine,  and  put  a  sword  into  the  tenth  man's 
hand  ;  would  not  that  do  the  business  ? '  "  2     And  thus  it 


'  See  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
600-603:  2nd  edition,  London,  1721. 
2  Life  of  Henry  Neville,  p.  35,  cited 
in  Mr.  Forsfcf^  Life  of  Cromwell,  vol. 
ii.  pp.  52,  53  :  London,  1839.— Neville 
was  one  of  the  most  regular  in  his  at- 
tendance at  the  meetings  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  State,  and  his  name  frequently 
occurs  in  the  minutes.     I  give  one  in- 
stance :  "That  Mr.    Neville   and  Mr. 
Carew  be  added  to  the  Commissioners 
of  the  Council,  appointed  to  treat  with 
the  Dutch  Ambassadors." — Order  Book 
of  the  Council  of  State,  Thursday,  June 
17,    1652,   MS.    State    Paper    Office. 
Henry  Neville,  after  the  usurpation  of 
Cromwell,  brought  an  action  against 
the  Sheriff  of  Berkshire,  for  foul  prac- 
tices at  the  last  return  for  that  county. 
•'  But  not  being  willing,"  says  Ludlow, 
"  so   far  to  acknowledge  the  present 
authority  as  to  prefer  his  action  upon 
the  Irstrument  of  Government,  he  was 


advised  by  Serjeant  Maynard,  Mr.  Allen 
of    Gray's   Inn,    and  some  others,  to 
bring  his  action  of  the  case  against 
the  Sheriff.     On  the  day  of  trial,  Mr. 
Nevil   desired   Sir    Arthur   Haselrig, 
Sir  James  Harrington,  Mr.  Scot,  my- 
self, and  some  other  members  of  the 
Long 'Parliament,  to  be  present  in  the 
court ;  when,  after  all   the  objections 
made   by   the  Sheriffs   counsel  were 
oven-uled  by  the  Court,  and  the  wit- 
nesses heard  on  both  sides,  the  Chief 
Justice  (St.  John)  declared  to  the  jury 
how   heinous   a  crime  it  was  that  a 
sheriff  should  presume  to  impose  upon 
them  such  members  as  he  pleased  to 
serve  in  Parliament,  which  was  the  bul- 
wark of  the  people's  liberties."  The  jury 
found  the  Sheriff  guilty,  and  adjudged 
him  to  pay  £1,500  for  damages  to  Mr. 
Nevil,  and  £100  to  the  Commonwealth. 
The  conclusion  of  the  affair  is  curious 
and  characteristic:  "  But  now  the  Chief 


1653.]  PARLIAMENT  DETERMINE  TO  DISSOLVE.  445 

was  indeed,  and  only  thus,  that  the  business  was  done 
It  is  not  surprising,  after  this,  that  Colonel  Streater  should 
be  represented,  when  Harrison  stoutly  asserted  that  "he 
was  assured  the  Lord-General  sought  not  himself,  but 
that  King  Jesus  might  take  the  sceptre,"  as  replying  that 
"  Christ  must  come  before  Christmas,  or  else  He  would 
come  too  late." 

I  have  said  that  the  capital  blunder  of  the  Parliament 
was  their  persistence  in  not  dissolving  themselves,  and  that 
they  thus  put  the  most  powerful  weapon  into  Cromwell's 
hands  against  themselves.     But  though  the  question  of 
dissolution  is  stated  by  Whitelock  to  have  been  urged  by 
the  soldiers  as  of  "right,"  "justice,"  and  "public  liberty  " 
and  though  Cromwell  had  always  sho^vn  himself  eager  for 
such  dissolution,  the  strange  part  of  this  business  is  that, 
when  the  Parliament,  "  now  perceiving "  (says  Ludlow)' 
"  to  what  kind  of  excesses  the  madness  of  the  army  was 
likely  to  carry  them,  resolved  to  leave  as  a  legacy  to  Hiq 
people  the  government  of  a  Commonwealth  by  their  own 
representatives,  when  assembled  in  Parliament,  and  in  the 
intervals  thereof,  by  a  Council  of  State  chosen  by  them 
and  to  continue  till  the  meeting  of  the  next  succeeding 
Parhament,  to  whom  they  were  to  give   an  account   of 
their  conduct  and  management,  and  to  this  end  resolved, 
without  any  further  delay,  to  pass  the  Act  for  their  now 

Justice,  having,  as  he   thought,  suffi-     Sheriff  conveyed  away   his   real   and 

ciently  pleased  the  popular  interest  by  personal    estate.       Endeavours    were 

what  he  had  said  concerning  the  rights  likewise  used  to   take   off  Mr  Nevil 

of  the  peop.e,  began  to  contrive  means  by  compounding  the  business.''      But 

to  gratify   his  master   Cromwell,   by  Neville  had  the  judgment  recorded  for 

whose  order  the  Sher  ff  had  acted;  and  an  example,  "and  then  declali  him- 

to  th^  end,  upon  the   motion  of  the  self  resolved  to  deal  with  the  Sheriff  as 

Sheriffs  counsel,  granted  an  arrest  of  became  \^mr-Ludlow^s  Memoirs  vol 

judgment,  and  appointed  a  day  in  the  ii.  pp.  600-602  :  2nd  edition,  London' 

next  term  to  hear  what  could  be  said  1721,  ' 

on  each  side.     In  the  meantime  the 


446 


COMMONWEALTH  OP  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XVL 


^ 


i 


\ 


\ 


dissolution,"  ^  Cromwell  resolved  not  to  suffer  tliem  to  pass 
that  Act,  but  to  turn  them  out  by  military  force  before  they 
could  pass  it.  The  explanation  of  this  strange  proceeding 
on  the  part  of  Cromwell  is,  I  think,  that  Cromwell  was 
(as  Ludlow  says),  "  sensible  of  the  design,  and  of  the  con- 
sequences of  suffering  the  army  to  be  new-moulded,  and 
put  under  another  conduct,"  ^  which  the  constant  draughts 
of  soldiers  into  the  fleet  tended  to  do ;  and  also  that  he 
was  afraid,  "  lest  the  disinterested  proceeding  of  the 
Parliament — who  (by  dissolving  themselves)  were  about  to 
leave  the  nation  under  a  form  of  government  that  provided 
sufficiently  for  the  good  of  the  community — might  work 
the  people  into  a  greater  aversion  to  his  selfish  design."  ^ 

Lord  Macaulay  has  said  of  Lord  Temple,  that  those 
who  knew  his  habifs  tracked  him  as  men  track  a  mole ; 
that  wherever  a  heap  of  dirt  was  flmig  up,  it  might  well 
be  suspected  that  he  was  at  work  in  some  foul  crooked 
labyrinth  below.  But  though  CroinweH^s^ark  and  tor- 
tuouff^course  might  resemble  that  of  a  mole,  his  human 
calculation,  which  the  mole  did  not  possess,  led  him  to 
remove  the  heaps  of  dirt  which  served  as  landmarks  for 
the  course  of  the  mole,  and  thus  to  obliterate,  in  >  a  great 
measure,  the  traces  of  his  dark  work.  His  careful  keep- 
ing back  and,  no  doubt,  ultimate  destruction  of  the  Bill 
for  a  New  Parliament — a  business  to  which  I  will  advert 
more  fully  in  a  subsequent  page  of  this  chapter — was  a 
remarkable  example  of  this  manner  of  proceeding.  In 
other  cases,  such  as  the  following,  he  was  unable  to 
obliterate  the  marks  of  his  tortuous  course,  of  the  crooked 
ways  he  pursued  underground. 

While  he  was  making  "  the  most  solemn  professions  of 

\  Ludlov/s  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  p.  455:         ^  Ludlow,  ibid.  p.  451. 
2nd  edition,  London,  1721.  s  Ludlow,  ibid.  p.  452. 


1653.]  ALTERATION  IN   CROMWELL'S  PLANS.  447 

fidelity  to  the  Parliament— assuring  them,  that  if  they 
would  command  the  army  to  break  their  swords  over  their 
heads,  and  to  throw  them  into  the  sea,  he  would  under- 
take  they  should  do  it-yet  did  he  privately  engage  the 
officers  of  the  army  to  draw  up  a  petition  to  the  Parlia- 
ment, that  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  nation  thej  would 
put  that  vote  which  they  had  made,  for  fixing  a  period  to 
their  sitting,  into  an  Act ;  which,  whilst  the  officers  were 
forming  and '  debating,  the  General,  having,  it  seems,  for 
that  time  altered  his  counsels,  sent  Colonel  Desborough, 
one  of  his  instruments,  to  the  Council  of  Officers,  who  told 
them,  that  they  ought  to  rely  upon  the  word  and  pro- 
mise of  the  Parliament  to  dissolve  themselves  by  the  time 
prefixed ;  and  that  to  petition  them  to  put  their  vote  into 
an  Act,  would  manifest  a  diffidence  of  them,  and  lessen 
their  authority,  which  was  so  necessary  to  the  army.     The 
General,  coming  into  the  Council  whilst  Desborough  was 
speaking,    seconded  him :  to  which  some  of  the  officers 
took  the  liberty  to  reply,  that  they  had  the  same  opinion 
of  the  Parliament  and  petition  with  them ;  and  that  the 
chief  argument  that  moved  them  to  take  this  matter  into 
consideration,  was  the  intimation  they  had  received,  that 
it  was  according  to  the  desires  of  those   who  had  now 
spoken  against   it,  and  whose   latter  motion   they   were 
much  more  ready  to  comply  with  than  their  former."  i 

What  was  the  cause  of  this  alteration  in  Cromwell's 
plans  ?  Was  it  that  CromweU,  seeing  that  the  Parliament 
had  now  set  about  their  BiU  for  a  dissolution  of  the 
present  and  the  election  of  a  new  Parliament,  and  were 
proceeding  with  great  energy  and  activity  in  preparing  it 
for  the  final  vote,  saw  that  the  reason  for  the  petition  no 

'  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  pp.  451,  452  :  2nd  edition,  London,  1721. 


448 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XVI. 


longer  existed  ?    This  is  the  most  obvious  cause.    But  then 
it  involves  the  supposition,  that  Cromweli  really  wished 
the  Bill  to  be  passed;  and   his  subsequent  proceedings 
proved,  in  the  most  conclusive  manner,  that  he  did  not 
wish  the  Bill  to  be  passed.     We  are  then  driven  to  seek 
another  cause,  and  to  ask  if  he  stopped  the  petition,  lest 
it  might  have  the  effect  of  accelerating  the  passing  of  a 
Bill  which  he  did  not  wish  to  be  passed?     There  is,  it  will 
be  seen,  a  contradiction  here  in  Cromwell's  conduct,  which 
cannot   be   explained   away.     He   had   professed  himself 
eager  to  have  the  question  of  the  Parliament's  dissolution 
settled ;  and  when,  at  last,  the  Parliament  were  proceeding 
to  settle  it,  and  were  on  the  point  of  finishing  their  work, 
he  expelled  them  by  military  force,  carried  off  their  Bill 
for  a  New  Parliament;  and  then  blackened  their  characters 
by  charges,  some  of  which  I  can  prove  to  be  false,  and 
others  he  did  not  prove  to  be  true,  though  he  could  have 
done  so  if  they  had  been  true. 

As  Ludlow,  when  he  states  that  the  Parliament  resolved, 
without  any  further  delay,  to  pass  the  Act  for  their  own 
dissolution,  says  nothing  about  there  being  two  parties  in 
the  Parliament,  as  shown  by  the,  divisions  on  the  vote  of 
14th  November  1651— one  of  which,  a  majority  of  50,  was 
for  fixing  a  time  for  the  dissolution,  and  the  other,  a  min- 
ority of  46  or  47,  was  against  entertaining  the  question  of 
dissolution  at  that  time — it  may  be  inferred  that  those  two 
parties  had  both  come  to  the  conclusion  that,  under  the 
present  circumstances,  there  should  be  no  further  delay. 
There  was,  moreover,  a  third  party,  at  least  a  certain  num- 
ber of  members,  who,  according  to  Whitelock,  were  not 
averse  to  the  design  of  that  part  of  the  army,  headed  by 
Cromwell,  Lambert,  and  Harrison,  to  turn  out  the  Parlia- 
ment by  force,  "  and  were  complotting  with  them  to  ruin 


1653.]        ONE  OF  CROMWELL'S  DARK   STATE-PAPERS. 

themselves,  as  by  the  consequence  will  appear."^  These 
men  appear  to  have  been  the  dupes  of  a  mistaken  confidence 
m  CromweU's  protestations  and  ever  ready  tears,  as  may 
bemferred  from  Whitelock's  expression,  "neither  could  it 
be  clearly  foreseen,  that  the  design  of  Cromwell  and  h^'s 
officers  was  to  rout  the  present  power,  and  to  set  up  them- 
selves." 2 

About  twenty  members  of  Parliament  are  said,  in  Crom- 
weU's  declaration,    dated   "Whitehall,  AprH   22,  1653  " 
to  have  been  present  at  the  last  meeting,  on  the' 19th  of 
April  1653,  of  what  is  called  the  Council  of  Officers    at 
CromweU's   lodgings   in   Whitehall  ;    and    these   twenty 
members  may  be  assumed  to  represent  "  the  Parliament 
men  who  "  (Whitelock  says)  -  complotted  with  Cromwell 
and  his  officers  to  ruin  themselves."     It  is  remarkable  that 
Whitelock  was  himself  present,  though  he  describes  himself 
and  Widdrington  as  strongly  dissenting  from  those  who 
were  for  "putting  an  end  forthwith  to  this  Parliament  •  " 
and  expressing  themselves  freely  to  the  effect  that  it  would 
be  "a  most  dangerous  thing  to  dissolve  the  present  Parlia- 
ment, and  to  set  up  any  other  Government,  and  that  it 
would  neither  be  warrantable  in  conscience  or  wisdom  so 
to  do."  3     Of  the  opinion  for  putting  an  end  foiihwith  to 
this  Parliament,  Whitelock  says :  "  St.  John  was  one  of 
the  chief,  and  many  more  with  him;  and  generally  all  the 
officers  of  the  army,  who  stuck  close  in  this  likewise  to 
their  General."  ^     The  conference  lasted  tiU  late  at  ni^ht 
"  when  Widdrington  and  Whitelock  went  home  weaiy  and 
troubled  to  see  the  indiscretion  and  ingratitude  of  those 
men,  and  the  way  they  designed  to  ruin  themselves."^ 


'  Whitelock'.s  Memorials,    p.    od2 
London,  1732. 
2  Ibid. 


'  Hfiff.  p.  oo4. 

*  Ibu/. 

*  Ibii/. 


VOL.  II. 


G  G 


450 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


It  is  asserted  by  Cromwell,  in  liis  "  Declaration  of  tlie 
Grounds  and  Eeasons  for   dissolving  the  Parliament  by 
Force,"    dated  "WhitehaU,  April   22,    1653,"   that  tlie 
members  ("  about  twenty,"  he  says)  present  at  the  con- 
ferences with  the  officers  of  the  army  at  his  lodgings  on 
the  19th  of  April,  "  did  agree  to  meet  again  the  next  day 
in  the  afternoon  for  mutual   satisfaction;  it  being  con- 
sented unto  by   the   members   present,   that  endeavours 
should  be  used  that  nothing  in  the  meantime  should  he  done 
in  Parliament  that  might  exclude  or  frustrate  the  proposals 
before  mentioned;  that,  notwithstanding  this,  the  next 
morning  "  (the  20th  of  April)  "  the  ParHament  did  make 
more  haste  than  usual  in  carrying  on  their  said  Act,  being 
helped  on  therein  by  some  of  the  persons  engaged  to  us 
the  night  before,  none  of  them  which  were  then  present 
endeavouring  to  oppose  the  same  ;  and  being  ready  to  put 
the  main  question  for  consummating  the  said  Act,,  whereby 
our  aforesaid  proposals  would  have  been  rendered  void, 
and  the  way  of  bringing  them  into  a  fair  and  full  debate  in 
Parliament  obstructed;  for  preventing  thereof,  and  all  the 
sad  and  evil  consequences  which  must,  upon  the  grounds 
aforesaid,  have  ensued,  we  have  been  necessitated,  though 
with  much   reluctancy,  to  put   an   end   to   this   Parlia- 
ment." * 

The  "  grounds  aforesaid,"  as  far  as  they  can  be  ascer- 
tained, always  a  very  difficult  matter  in  Cromwell's  long 
and  dark  state-papers,  were  that  the  "  persons  of  honour 
and  integrity  were  rendered  of  no  further  use  in  Parlia- 
ment, than  by  meeting  with  a  corrupt  party,"  and  thereby 
enabling  by  their  countenance  that  "  corrupt  party "  to 
"  effect  the  desire  they  had  of  perpetuating  themselves  in 
the  supreme  government." 

J  Pari.  Hi*it.  vol.  iii.  pp.  1386-1390. 


1653.]      THE   CONFERENCE  AT   CROMWELL'S  LODGINGS.        451 

Now  it  is  proved,  by  the  division  on  the  14th  of  Novem- 
ber 1651,  that  there  was  a  party  in  the  House  who  were 
against   entertaining  at  aU  the  question  of  dissolution. 
This  party  however  is  also  proved,  by  the  same  division,  to 
have   been   a   minority,  though  a  large  minority,  of  the 
number  present ;  and  they  were  outvoted,  and  a  day  fixed 
for  the  dissolution.     It  is  therefore  demonstrated  that  this 
assertion  of  Cromwell,  respecting  the  power  of  a  certain 
part  of  the  Parliament  to  "  perpetuate  themselves  in  the 
supreme  government,"  is  unsupported  by  evidence.     More- 
over, observe   the  inconsistency  of  his  statement.      The 
Parliament  on  the  morning  of  the  20th  of  April,  "  being 
ready  to  put  the  main  question  for  consummating  the  Act " 
for  dissolving  themselves,  "  we  have  been  necessitated  to 
put   an   end   to   this  Parliament."     That   is,   he   (Oliver 
Cromwell)  conceived  himself  necessitated  to  put  an  end  to 
the  Parliament  when  they  were  in  the  very  act  of  putting 
an  end  to  themselves ;  necessitated  to  prevent  the  consuni^ 
mation  of  an  act  bearing  the  form  and  having  much  of 
the  substance  of  law,  and  instead  of  that  act  to  do  an  act 
at  once  violent  and  utterly  illegal,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  put  an   ineffaceable  insult   upon  the  Legislature  and 
Government  of  which  he  was  the  paid  servant. 

In  regard  to  CromweU's  assertion  that  the  Members  of 
Parliament  present  at  the  conference  at  his  lodgings  on  the 
19th  had  left  the  meeting  with  an  express  understandino. 
that  endeavours  should  be  used  to  suspend  all  further  pro"^ 
ceedings  on  the  Act  for  dissolution  and  a  new  Parliament 
till  the  result  of  the  conference  next  day,  I  am  inclined  to 
think— though  Whitelock  makes  no  allusion  to  such  a 
pledge  having  been  given  on  the  part  of  himself  and  the 
other  members  present  at  the  conference— from  the  sudden 
anger   which  Cromwell  is  reported  to  have  evinced,  on 

f ;  G  2 


452  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XVL 

hearing  next  day  what  the  Parliament  was  about,  that  some 
such  pledge  may  have  been  given.  But  if  Whitelock  and 
the  other  members  did  give  such  a  pledge,  they  "  did  so," 
as  Mr.  Forster  justly  observes,  "  without  authority,  and  in 
the  absence  of  any  means  of  redeeming  it."  ^  For  the 
ablest  as  well  as  the  most  influential  members  of  that  great 
Parliament — those  by  whose  unwearied  industry,  by  whose 
unconquerable  energy,  and  by  whose  great  abihties  the 

Dutch  war  had  been  so   successfully  carried  on Yane, 

Scot,  Algernon  Sydney,  Bradshaw,  and  the  Parliamen- 
tary majority  they  carried  with  them,  would  have  consi- 
dered the  proposal  to  mould  their  proceedings  either  in 
Parliament  or  in  the  Council  of  State,  according  to  the 
will  of  Cromwell  and  his  creatures  as  a  species  of  dictation 
not  to  be  submitted  to  for  an  instant. 

I  have  said,  in  a  note  to  the  preceding  paragraph,  that 
the  conferences  held  at  Cromwell's  lodgings  were  not  only 
unconstitutional,  but  illegal  and  even  treasonable  meet- 
ings ;— for  they  were  meetings  at  which  the  destruction 
of  a  Legislature  and  a  Government  was  debated  by  its  own 
paid  servants,  by  its  own  generals  and  some  of  its  military 
officers.  Nevertheless,  the  singularity  of  the  situation 
might  not  only  have  excused  but  justified  those  meetings. 


'  Forster's  Life  of  Oliver  Cromwell, 
vol.  ii.  p.  57:    London,  1839. — I  will 
{idd  here  a  not  unimportant  note  of  Mr. 
Forster  in  reference  to  that  conference 
vn  April    19,  which   conference,  be  it 
observed,  was,  in  its  very  nature,  not 
only  an  unconstitutional  but  an  illegal 
and  treasonable  meeting.     •'  The  only 
sincere   (however   wrong-headed)    re- 
publican," says  Mr.  Forster,  "of  whose 
attendance  at  these  councils  I  can  find 
any  evidence  is  Sir  Arthur  Haselrig. 
That  he  did  attend  is  clear  from  a  ma- 


nuscript report  of  a  speech  delivered  by 
him  in  Richard  Cromwell's  Parlia- 
ment :  •  I  heard,  being  seventy  miles 
off,  that  it  was  propounded  that  we 
should  dissolve  our  trust,  and  devolve 
it  into  a  few  hands.  I  came  up,  and 
found  it  so  ;  that  it  was  resolved  in  a 
junto  at  the  Cockpit.  I  trembled  at 
it,  and  was,  after,  there,  and  bore  my 
testimony  against  it.  I  told  them  the 
work  they  went  about  was  accursed. 
I  told  them  it  was  impossible  to  de- 
volve this  trust.'  "—Ibid.  p.  58,  note. 


1653.] 


THE  EVE  OF  AN  EVIL  DEED. 


453 


if  the  avowed  object  of  them  had  been  strictly  and  con- 
sistently carried  out— the  dissolution  of  the  present,  and 
the  election  in  its  place  of  a  fair  and  free  Parliament.     It 
is  most  important  to  carefully  note  that  up  to  this  day, 
this  19th  of  AprH  1653,  the  above-mentioned  ground  of 
justification  of  these  meetings  being  admitted,  Cromwell 
had  committed  no  overt  illegal  act;   and  the   meetings 
having,  moreover,  had  the  effect  of  hastening  the  Parliament 
to  the  very  completion  of  their  BiU  for  their  dissolution 
and  for  a  new  Parliament,  if  CromweU  had  stopped  here, 
and  allowed  the  Parliament  to  consummate  their  Act  on 
the  day  following,  that  is  the  20th,  he  would  have  been 
entitled  to  the  credit  of  having  acted  upon  the  Parliament 
for  good  and  not  for  evil  and  would  have  left  to  after-ages 
a  name  very  different  from  the  name  which  he  has  left. 

It  is  very  probable  that  CromweU,  when  he  went  to  bed 
after  that  conference,  from  which  Whitelock  went  home 
weary  late  at  night,  had  not  determined  on  the  irrevocable 
deed  which  he  was  to  do  on  the  following  day.  The  last 
act  of  undertakings  of  that  nature  is  apt  to  be,  at  least 
partly,  the  result  of  passionate  impulse.  C^sar  was  less 
subject  than  CromweU  to  such  impulses.  Yet  Plutarch 
relates  of  Caesar,  whose  farsighted  inteUigence  could  not 
fail  to  perceive,  and  who  even  "  discussed  at  length  with 
his  friends  who  were  present  aU  the  difficulties  and  en- 
umerated  the  evils  which  would  ensue  to  all  ma^iUndfrom  his 
passage  of  the  river  "  »  (the  Eubicon),  that  "  at  last  with  a 


*  Plutarch,  C.  Caesar,  c.  32.— The 
words  I  have  marked  in  italics  show 
that  Caesar  himself  took  a  very  differ- 
ent view  of  the  matter  from  that  taken 
by  certain  modern  writers  who  have 
attempted  to  prove  that  despots  are 
necessary  to  the  progress  of  humanity. 
Such  men  as  Caesar  and  Frederic  II.  of 


Prussia  were  not  to  be  deceived  them- 
selves by  the  shallow  sophistries  by 
which  inferior  minds  have  sought  to 
support  evil  deeds.  Frederic,  though, 
for  form's  sake,  he  might  in  manifes- 
toes insert  some  idle  stories  about  his 
antiquated  claim  on  Silesia,  in  his 
conversation  and  memoirs  pretended 


I 


454  COMxMONWEALTII   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XVL 

hind  of  passion,  as  if  he  were  throwing  himself  out  of  reflection 
into  the  future,  and  uttering  what  is  the  usual  expression 
with  which  men  preface  their  entry  upon  desperate  enter- 
prises and  daring,  '  Let  the  die  be  cast ! '  he  hurried  to 


to  no  more  vinue  than  he  had,  and 
that   was   little    enough.       His   own 
words    were:     "Ambition,     interest, 
the   desire  of  making  myself  talked 
about,  carried  the  day  ;  and  I  decided 
for  war."     These  are  the  words  which 
Voltaire,  in  his  Memoirs,  says  he  tran- 
scribed from  the  work  as  it  was  when 
Ered eric  showed  it  to  him  :  "L'ambi- 
tion,  Tinteret,  le  desire  de  fuire  parler 
de  moi,  I'emporterent,  et  la  guerre  fut 
resolue."     In  Frederic's  work  as  after- 
wards published,  the  words  are  some- 
what altered: — "Une  armee  toute  prete 
a  agir,  des  fonds  tout  trouves,  et  peut- 
etre  I'envie  de  se  faire  un  nom  ;    tout 
cela  fut  cause  de  la  guerre  que  le  Koi 
declara   a  Marie  Therese  d'Autriche, 

Keine  de  Hongrie  et  de   Boheme." 

Histoire  de  mon  Temps,  tom.  i.  p.   128, 
ed.  Berlin,  1788.    Voltaire's  reflections 
on  the  words  as  they  stood  in  the  origin- 
al MS.  of  Frederic's  work,  and  which 
words  Voltaire  says  he  made  the  King 
omit  when  he  (Voltaire)  subsequently 
corrected   his   works,    are  well  worth 
transcribing :  "  Depuis  qu'il  y  a  des 
conquerants  ou  des  esprits  ardens  qui 
ont  voulu  I'etre,  je  crois  qu'il  est  le 
premier  qui  se  soit  ainsi  rendu  justice. 
Jamais  homme  peutetre  n'a  plus  senti 
la  raison,  et  n'a  plus  ecout^  ses  pas- 
sions.     Ces  assemblages  de  philoso- 
phic et  de  dereglemens  d'imagination 
ont  toujours  compos6   son  caract^re. 
C'est  dommage  que  je  lui  aie  fait  re- 
trancher  ce  passage  quand  je  corrigeai 
depuis  tous  ses  ouvrages ;  un  aveu  si 
rare   devait   passer  a  la   posterite,  et 
servir  a  faire  voir  sur  quoi  sont  fondees 


presques    toutes   les   guerres.      Nous 
autres  gens  de  lettres,  poetes,  historiens, 
declamateurs   d'academie,   nous  cele- 
brons  ces  beaux  exploits  :  et  voila  un 
roi  qui  les  fait,  et  qui  les  condamne." 
— Memoires  pour  servir  a  la  vie  de  M, 
de   Voltaire,  Merits  parlui-meme.     The 
passage  as  the  King  has  left  it  in  his 
history  is  scarcely  less  conclusive  than 
Voltaire's  commentary  on  it.      After 
dismissing  in  one  word,    "incontest- 
able," the  nature  of  his  claims   upon 
Silesia,  he  proceeds  to  expatiate  upon 
the  dilapidated  state  of  the  Austrian 
finances,    the    general    disorder    and 
weakness    of    the   ministry  and    the 
army,  and  above  all  the  youth  and  in- 
experience of  the  Queen  Maria  Theresa 
and   her   unprotected  condition;  and 
sums   up   by  stating  that  he  had  an 
army  ready  for  action,  funds  provided, 
"et   peutetre  I'envie   de  se  faire   un 
nom."    It  maybe  said  that  C£esar,who 
was  a  philosopher  as  well  as  Frederic, 
also  passed  a  judgment  condemning 
his  own  actions,  if  we  can  trust  Plu- 
tarch's account,  given  above,  that  he 
"enumerated  the   evils   which  would 
ensue  to  aU  mankind  from  his  passage 
of  the  river."     And  as  Plutarch  men- 
tions Pollio  Asinius  (C.  Asinius  PoUio) 
as  being  present  when  Caesar  entered 
into  this  discussion;  and  as  C.  Asinius 
Pollio  was  with  Caesar  at  tlie  Eubicon 
and  at  the  Battle  of  Pharsalia,  and 
also  wrote  a  history  of  the  civil  wars, 
which    furnished  materials  for  anec- 
dotes about  Caesar,  we  may  infer  that 
Plutarch  took  his  account  from  Pollio's 
work— a  good  authority. 


1653.] 


VANE,  SCOT,  SYDNEY,  HARRISON. 


cross  the  river;  and  thence  advancing  at  full  speed  he 
attacked  Ariminum  before  daybreak  and  took  it."  ^ 

I  have  said  that  before  the  20th  of  April  1653,  Cromwell 
had  committed  no  overt  illegal  act,  the  justification  of  the 
meetings  at  his  lodgings  being  admitted.  This  expression 
must,  however,  be  understood  as  applicable  to  the  Govern- 
ment as  then  constituted.  For  as  the  Government  was 
constituted  before  the  expulsion  by  military  force  of  the 
Presbyterian  members  of  the  Parliament,  known  as 
"  Pride's  Purge,"  that  expulsion  was  undoubtedly  an  illegal 
act  against  the  Legislature  as  then  existing.  It  was 
an  act,  however,  partaking  rather  of  the  nature  of  open 
war  than  of  treachery.  The  Presbyterians  hated  the  Inde- 
pendents, and  would  have  destroyed  them  if  they  had  had 
the  power.  The  expulsion  therefore  of  the  Presbyterians 
from  the  Parliament,  by  Cromwell  and  the  Independents, 
was  an  act  of  self-defence.  But  Cromwell's  expulsion,  on 
the  20th  of  April  1653,  of  the  Independents  who  then 
constituted  the  Parliament,  was  an  act  of  a  totally  different 
kind  ;  being  not  an  act  of  self-defence  against  enemies,  hut 
an  act  of  treachery  against  friends— against  friends  who 
trusted  him,  and  with  whom  he  had  acted  for  all  the 
thirteen  years  during  which  he  had  sat  with  them  in  that 
great  Parliament ;  against  friends  to  whom,  even  at  the 
very  moment  he  was  preparing  to  destroy  them,  "  he  made 
the  most  solemn  professions  of  fidelity."  ^  As  long  as 
truth  and  honour  have  any  existence  among  mankind,  and 
till  a  time  come  when  those  who  live  not  merely  by  pil- 
laging or  overreaching  other  people,  but  by  betraying  their 
friends,  shall  be  powerful  enough  to  make  a  code  of  mora- 
lity founded  on  their  own  practice,  there  can   be  small 

'  Plutarch,  C.  Caesar,  c.  32. 

2  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  p.  ^51  ;  2nd  edition,  Ix)ndon,  1721. 


I 


456  .COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Cap.  XVL 

difficulty  in  stamping  its  proper  name  upon  the  deed  which 
Cromwell  was  now  about  to  do. 

For  the  last  time  in  that  antique  chapel  which  formed 
their  hall  of  debate,  and  has  become  more  famous  than 
any  of  those  temples  in  which  the  Eoman  Senate  assembled 
m  ancient  days,-sat  that  renowned  assembly.    There  was 
Sir  Henry  Vane,  the  wildest  of  theologians,  the  subtlest 
and  yet  laostpractical  of  statesmen,  with  long;  pale,  melan- 
choly face,  and  bright  yet  somewhat  restless  look,  that  to 
the  superstition  of  that  age  might  seem  to  forebode  an 
.  unquiet  end.     There  was  Thomas  Scot,  as^  eloquent  and 
almost  as  able  as  Vane,  some  of  whose  speeches,  though 
only  preserved  in  fragments,  are  among  the  most  eloquent 
j  in  the  English  language.     There  was  the  soldier-philo- 
sopher,   Algernon    Sydney,   by  his    mother's    side    the 
descendant  of  Hotspur,  as  impatient  as  Hotspur  himself 
ot  kingly  arrogance  and  court  arts,  and  lite  Hotspur  pre- 
pared to  resist  them  to  death ;  with  face  thoughtful,  like 
Vane's  and  Scot's,  yet  different  from  theirs  in  a  certain 
stem,    dauntless,    and    commanding    expression,    which 
seemed  to  unite  the  high,  fierce,  determined  spirit  of  a 
repubhcan  soldier  with  the  pride  of  a  nobility  of  twenty 
generations.     There  too,  with  taU  military  figure,  aquiline 
featares,  and  bright  black  eyes,  in  which  the  enthusiasm 
that  sparkled  at  times,  and  often  seemed  to  slumber  under 
his  long  dark  eyelashes,  gave  something  wild,  striking,  and 
even  noble  to  his  aspect,  was  the  "bravest  of  the  brave  " 
Thom^arrison,  who,  though  not,  like  Sydney,  possessing 
any  pretSnsions  to  chivah-y  of  lineage,  carried  his  daring 
as  a  soldier  to  the  most  chivalrous  extent;  and  whose  re- 
ligious enthusiasm  took  a  wilder  flight  even  than  Vane's 
and  on  this  day  made  him  the  dupe  to  aid  in  digging  a 
pitfall  that  was  to  be  his  own  grave.     For  all  those  four 


1653.] 


THE  TWENTIETH  OF  APEIL,    1653. 


men  the  deed  that  was  to  be  done  that  day  by  their  ancient 
friend  and  comrade  was  to  lead  to  a  terrible  end.     For 
them  there  wiH  be  "  a  darker  departure  "  than  feU  to  the 
lot  of  HampiJen,  and  Pym,  and  Ireton.     For  them  "the 
war-drum  is  muffled,  and  black  is  the  bier."     t^or  them, 
amid  the  frantic  shouts  of  a  fickle  multitude  for  the  resto- 
ration of  the  Stuarts,  the  "  death-bell  is  tolling,"  that  is 
to  herald  them  to  the  scaffold,  which  is  destined  to  be 
their  stormy  and  agonised  pathway  to  the  grave.     Yet 
of  all  four— the  statesmen  and  the  soldiers— the  deaths 
were  to  be  equaUy  without  fear,  and  without  a  shadow  of 
mistrust  in  their  great  Cause—their  "  good  old  Cause  "— 
for  which  they  had  lived  and  fought  and  laboui-ed,  and  for 
which  they  died,  or,  to  use  their  own  words,  which  they 
"  sealed  with  their  blood." 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  20th  of  April,  1653,  White- 
lock  and  Widdrington  went  again,  according  to  appoint- 
ment, to  CromweU's  lodgings,  where  there  were  but  few 
Parliament  men,  and  a  few  officers  of  the  army.     A  point 
was  again  raised  which  had  been  debated  the  preceding 
night,  "  whether  forty  persons,  or  about  that  number  of 
Parliament  men  and  officers  of  the  army,  should  be  nomi- 
nated by  the  Parliament,  and  empowered  for  the  managing 
the  affairs  of  the  Commonwealth,  tiU  a  new  Parliament 
should  meet,  and  so  the  present  ParHament  to  be  forth- 
with dissolved."!     Whitelock  says  he  was  against  this  pro- 
posal, and  the  more,  fearing  lest  he  might  be  one  of  these 
forty,  who  he  thought  would  be  in  a  desperate  condition 
affcer  the  Parliament  should  be  dissolved  ;  but  others  were 
very  ambitious  to  be  of  this  number  and  CouncH,  and  to 
be  invested  with  this  exorbitant   power.^     During  this 


'  Whitelock's  Memorials,  p.  554  :  London,  1732. 


2  3id. 


458  COMMONWEALTH   OP  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XVL 

debate  Cromwell,  being  informed  that  the  Parliament  was 
sitting,  and  "that  it  was  hoped  they  would  put  a  period 
to  themselves,  which  would  be  the  most  honourable  disso- 
lution for  them,'^'  immediately  broke  up  the  meeting.  The 
members  of  the  Parliament  who  were  with  him  then  leffc 
him  at  his  lodgings,  went  to  the  House,  and  "  found  them," 
says  Whiteloek,  "in  debate  of  an  act  which  would  oc- 
casion other  meetings  of  them  again,  and  prolong  their 
sitting."  2  ^  ^ 

This  statement  of  Whiteloek,  who  was  present- 
appears  at  first  sight  to  be  at  variance  with  the  evidence 
of  no  less  than  four  authorities  :  Cromwell's  Declaration, 
the  Memoirs  of  Ludlow,  (who,  though  not  present,  expressly 
says  he  had  his  information  from  Major-General  Harrison,) 
the  Journal  of  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  (who  received  his  in- 
formation from  his  son  Algernon  Sydney,  who  was  present,) 
and  a  speech  in  Eichard  Cromwell's  Parliament  of  Sir 
Arthur  HaseMg,  who  was  also  present.  The  variation  may 
be  accountedfor  by  the  supposition  that  the  House  was  for 
some  time  in  debate  on  the  Bill  for  settling  the  claims  of 


'  Whitelock's    Memorials,  p.  554: 
London,  1723. 

^  Ibid.    After  tlie  record  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  19th  of  April,  1653, 
in  the  printed  Journals  there  occurs 
this  note:    "Here  follows   an   entiy, 
which  is  expunged ;  and  against  it,  in 
the  margin,  is  written  this  memoran- 
dum,   'This  entry  was  expunged  by 
order  of  Parliament,  January  7, 1659.'" 
Tlie  Journal  of  that  day,  January  7, 
1659,  contains  the  following  passage  : 
*'  Whereas  this  House  do  find  an  entry 
in   the   Journal-Book    of    April    20, 
1653,  in  these  words:  'This  day  his 
Excellency  the  Lord-General  dissolved 
this    Parliament,    which     was     done 


withput  consent  of  Parliament,'   Re- 
solved, that  the  Parliament  doth  de- 
clare, that  the  same  is  a  forgery.     Re- 
solved, that  Mr.  Scobell   be  sent  for 
to  the  bar  of  the  House."      Mr.  Sco- 
bell,   on    his    appearing    and    being 
shown  the  entry,   acknowledged  that 
it  was    his    own    handwriting,    and 
that  he  did  it  without  the  direction  of 
any  person  whatever.    The  House  then 
ordered  the  entry  to  be  expunged  out 
of  the  Journal,  and  referred  it  to  a 
Committee  to  consider   whether    the 
then  late  Act  of  Indemnity  extended  to 
pardon  that  offence.— Co??«wiows'  Jour- 
nals, January  7,  1659. 


1653.] 


CROMWELL'S   INCONSISTENCY. 


459 


the  adventurers  for  Ireland,  and  then  returned  to  the  great 
question  of  finally  passing  the  BiU  for  their  own  dissolu- 
tion, which  question  was  ready  to  be  put.  Harrison  after- 
wards told  Ludlow—"  The  question  for  passing  the  BiU 
being  to  be  put,  Cromwell  said  to  him  (Harrison),  'This 
is  the  time,  I  must  do  it.' "  And  HaseMg's  words  are, 
"  The  question  was  putting  for  it,  when  our  General  stood 
up  and  stopped  the  question." 

The  facts  then  we  may  conclude,  on  the  testimony  of 
four  witnesses,  Cromwell,  Harrison,  Algernon  Sydney,  and 
Hasebig,  were  these.  The  BiU  for  the  dissolution,  with 
the  amendments,  was  ready  to  be  put  to  the  final  vote. 
But  before  proceeding  to  that  vote  the  House  went  into  a 
debate  on  a  BiU  for  settling  the  claims  of  the  adventurers 
for  Ireland. 

Now  there  starts  up  here  one  of  those  contradictions  so 
difficult  to  comprehend,  much  less  to  explain,  in  the  cha- 
racters of  such  men  as  CromweU.     First,  the  information 
brought  to  CromweU  of  the  Parliament's  having  entered 
into  debate  on  new  business,  and  thereby  raising  pretexts 
for  continuing  their  sitting,  affords  CromweU  a  pretext 
for  getting  into  a  rage  with  the  Parliament  for  not  putting 
an  end  to  their  sitting.     And  secondly,  when,  on  going  to 
the  House,  he  found  they  were  actually  putting  the  question 
for  passing  the  BiU  for  their  dissolution,  he  makes  that  a 
new  pretext  for  getting  into  a  new  rage.     Let  those  who 
claim  for  this  man  the  perfection  of  human  inteUigence 
and  human  virtue  reconcUe  these  contradictions  if  they 
can. 

"  Thereupon,"  continues  Whiteloek,  "  Colonel  Ingoldsby 
went  back  to  CromweU,  and  told  him  what  the  House  were 
doing ;  who  was  so  enraged  thereat,  expecting  they  should 
have  meddled  with  no  other  business  but  putting  a  period 


460  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XVL 

to  their  own  sitting  without  more  delay,  that  he  presently 
commanded  some  of  the  officers  of  the  army  to  fetch 
a  party  of  soldiers,  with  whom  he  marched  to  the 
House."  ' 

It  is  remarkable  that  Whitelock,  who  was  present,  should 
have  made  a  statement  so  inaccurate  as  that  contained  in 
the  concluding  words  of  the  sentence  2  which  I  have  just 
quoted  down  to  the  word  "House."  The  sentence  in 
Whitelock  concludes  thus,  "  and  led  a  file  of  musketeers 
in  with  him ;  the  rest  he  placed  at  the  door  of  the  House, 
and  m  the  lobby  before  it."  Two  of  the  witnesses  abeady 
mentioned,  Algernon  Sydney  and  Major-General  Harrison, 
distinctly  state  that  he  did  not  lead  either  a  file  or  files 


1653.] 


CROMWELL  INSULTS  THE  PARLIAMENT. 


461 


*  Whitelock's  Memorials,  p.  654. 

2  It  has  been  proved  that  the  editor 
of  Whitelock's   Embassy   to   Sweden 
omitted  some  most  important  passages 
(see  Aysc.  MS.  Brit.  Mus.  4991^  p.  206, 
and  Brodie's  Hist  vol.  ii.  pp.  16,  not©, 
and  pp.  43,  44,  and  note).    There  are 
some    circumstances    in   Whitelock's 
account  of  Cromwell's    expulsion    of 
the  Parliament  that  seem  to  lead  to 
the  supposition  that  the  passage  has 
been    tampered   with.      Besides    the 
gross    inaccuracy  mentioned    in    the 
text,  which  could   hardly  have   been 
made  by  a  man  who  was  present,  un- 
less he  had  lost  his  senses   and  was 
paralysed  by  fear,  the  man  who  has 
shown  this  confusion  of  mind  is  repre- 
sented as  having  also  the  folly  to  say, 
•'And  among  all  the  Parliament  men, 
of    whom    many  wore    swords,   and 
would  sometimes  brag  high,  not  one 
man  offered  to  draw  his  sword  against 
Cromwell,  or  to  make  the  least  resist- 
ance against  him ;  but  all  of  them  tamely 
departed  the  house."  Ludlow,  who  was 


not   there— being   in  Ireland   at   the 
time,  but  who  received  an  exact  account 
of  what  occurred  from  Harrison,  and 
others  who  were  present — and  Alger- 
non Sydney,  who  was  present,  knew  too 
well,  as  soldiers,  the  folly  of  resistance 
with  the  sword  at  such  a  time  to  make 
any  remark  like  this  of  Whitelock's, 
which  resembles  the  silly  and  malicious 
imputations  of  cowardice  which  Hyde 
and  Mrs.  Hutchinson  are  so  fond  of 
making.     Whitelock's  remark  is  made 
in  the  spirit  of  Jacobitism,  and  has 
been     since     repeated     by     Jacobite 
writers.     For  there  is  no  mode  so  easy 
of  blackening  a  man  or  a  body  of  men 
as   the   charge   of    cowardice.      How 
little   the  mean  reproach  here  made 
was  merited  in  the  case  of  Vane,  Scot, 
and  Sydney,  was  signally  proved  by 
that  fortitude  which  deliberately  pre- 
ferred honourable  death  to  dishonour- 
able  submission,    a   fortitude  beyond 
the  comprehension  or  credence  of  such 
men  as  Clarendon  and  Whitelock. 


of  musketeers  "  in  with  him."  Neither  did  the  Parliament 
know  that  he  had  any  musketeers  outside  the  door  of  the 
House  till  he  called  them  in. 

As   Algernon    Sydney   told    the   story   to    his    father, 
"Cromwell   came   into   the   House,  clad   in   plain   black 
clothes,  with  grey  worsted  stockings,  and  sat  down  as  he 
used  to  do  in   an  ordinary  place."  ^     After   sitting  and 
hearing   the  debate   for  some  time,  he  called  to  Major- 
General  Harrison,  who  was  on  the  other  side  of  the  House, 
to  come  to  him,  and  told  him  that  "  he  judged  the  Parlia- 
ment ripe  for  a  dissolution,  and  this  to  be  the  time  for  doing 
it."   The  Major-General  answered,  "  as  he  since  told  me," 
says  Ludlow  2— "  Sir,  the  work  is  very  great  and  dangerous, 
therefore  I  desii-e  you  seriously  to  consider  of  it  before 
you  engage  in  it."     "  You  say  well,"  replied  the  General, 
and  thereupon  sat  still  for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 
Then  the  question  for  passing  the  Bill  being  to  be  put,  he 
said  again  to  Major-General  Harrison,  "  This  is  the  time, 
I  must  do  it."     Then  suddenly  standing  up  he  made  a 
speech,  wherein  he  loaded  the  Parliament  with  the  vilest 
reproaches,^  charging  them  with  not  having  a  heart  to  do 
anything  for  the  public  good,  with  having  espoused  the 
corrupt  interest  of  presbytery  and  the  lawyers,  who  were 
the  supporters  of  tyranny  and  oppression,  accusing  them 
of  an  intention  to  perpetuate  themselves  in  power,  had 
they  not  hem  forced  to  the  passing  of  this  Act,  which  he 


'  The  Journal  of  the  Earl  of  Leices- 
ter, p.  139,  in  Sydney  Papers,  edited 
by  E.  W.  Blencowe,  A.M. :  London, 
1825. 

2  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  p.  455  : 
2nd  edition,  London,  1721. 

^  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  p.  456 : 
2ud  edition,  London,  1721. — Lord  Lei- 
cester says,  "After  a  while,  he  rose  up, 


put  offhis  hat,  and  spake.  At  the  first, 
and  for  a  good  while,  he  spake  to  the 
commendation  of  the  Parliament  for 
their  pains  and  care  of  the  public 
good  ;  but  afterwards  he  changed  his 
style,  told  them  of  their  injustice,  de- 
lays of  justice,  self-interest,  and  other 
{a,iilts"— Journal  of  the  Earl  of  Leices- 
ter, pp.  139,  140. 


462  COMx^ONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XVI. 

affirmed  they  designed  never  to  observe  ;  »  and  tliereupon  told 
them,  "  that  the  Lord  had  done  with  them,  and  had  chosen 
other  instruments  for  the  carrying  on  His  work,  that  were 
more  worthy."  AU  this  he  spoke  with  so  much  passion, 
as  if  he  had  been  distracted.  The  cant  which  introduces 
the  name  of  the  Deity  on  all  occasions,  a  cant  which  is 
offensive  enough  in  the  ordinary  saints  of  that  time,  is 
infinitely  more  offensive  in  the  mouth  of  a  man  who  uses 
it  as  a  cloak  for  his  own  rapacious  self-aggrandisement. 
It  is  like  an  attempt  to  invest  the  mortal  tyrant  with  the 
attributes  of  Immortality  and  Omnipotence. 

Sir  Peter  Wentworth  stood  up  to  answer  him,  and  said 

"  that  this  was  the  first  time  that  ever  he  had  heard  such 

unbecoming  language  given  to  the  Parliament,  and  that  it 

was  the  more  horrid  in  that  it  came  from  their  servant, 

and  their  servant  whom  they  had  so  highly  trusted  and 

obliged."     But  as  he  was  going  on,  Cromwell  stept  into 

the  midst  of  the  House,  where  he  said,  "  Come,  come,  I 

wiU  put  an  end  to  your  prating."     Then  walking  up  and 

down  the  House  like  a  madman,  and  kicking  the  ground 

with  his  feet,  he  cried  out,  "  You  are  no  Parliament ;  I 

say  you  are  no  Parliament ;  I  will  put  an  end  to  your 

sitting ;  call  them  in,  call  them  in.'-'     Thereupon  Harrison 

went  out    and  presently  brought  in   Lieutenant-Colonel 

Worsley,  who  commanded  the  General's  own  regiment  of 

foot,  with  five  or  six  files  of  musqueteers,  "  about  20  or 

30  "  says  Lord  Leicester,  "  with  their  musquets  ;  "  2  which 

Sir   Henry   Yane   observing  from  his  place,  said   aloud, 

^Ludlow's  Momoirs,  vol.  ii.  p.  436.  referred  to  are  false. 
-The  words  which  I  print  in  italics         ^  ^^^d  Leicester's  Journal,  p    140 

are  another  proof,  in  addition  to  those  "Six.   hommes    font   une    fi!e"-¥e^ 

1  will  give  presently,  that  Cromwell's  moires  de  Montecuculi,  I.  ii   24 
assertions    respecting    the   Act    here 


1653.] 


CROMWELL  EXPELS  THE  PARLIAMENT. 


463 


"  This  is  not  honest,  yea,  it  is  against  morality  and  com- 
mon honesty."  ^  Then  CromweU  feU  a  railing  at  him, 
crying  out  with  a  loud  voice,  "  0  Sir  Henry  Vane,  Sir 
Henry  Yane,  the  Lord  deliver  me  from  Sir  Henry  Vane !  " 
Then  looking  upon  one  of  the  members,  he  said,  "  There 
sits  a  drunkard ;  "  and  giving  much  reviling  language  to 
others,  he  commanded  the  mace  to  be  taken  away,  saying, 
"  Here,  take  away  this  fool's  bauble  ! "  2 

Cromwell,  then,  pointing  to  the  Speaker  in  his  chair,  said 
to  Harrison,  "  Fetch  him  do^vn."  Harrison  went  to  the 
Speaker,  and  said  that,  "  seeing  things  were  brought  to 
this  pass,  it  would  not  be  convenient  for  him  to  remain 
there."  The  Speaker,  according  to  Ludlow,^  answered  that 
"  he  would  not  come  down  unless  he  were  forced."  But 
according  to  Lord  Leicester,  the  Speaker  sat  still,  and  said 
nothing.  "  Take  him  down,"  eaid  Cromwell.  Then  Ham- 
son  went  and  pulled  the  Speaker  by  the  gown,  and  he  came 
down.4  "  It  happened  that  day,"  continues  Lord  Leicester, 
"  that  Algernon  Sydney  sat  next  to  the  Speaker  on  the  right 
hand.  The  General  said  to  Harrison,  '  Put  him  out.' 
Harrison  spake  to  Sydney  to  go  out ;  but  he  said  he  would 
not  go  out,  and  sat  still.  The  General  said  again,  '  Put 
him  out.'  Then  Harrison  and  Worsley  put  their  hands 
upon  Sydney's  shoulders,  as  if  they  would  force  him  to  go 
out.     Then  he  rose  and  went  towards  the  door."  * 

Cromwell  then  addressed  himself  to  the  members  of  the 
House,  who  were,  says  Ludlow,  between  80  and  100,  and 

'  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  p.  45  :  says  (p.  141),  "  Then  the  General  went 

2nd  edition,  London,  1721.  to  the  table  where  the  mace  lay,  which 

2  Ludlow     says     (vol.   ii.    p.    457)  ^ised  to  be  carried  before  the  Speaker, 

Cromwell  said,  "What   shall  we   do  and  said,  '  Take  away  these  baubles."' 
with  this  bauble  ?  Here,  take  it  away."         "  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  p.  457. 
Whitelock  says  (p.  554),  "  He  bid  one         *  Lord  Leicester's  Journal,  p.  140. 
of  his  soldiers  to  take  away  that  fool's         *  Jhid.  jip.  140,  141. 
bauble,  the    mace.''      Lord    Leiccste 


\ 


k 


4 


I 


4C4  COMMOinVEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XVI. 

said  to  them,  "  It's  you  that  have  forced  me  to  this,  for  I 
have  sought  the  Lord  night  and  day,  that  He  would  rather 
slay  me  than  put  me  upon  the  doing  of  this  work.'" 
"  CromweU,"  continues  Ludlow,  "  having  acted  this  trea- 
cherous and  impious  part,  ordered  the  guard  to  see  the 
House  cleared  of  all  the  members,  and  then  seized  upon  the 
records  that  were  there,  and  at  Mr.  ScobeU's  house.  After 
which  he  went  to  the  clerk,  and,  snatching  the  Act  of 
Dissolution,  which  was  ready  to  pass,  out  of  his  hand,  he 
put  it  under  his  cloak,  and  having  commanded  the  doors 
to  be  locked  up,  went  away  to  Whitehall."  ^ 

Lord  Leicester  says  that,  as  the  members  were  going  out, 
the  General  said  to  young  Sir  Heniy  Vane,  caUing  him  by 
his  name,  that  he  might  have  prevented  this  extraordinary 
course ;  but  he  was  a  juggler,  and  had  not  so  much  as 
common  honesty.^-    Lord  Leicester  prefaces  this  anecdote 
with  the  words  "they say,"  and  it  is  not  mentioned  either 
by  Ludlow  or  Whiteloek.    It  is  probable  enough,  however, 
that  Cromwell  said  something  of  the  kind  by  way  of  retort 
to  Vane's  exclamation,  "  This  is  not  honest ;  yea,  it  is 
against  morality  and  common  honesty."     Which  of  the 
two.  Vane  or  Cromwell,  was  the- juggler  may  be  left  to 
the  judgment  of  impartial  posterity. 

It  has  been  shown  that  Cromwell,  on  this  20th  of  April 
1653,  first  got  into  a  passion  when  he  was  informed  that 
the  Parliament  were  occupied  with  other  business  than 
the  Act  for  their  dissolution ;  and  secondly,  that  he  got 


'  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
457,  458:  2nd  edition,  London,  1721. 

•■'  Md.  p.  458.—"  This  villanous 
attempt,"  adds  Ludlow,  "was  much 
encouraged  by  the  ambassadors  lately 
arrived  from  Holland  with  in.itnic- 
tion.'j  to  conclude  a  peace,  «'ho  insti- 


gated Cromwell  to  take  the  power  into 
his  own  hands,  well  understanding 
that  he  would  soon  be  necessitated 
to  make  peace  with  them  upon  what 
terms  they  should  think  &t."~ll,id. 
'  Lord  Leicester's  Journal,  p.  141. 


1653.]         DEPARTURE   OF   THE   GREAT   PAELUMENT. 

into  a  passion  with  them  when  they  were  goin/to  put 
the  question  for  finally  passmg  the  Bill  for  their  dissolu- 
tion.  If  such  conduct  have  something  of  the  appearance  of 
madness,  it  is  madness  with  method  in  it.     To  do  an  act 
of  treachery  and  perfidy  with  a  burst  of  imperious  anger 
mstead  of  doing  it  with  the  command  of  temper  which  is 
usually  observed  to  belong  to  treacherous  and  perfidious 
natures,  may  give  to  such  an  act  an  appearance  of  daring 
of  grandeur,  of  magnanimity,  which,  false  though  it  be' 
may  yet  be  able  to  dazzle  the  imagination  and  mislead  the 
judgment.     I  do  not  say  that  Cromwell  had  nicely  calcu- 
lated this  effect  of  his  passion  on  this  occasion.     I  think 
It  more  probable  that  he  found  the  work  he  had  set  himself 
to  do  disagreeable,    and   that  he  took  refuge  from  the 
reproaches  of  his  own  mind  by  putting  himself  irto  a 
passion— a  very  common  proceeding  with  manv  men      I 
also  agree  with  Hume,  that  while  Cromwell  could  descend 
to  employ  « the  most  profound  dissimulation,  the  most 
obhque  and   refined    artifice,"   he  was    "carried   by  his 
natural  temper  to  magnanimity,  to  grandeur,  and  to  an 
imperious   and    domineering    policy."      A   man  of  this 
temper  of  mind  is  apt  to  attempt  to  indemnify  himself  for 
the  restraint  he  has  found  it  convenient  to  put  at   one 
time  on  the  predominant  part  of  his  nature,  by  giving  at 
another  time  the  loose  rein  to  his  imperious  passions ;  and 
when  he  suddenly  turns  round  upon  his  former  friends' 
and  ruins  them  and  their  cause,  to  seek  to  justify  his  deeds' 
to  himself,  if  not  to  others,  by  heaping  on  those,  to  whom 
he  had  just  before  given  the  highest  commendations  and 
made  the  most  solemn  professions  of  fidelity,  every  term 
of  reproach  and  contempt  which  a  scurrilous  voeabularv 
can  supply.  ^ 

It  must  have  been  a  strange  sight  to  see  the  members 

VOL.  II.  y  2 


'iS^W- 


%- 


466 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XYI. 


1653.] 


1 


of  that  great  Parliament  walking  away  in  groups  of  two  or 
three,  after  this  extraordinary  scene,  from  the  old  Gothic 
chapel,  which  had  witnessed  their  labours  and  their 
triumphs,  and  which,  through  all  the  ages  of  its  famous 
history,  has  never  before  or  since  held  such  men  as  they. 
To  the  superior  spirits  among  them — to  Vane,  to  Scot, 
to  Algernon  Sydney,  whose  knowledge  of  the  past  history 
of  mankind  would  give  them  some  foresight  of  the  future, 
and  whom  the  deed  done  by  Cromwell  that  day  was,  at  no 
very  distant  time,  to  send  to  the  scaffold^ — it  must  have 
been  manifest  that  their  career  as  statesmen  was  ended ; 
that  never  more  for  them  could  the  Parliament  or  the 
Council  of  State  be  the  great  arena,  where  they  had  once 
so  powerfully  contended  for  liberty  and  empire. 

Cromwell,  having  thus  settled  to  his  own  satisfaction 
the  expulsion  of  the  Parliament,  returned  to  Whitehall, 
where  he  found  the  Council  of  Officers  in  debate  con- 
cerning this  weighty  affair ;  and  informed  them  that  he 
had  done  it,  and  that  they  needed  not  to  trouble  themselves 
any  further  about  it.  But  Colonel  Okey  and  some  others, 
officers  of  the  army,  who  did  not  come  under  John 
Lilbume's  designation  of  "  creature  colonels,"  repaired  to 
the  General,  to  desire  satisfaction  in  that  proceeding, 
conceiving  that  the  way  they  were  now  going  tended  to 
ruin  and  confusion.  "  To  these,"  says  Ludlow,  "  having 
not  yet  taken  off  his  mask,  but  pretending  to  more  honesty 
and  self-denial  than  ever,  he  professed  himself  to  do  much 
more  good,  and  with  more  expedition,  than  could  be 
expected  from  the  Parliament ;  while  professions  from  him 

*  I  think  that,  but  for  this  deed  of  faith  in  the  honesty  of  the  Indepen- 

Cromwell— which  not  only  ruined  the  dents— the  Stuarts  would  never  have 

cause    for  which    the   Parliamentary  been  able  to  return, 

armies  had  fought,  but  destroyed  all  >-., 


THE  COUNCIL  OF  STATE  DEPART. 


467 


put  most  of  them  to  silence,  and  moved  them  to  a  resolu- 
tion of  waiting  for  a  further  discovery  of  his  design,  before 
they  would  proceed  to  a  breach  and  division  from  him 
But  Colonel  Okey,  being  jealous  that  the  end  would  be 
bad,  because  the  means  were  such  as  made  them  justly 
suspected  of  hypocrisy,  enquired  of  Colonel  Desborough 
what  his  [Cromwell's]  meaning  was  to  give  such  high 
commendations  to  the  Parliament,  when  he  endeavoured 
to  dissuade  the  officers  of  the  army  from  petitioning  them 
for  a  dissolution,  and,  so  short  a  time  after,  to  eject  them 
with  so  much  scorn  and  contempt ;  who  had  ^no  other 
answer  to  make,  but  that,  if  ever  he  drolled  in  his  life  he 
had  drolled  then."  '     .  '  ' 

In  the  afternoon  of  that  same  day,  the  20th  of  April 
1653,  in  the  morning  of  which  he  had  thus  expelled  the 
Parliament,  Cromwell  came  to  the  Council  of  State  who 
were  assembled  at  the  usual  place  of  meeting  in  White- 
hall.     CromweU  was  accompanied  by  those  two  officers 
whose  concurrence,  a^  has  been  shown,  he  had  taken  such 
care  to  procure-Lambert  and  Harrison.    On  his  entrance 
CromweU   said :    "  Gentlemen,    if  you   are   met   here   as 
private  persons,  you  shall  not  be  disturbed ;  but  if  as  a 
Council  of  State,  this  is  no  place  for  you ;  and  since  you 
can't  but  know  what  was  done  at  the  House  in  the  morn- 
ing, so  take  notice,  that  the  Parliament  is  dissolved."     To 
this  Serjeant  Bradshaw '  answered  :  "  Sir,  we  have  heard 
what  you  did  at  the  House  in  the  morning,  and  before 
many  hours  all  England  wiU  hear  of  it.     But,  Sir,  you  are 

495  \lf'1%  ^^.v'^'';  ^'!*    "•    PP-      ^''^'^  ^''^'   '^  '^'  <^-'^^^^^  of  state 
495  460 :  2nd  edition,  London  1721.      Wednesday,  March  23, 165f,  /s.  State 

Bradshaw  was  not  President   of  Paper  Office.     The  Earl  of  Salisbury 

the  Council  for  this  month.     "  That  had  been  President  of  the  Council  fo^ 

Mr.  Bond  be  appointed  President  of  the   month  preceding-namelv,     rom 

the  Council  for  the  month  ensuing."-  February  23  to  March  23. 

II  H  2 


■f 

% 

% 


468 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


I  mistaken  to  think  that  the  Parliament  is  dissolved ;  for 
no  power  nnder  Heaven  can  dissolve  them  but  themselves ; 
therefore  take  you  notice  of  that."  Something  more, 
according  to  Ludlow,  was  said  to  the  same  purpose  by 
Scot,  Haselrig,  and  Love;  and  then  "the  Council  of 
State,  perceiving  themselves  to  be  under  the  same  violence, 
departed."  ^ 

When  a  man  of  Cromwell's  abilities  sets  to  work  to  give 
a  particular  colour  to  any  transaction,  it  is  no  easy  matter 
to  discover  the  true  colour  of  that  transaction.    Cromwell's 
strongest  point  against  the  Parliament  was  his  assertion 
that  their  Bill  for  a  new  Parliament,  which  they  were  pass- 
ing through  its  last  stages  when  he  expelled  them  from 
their  house,  contained  clauses  by  which  "  these  present 
members  were  to  sit,  and  to  be  made  up  by  others  chosen, 
and  by  themselves  approved  of."     These  words  are  from 
a  "  Narrative  of  the  Manner  of  the  Parliament's  being  Dis- 
missed," published  on  the  day  after  the  expulsion  of  the 
Parliament,  the  21st  of  April,  which  the  compilers  of  the  new 
"  Parliamentary  History  "  designate  as  "  of  equal  authority 
with  that  of  the  Journals  themselves  ;  being  published  at 
the  very  time  of  action,  and  licensed  by  Mr.  Scobell,  Clerk 
of  the  House."  ^  But  the  compilers  of  the  "  Parliamentary 
History,"  in  making  this  assertion,  must  have  forgotten  the 
vast  difference  between  the  position  of  Mr.  Scobell  on  the 
20th  of  April  1653,  and  his  position  on  the  following  day,  - 
the  21st  of  April  1653.     As  Antony  in  Shakspeare's  play 
said  of  Csesar,  we  may  truly  say  of  that  great  Parliament : 
"  But  yesterday  their  word  might  have  stood  against  the 
world  :  and  now  none  so  poor  to  do  them  reverence."  The 
"  Clerk  of  the  House  "  was  no  longer  their  servant,  but  the 

'  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  p.  461  :         ^  Pari.   Hist.    vol.    iii.    pp.    1381, 
2nd  edition,  London,  1721.  1382. 


/ 


1663.]         IF   CROMWELL'S  ASSERTIONS  WERE   TRUE,  469 

servant  of  their  destroyer ;  and  in  that  capacity  he  could 
do,  and  did,  his  part  to  poison  the  very  fountain-head  of 
history. 

I  believe,  as  firmly  as  I  believe  my  own  existence,  that  at 
this  stage  of  his  career  Cromwell  made  as  much  use  of 
falsehood  as  his  creature  Monk  afterwards  did,  when  he 
was  taking  measIIJ^TEo-  sell  his  country  for  a  dukedom 
and  a  large  sum  of  money.     My  belief  is  grounded  on  a 
vast  mass  of  evidence,  long  and  carefully  weighed.'     Yet 
he  took  such  precautions  in  this  case,  that  it  is  impossible 
to  Tprove  that  the  Bill  did  not  contain  what  he  asserted  that 
it  contained ;  for  he  seized  it,  and  carried  it  off  with  him 
to  his  own  house,  and  it  was  never  produced  afterwards 
The  words  quoted  above,  if  they  mean  anything,  mean  that 
the  present  Parliament,  under  colour  of  giving  the  people 
a  new  and  free  Parliament,  meant  to  perpetuate  their  own 
power.     Now  this  is  most  distinctly  denied  by  two  wit- 
nesses, both  of  them  credible  and  well-informed :  the  one, 

•  As  one  ofinnumerable  instances  of  that  he  and  some  others  were  fined 
the  opmtons  formed  by  those  who  knew  and  imprisoned  for  their  pretended 
him  personally  of  Cromwell's  honesty  misdemeanours."_Z„rfW.  yu,noir, 
and  veranty  I  give  the  following:  vol.  ii.  p.  6,.o :  2nd  edition,  London,' 
Amongst^  these  was  a  cornet,  whose  1721.  That  Cromwell  was  quite  con- 
nate was  Day,  and  who,  being  charged  scions  of  the  distrust  with  which  his 
wxth    saymg    that  Cromwell   was    a  asse«ions  were  received  by  those  he 

wfT   ""<'/    •^^■"'^;  ™''f'=^^^d    'h^  addressed,  is  proved  by  the  e:.pre..sions 

words;   and,     o  justify  himself,  said  with   which   he   interlarded  his   dis- 

that  Cromwell   had  affirmed,  in  the  course,  such  as,  "  This  is  very  true  that 

presence  of  himself  and  divers  other  I  Ml  you,   God  iuows   I  lie    mt!" 

officers,  that  if  he  did  oppress  the  con-  a  form  of  words  certainly  not  indica- 

scientious,  or  betray  the  liberties  of  tive  of  a  man  of  truthful  habits-. 

he  people  or  not  take  away  tithes  by  phraseology   now  in   use  among  th! 

a  certain  t.me  nov,  past,  they  should  lowest  and  least  veracious  memlirs  of 

then  have  liberty  to   say  he  was   a  society.     A  man  of  habitual  verad"y 

o^e  or  traitor.     He  moved    there-  and  honour  would  no  mo,.  thU  of 

fore    that  he  might  be  permitted  to  using    such    asseverations,    than    an 

produce  his  witnesses  who  were  then  honourable    matron   would    think  '  t 

tioned ;  but  the  matter  was  80  ordered,     honest  woman." 


I 


470 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


General  Ludlow,  a  member  of  that  Parliament ;  and  the 
other  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  the  wife  of  Colonel  Hutchinson, 
also  a  member  of  it. 

Falsehood,  in  the  shape  of  calumny,  has  ever  been  and 
will  ever  be  one  of  the  most  powerful  weapons  of  those 
who,  while  they  pursue  their  selfish  ends  with  the 
ravenous  fury  of  wild  beasts  or  savages,  find  themselves 
compelled  to  pay  some  deference  to  the  public  opinion 
of  their  age  and  country.  When  you  have  done  any 
man  a  deep  and  grievous  wrong,  it  may  appear  a  duty 
you  owe  to  yourself  and  your  family,  to  blacken  the  cha- 
racter of  the  man  you  have  injured,  so  that  what  you  have 
done  may  have  a  chance  of  appearing  not  wrong,  but  right. 
In  the  beginning  of  that  1 7th  century,  a  very  remarkable 
example  of  this  mode  of  proceeding  occurred  in  the  affair 
which  James  I.  called  the  "  Gowrie  Conspiracy."  The  Earl 
of  Gowrie  and  his  brother,  Alexander  Euthven,  were  mur- 
dered by  King  James,  who  published  his  own  account  of 
the  matter,  in  which  he  declared  that  he  had  acted  in  his 
own  defence  ;  and  everything  in  the  shape  of  a  defence  of 
the  Earl  of  Gowrie  and  his  brother  was  so  effectually  de- 
stroyed, that  not  a  single  copy  can  now  be  met  with.^ 

Cromwell,  in  his  "  Declaration  of  the  Grounds  and  Eea- 
sons  for  thus  Dissolving  the  Parliament  by  Force,"  dated 
"Whitehall,  April  22,  1653,"  asserted  that  "  those  persons 
of  honour  and  integrity  amongst  them,  who  had  eminently 
appeared  for  God  and  the  public  good,  were  rendered  of 
no  further  use  in  Parliament,  than,  by  meeting  with  a  cor- 
rupt party,  to  give  them  countenance  to  carry  on  their 
ends,  and  for  effecting  the  desire  they  had  of  perpetuating 
themselves  in  the  supreme  government ;  for  which  pur- 
pose the  said  party  long  opposed,  and  frequently  declared 

'  See  Pitcairn's  Criminal  Trials  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii.  pp.  209,  210. 


1663.] 


AND   COULD  HAVE  BEEN   PKOVKD ; 


471 


themselves  against  having,  a  new  representative:  and 
when  they  saw  themselves  necessitated  to  take  that  Bill 
into  consideration,  they  resolved  to  make  use  of  it  to 
recruit  the  House  with  persons  of  the  same  sph-it  and 
temper,  thereby  to  perpetuate  their  own  sitting."^ 

This  passage  partakes,  in  a  large  measure,  of  the  darkness 
that  characterises  Cromwell's  utterances,  whether  written 
or  spoken,  when  he  had  a  case  to  make  out.  First  he 
admits  that  there  were  "  persons  of  honour  and  integrity 
amongst  them."  Then  he  says  that  "those  persons  of 
honour  and  integrity  were  rendered  of  no  further  use  in 
Parliament,  than,  by  meeting  with  a  corrupt  pai-ty,  to 
give  them  countenance  to  carry  on  their  ends,  and  for 
effecting  the  desire  they  had  of  perpetuating  themselves  in 
the  supreme  government."  The  meaning  I  suppose  is, 
though  the  grammar  is  in  a  state  of  chaos,  that  the  per- 
sons of  honoTir  and  integrity  were  made  use  of  by  a  corrupt 
party  as  a  cloak  to  deceive  the  nation.  And  in  the  next 
passage  "the  said  party"  means  the  "corrupt  party" 
before  mentioned. 

Now  it  certainly  appears,  from  the  Journals  of  the  14th 
November  1651,  that  when  the  question  was  put,  "  That  it 
is  now  a  convenient  time  to  declare  a  certain  time  for  the 
continuance  of  the  Parliament,  beyond  which  it  shall  not 
sit,"  there  was  a  large  proportion  of  members,  out  of  a 
house  of  96— in  one  division  46  to  50,  in  another  47  to  49— 
who  were  against  entertaining  the  question  at  all.  In 
both  the  divisions  Cromwell  was  one  of  the  tellers  for  the 
Yeas.  It  was,  however,  four  days  after,  on  the  18th  of 
November,  ultimately  "  Eesolved,  that  the  time  for  the 
continuance  of  this  Parliament,  beyond  which  they  resolve 
not  to  sit,  shall  be  the  3rd  day  of  November  1654."   And, 

'  Par].  Hist.  vol.  iii.  p.  1387. 


■ 


472  COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XVL 

by  a  subsequent  resolution,  the  3rd  of  I^^ovember  1653 
was  appointed,  instead  of  the  3rd  of  JSTovember  1654. 

It  may  be  inferred  from  this,  that  the  above-mentioned 
minority  of  46  or  47  constituted  the  "corrupt  party,"  re- 
ferred to  by  Cromwell  in  the  passage  just  quoted  of  his 
"  Declaration  "  of  22nd  April  1653.  So  far,  then,  Cromwell 
had  a  colour  of  truth  to  support  his  assertions.     But  this 
colour  will  not  go  far.     For  his  assertion  implies  that  this 
"  corrupt  party  "  was  a  majority,  and  not,  as  the  Journals 
show  in  the  above-cited  divisions,  a  minority,  though  un- 
doubtedly a  large  minority.     And  therefore  that  assertion, 
that  the  "  corrupt  party  "  had  so  framed  their  Bill  for 
electing  a  new  Parliament,  as  to  render  it  an  instrument 
for  perpetuating  themselves,  is  unsupported  by  evidence. 

If  Cromwell  could  have  proved  the  truth  of  his  assertions, 
why  did  he  not  publish  a  copy  of  the  BHl  ?     He  could  not 
prove  the  truth  of  his  assertions,  and  he  took  good  care  that 
the  Bill  should  never  be  forthcoming.     The  Bill  had  not 
been  printed   or   even   engrossed.     "  Cromwell,"   as  Mr. 
Forster  says,  "  had  seized  the  only  copy  in  existence  on 
the  day  of  the  dissolution ;  had  carried  it  himself,  under 
his  cloak,  to  his  own  house  at  Whitehall ;  and  was  never 
afterwards  known  to  refer  to  it  in  any  way."  ^     It  was  to 
be  expected  that,  partly  from  carelessness,  partly  from 
bias  against  the  Eump,  writers  such  as  the  compilers  of 
the  "  Parliamentary  History  "  should,  as  has  been  shown, 
assume  as  true  Cromwell's  assertions  respecting  the  Bill 
which  he  seized,  and  never  produced  afterwards.     But  it  is 
rather  surprising  that  Mr.  Forster,  who  has  investigated 

'  Forster's  Life  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  visions  of  the  Bill,  which  were  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  those  of  Ireton's 
Bill,  called  "  An  Agreement  of  the 
People  of  England,"  described  in  the 
First  Volume  of  this  History,  pp.  27-30. 


1653.] 


WHY  DID   HE  NOT   PRINT   THE  BILL? 


47a 


vol.  ii.  p.  75:  London,  1839. —Mr 
Forster,  in  his  "  Life  of  Yane  "  (pp. 
158-162),  has  collected  from  the 
Journals  of  the  House  the  main  pro- 


this  subject  with  great  care  and  ability,  should  have  ad- 
mitted, or  taken  for  granted,  Cromwell's  assertion  that  the 
Bill  provided  for  the  re-election,  or  for  the  continuance 
without  re-election,  of  the  members  of  the  present  Parlia- 
ment. 

Besides  the  reasons  I  have  already  assigned  for  saying 
that  Cromwell's  assertion  was  not  proved,  and  that  his  ob- 
ject was  to  make  it  seem  that  the  Bill  contained  such 
provisions  without  being  able  to  prove  it,  though,  had  it 
been  true,  he  could  have  provedi  it  at  once,  by  printing 
and  publishing  the  Bill,  it  is  a  significant  circumstance, 
that  while  the  semi-offirAal  "  Narrative,"  already  re- 
ferred to,  issued  on  the  21st  of  April,  asserts  in  positive 
words  that  "  by  the  said  Act  these  present  members  were 
to  sit  and  to  be  made  up  by  others  chosen,  and  by  them- 
selves approved  of,"  the  official  "Declaration,"  issued  on 
the  22nd  of  April,  carefully  avoids  any  such  positive  asser- 
tion, using*  more  vague  words,  "  recruit  the  House  with 
persons  of  the  same  spirit  and  temper,  thereby  to  perpetu- 
ate their  own  sitting."  The  craft  of  Cromwell  is  very 
conspicuous  in  this  distinction.  He  might,  and  would  of 
course,  disown  the  semi-official  paper  when  it  suited 
him  so  to  do.  The  words  of  the  official  paper,  which 
he  could  not  disown,  were  so  chosen  that  they  might  be 
explained  to  mean,  either  that  the  present  members  were 
to  continue  to  sit,  and  that  persons  of  the  same  spirit  and 
temper  were  to  be  added  to  them,  to  make  up  the  full 
number  of  400  ;  or  that  the  present  members  were  e.'ther 
not  to  sit  at  all  in  the  next  House,  or  were  to  take  their 
chance  of  re-election  with  the  new  members  who  were  to 
form  the  new  Parliament. 

Add  to  all  this  evidence  against  the  assertion  of  their 
destroyer,  that  the  Parliament  meant  to  pei-petuate  them- 


,1 


I  ' 


^  « 

1 


^'^^  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XVL 

selves,  the  solemn  declaration  of  Thomas  Scot,  one  of  their 
most  illustrious  members.  In  a  speech  made  in  Kichard 
CromweU's  Parliament,  Thomas  Scot  said :  "  The  Dutch 
war  came  on.  If  it  had  pleased  God  and  his  Highness  to 
have  let  that  little  power  of  a  Parliament  sit  a  little 
longer,— when  Hannibal  is  ad  portas,  something  must  be 
done  extra  leges,~we  intended  to  have  gone  off  with  a  good 
savour,  and  provided  for  a  succession  of  Parliaments :,  hut  we 
stayed  to  end  the  Dutch  war,''  ^ 

"  Thus,"  says  a  hostile  writer,  ''by  their  own  mercenary 
servants,  and  not  a  sword  drawn  in  their  defence,  fell 
the  haughty  and  victorious  Eump,  whose  mighty  actions 
will  scarcely  find  belief  in  future  generations."  ^  A  more 
modern  hostile  writer  declares  he  knows  not  in  what  eyes 
are  tears  at  their  departure,  except  it  be  their  own ;  and 
then  he  approvingly  quotes  the  assertion  of  his  veracious 
man-god,  "  my  Lord-General,"  "  we  did  not  hear  a  dog 
bark  at  their  going."  It  would,  I  apprehend,  be  some- 
what difficult  to  detect  a  dog  in  the  act  of  barking  at  the 
hanging  of  "  my  Lord-General  "  himself,  and  all  his  para- 
sites  in  one  rope. 

Yet  let  not  this  renowned  Parliament  die  unheard. 
And  in  the  vindication  of  the  purity  of  its  intentions,  and 
of  the  respect  due  to  its  memory— by  such  men  as  Scot 
and  Vane,  who  "  sealed  the  cause  with  their  blood,"  and 
declared  upon  the  scaffold,  in  the  last  words  they  uttered, 
"  that  it  was  a  cause  not  to  be  repented  of,"— -there  is  a 
tone  of  deep  yet  manly  sorrow,  that  must  command  the 
respect  of  every  candid  and  generous  mind.     There  is  too, 

•  This  speech,  which  was  made  in  1656-1659,"  edited   by   John    Towill 

Kichard  Cromwell's  Parliament,  is  re-  Eutt. 

ported  in  the  "Diary  of  Thomas  Burton.         ^  j^oger  Coke's    Detection    of   the 

Esq.,  Member  in  the  Parliaments  of  Court   and  State  of  England,  vol    ii 

Oliver   and  Richard   Cromwell,   from  p.  30. 


1653.] 


END   OF  THE  COMMONWEALTH. 


475 


in  the  words  of  those  men,  all  the  solemnity  of  death ;  for 
events  were  already  looming  in  no  distant  future,  which 
foreboded  to  them  a  dark  and  inevitable  fate.  Neverthe- 
less, their  courage  quailed  not ;  and  in  their,  I  might  say, 
dying  words^— even,  as  it  were,  from  the  very  ashes  of  that 
great  assembly,  which  such  men  as  they  were  to  make  im- 
mortal— there  "flashed  forth  a  stream  of  heroic  rays." 
Ay,  these  are  the  true  heroes ;  though  libraries  may  be 
written,  and  temples  dedicated,  to  the  Moloch-worship  of 
successful  renegades,  liars,  and  robbers ! 

Thus  ended  that  Government  called  "  The  Common- 
wealth," after  a  duration  of  four  years  and  nearly  three 
months.  Though  English  historians  have  extended  the 
name  of  Commonwealth  to  the  military  despotism  of 
Cromwell  which  succeeded,  and  have  thus  given  to  Crom- 
well all  the  credit  due  to  the  good  government  of  the  states- 
men of  the  Commonwealth,  and  to  the  statesmen  of  the 
Commonwealth  all  the  discredit  due  to  the  bad  government 
of  Cromwell,  the  original  records  of  the  proceedings  of  both 
remain,  to  show  to  all  ages  the  vast  difiference  between 
that  body  of  men  who  constituted  The  Council  of  State, 
and  that  body  of  men  who  constituted  Cromwell's  Coun- 
cil OF  State. 


^  Scot's  last  words  in  Parliament — 
when  some  of  the  Presbyterians,  who 
were  in  the  reassembled  Long  Parlia- 
ment, before  its  final  destruction  by 
Monk,  moved  that  before  they  sepa- 
rated they  should  bear  their  witness 
against  the  execution  of  tHe  King — 
were  that,  "though  he  knew  not  where 
to  hide  his  head  at  that  time,  yet  he 
durst  not  refuse  to  own,  that  not  only 
his  hand  but  his  heart  also  was  in  it." 
— Ludlow's  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  p.  864 : 
2nd  edition,  London,  1721.  The 
words,  as  reported  in  Burton's  Diary, 


which  seem  to  refer  to  the  same  occa- 
sion, are  these  :  "  I  would  be  content 
it  should  be  set  upon  my  monument — 
if  it  were  my  last  act,  I  own  it — I  was 
one  of  the  King's  judges.  I  hope  it 
shall  not  be  said  of  us,  as  of  the 
Eomans  once, '  0  homines  ad  servitu- 
tem  parati ! ' "  Vane  and  Algernon 
Sydney,  though  neither  of^them  ap- 
proved of  tlie  Kijig's  execution,  or  had 
either  "hand  or  heart  in  that  affair,"' 
manifested  the  same  lofty  and  in- 
trepid spirit  before  their  fudges  and 
on  the  scaffold.  '"^~~"'"^-- 


f 


I 


476  COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XVL 

The  last  meeting  recorded  in  the  Order  Book  of  the 
Council  of  State,  is  on  Friday,  the   15th  of  April  1653. 
No  business  of  any  particular  importance  is  recorded  in  the 
minutes ;  nor  does  anything  appear  in  the  minutes,  giving 
the  least  sign  or  foreboding  of  the  catastrophe  of  Wednes- 
day next,  the  20th  of  April.    There  were  eighteen  members 
of  the  Council  present,  including  Vane,  Scot,  the  Earl  of 
Salisbury,  and  Sir  Arthur  Haselrig.    There  is  no  record  pre- 
served of  the  meeting  in  the  afternoon  of  the  20th  of  April. 
And  so  closes  the  last  Order  Book  of  the  Council  of  State.' 
The  first  meetings  of  Cromwell's  Council  of  State,  begin- 
ning a  new  Order  Book,  like  the  former  Order  Books  in  all 
outward  signs,  is  on  Friday  the  29th  of  April  1653.     The 
members  present  of  this  new  Council  of  Saints— who  were, 
as  poor  Harrison  dreamt,  to  initiate  the  Millennium— were 
the    Lord-General   Cromwell,     Major-General    Lambert, 
Major-General    Harrison,    Mr.    Carew,     Colonel    Bennet,' 
Colonel  Sydenham,  Colonel  Stapeley,  Mr.  Strickland.     Of 
these  eight,  six  were  military  men.    This  seems  to  be  the 
general  proportion.    Thus  on  Tuesday,  the  3rd  of  May  1653, 
the  members  present  were  Major-General  Lambert,  Major' 
General   Harrison,  Mr.  Carew,  Major-General  Desbrough 
[Desborough,  Cromwell's  brother-in-law],  Mr.  Strickland, 
Colonel  Sydenham,  Colonel  Stapeley.     This,  therefore,  was 
a  mere  barrack-room   Council— a  Council  of  what  John 
Lilburne   called   the  "  creature   colonels,"  whom  Oliver, 
assuming  the  style  royal,  might  call  "  creatures  of  our 
own,"  as  Queen  Elizabeth  called   the  Earl   of  Leicester 
"  a  creature  of  our  own."     John  Lilburne  proved  only  too 
true  a  prophet.    Never  more  were  Vane,^  Scot,  and  Sydney 
to  appear  in  that  Council-room.     There  was  no  affinity 

•  As  to  the  composition  of  Crom-     fusal  to  be  a  member  of  it,  see  note  1 
well  p  Council  of  State,  and  Vane's  re-     p.  479.  ' 


1653.] 


CROMWELL'S   COUNCIL   OF  STATE. 


477 


between  the  nature  of  Oliver  Cromwell  and  theirs.  But 
there  was  a  strong  affinity  between  Cromwell's  nature  and 
that  of  Monk,  and  of  another  man  whose  name  soon  after 
appears  in  the  list  of  the  members  of  Cromwell's  Council 
of  State.  The  name  of  that  other  man  is  an  omen  and,  as 
it  were,  a  history  of  what  were  to  be  the  consequences  of 
the  grand  perfidy  of  Cromwell.  The  name  is  entered  on 
the  list  thus — "  Sir  A.  A.  Cooper." 

It  was  of  such  men,  no  doubt,  as  Cromwell,  and  Monk, 
and  Cooper,  that  Sir  Henry  Vane  was  thinking  when,  in 
his  prayer  with  liis  family  and  friends,  in  his  chamber  on 
the  morning  of  his  execution,  he  used  these  words — "  Oh  ! 
what  abjuring  of  light,  what  treachery,  what  meanness  of 
spirit,  has  appeared  in  this  day  !  "  ^ 

The  three  men  above  mentioned  may  be  designated  as  a 
triumvirate  of  traitors,  who  carried  the  successful  practice 
of  treachery  and  falsehood  to  a  height  sufficient  to  strike 
the  common  herd  of  their  imitators  at  once  with  admira- 
tion and  despair.  And  so  long  had  this  successful  career 
lasted,  with  that  one  of  the  three  who  survived  the  others. 
Cooper  or  Shaftesbury  (for  he  had^otted^into  a  peer  with 
that  title),  that  it  might  reallyliave  seemed  that  the  only 
character  to  be  venerated  on  earth,  where  success  has  so 
much  to  do  with  veneration,  was  that  of  an  adroit  practi- 
tioner of  treachery  and  falsehood.  This  man  had  been  a 
traitor  to  every  party,  but,  up  to  a  certain  point,  his  treach- 
eries had  always  prospered.  "  Whether  it  were  accident 
or  sagacity,"  says  Lord  Macaulay,   "  he   had   timed  his 

•  The  Tryal  of  Sir  Henry  Vane,  Kt.  interrupted  an  I  overruled  by  the  Court) 

At  the  King's   Bench,   Westminster,  and  his  Bill  of  Exception.    With  other 

June  the  2nd  and  6th,  1662  ;  together  occasional    speeches,    &c.      Also    his 

with  what  he  intended  to  have  spoken  speech    and    prayer   on   the   Scaffold, 

the  day  of  his  sentence  (June  11)  for  Small  4to.  Printed  in  the  year  1662, 

arrest  of  judgment    (had  he  not  been  p.  83. 


I 


\ 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XVI. 

desertions  in  such  a  manner,  that  fortune  seemed  to  go  to 
and  fro  with  Tiim  from  side  to  side."  ^ 

LordrMacaukj  has  described  with  great  force  the  cha- 
racter of  Shaftesbury— with  greater  force  than  jgither  Butler 
or  Drjden ;  though  the  character  of  Shaftesbury,  while  still 
living,  had  been  drawn  by  them,   "two  of  the  greatest 
writers  of  the  age— by  Butler  with  characteristic  brilliancy 
of  wit,  by  Dryden  with  even  more   than    characteristic 
energy  and  loftiness,  by  both  with  all  the  inspiration  of 
hatred."  2     ^^^  ^he  character  of  Shaftesbury  was  a  sort 
of  archetype  of  the  characters  of  the  politicians  who  ap- 
peared   in    England,  not   only   after    the   restoration   of 
Charles  TI.,  but  after  the  expulsion  of  the  Long  Parliament 
by  Cromwell.     From  that  time,  if  we  except  Blake— who 
continued  to  fight  the  foreign  enemies  of  ^ngland,  but 
who  never,  in  any  sense,  became  the  creature  ofCromwell  ^ 
—■none  of  the  great  spirits,  whose  fixedness  of  purpose, 
intensity    of    will,    and   fierce    yet    single-minded     and 
unselfish    enthusiasm,    had    fought    the   great   fight    for 
liberty  in  the  haU  of  debate  as  well  as  on  the  field  of 
battle,  had  borne  down  before  them  the  opposition  alike 
of  adverse  opinions  and  of  hostOe  armies,  and  extorted 
even   from    enemies   a   reluctant  admiration,    ever  more 
acted  with  Cromwell.      Between  him  and  them  a   deep 
and   impassable     gulf  had  been  fixed.      Henceforth    he 
must  seek  for   other  instruments  of  his  will ;  for  those 
who  had  been  his  coadjutors  in  the  advancement  of  the 


•  Macaulay's  Essay  on  Sir  William 
Temple. 

'  Neither  Blake  himself,  nor  his 
brother  Benjamin,  nor  his  nephew 
Eobert,  ever  set  their  hands  to  the 
declaration  of  approval  of  Cromwell's 
expulsion  of  the  Parliament,  to  which 


Cromwell  obtained  the  signatures  of 
Deane,  Monk,  Penn,  and  many  of  the 
captains  of  the  ships.— See  the  declara- 
tion in  Granville  Penn's  Memorials 
of  Sir  Wm.  Penn,  vol.  i.  pp.  489- 
491  :  London,  1833.  See  also  Dixon's 
Eobert  Blake,  p.  247:  8vo.  edition, 
London,  1852. 


1653.]        CHAKACTER   OF   THE  COMMONWEALTH   MEN.         479 


great  work  of  delivering  England  from  civil  and  religious 
tyranny — from  the  tyranny  of  Laud,  as  well  as  from  the 
tyranny  of  Strafford  and  Charles  Stuart — would  never  sub- 
mit to  be  the  tools  of  their  treacherous  comrade,  who  now 
sought  to  substitute  a  tyrant  under  the  name  of  Cromwell 
for  a  tyrant  under  the  name  of  Stuart.^  Whatever  vices 
or  infirmities  those  men  might  have  had,  they  had  not  the 
vices  and  infirmities  of  slaves  or  cowards — of  quacks,  of 
liars,  of  renegades.  One  who  lived  among  them  and  knew 
them  well,  though  he  had  the  weakness  to  serve  under  and 
to  eulogise  their  treacherous  destroyer,  had  learned  from 
his  knowledge  of  them  how  to  describe  that  firmness  of 
purpose  which  disdained  submission  ^ — that  fortitude  which 


*  •'  With  Cromwell  were  associated, 
in  his  Council  of  State,  eight  officers  of 
high  rank  and  four  civilians.  The  last 
would  seem  to  have  been  thrown  in  as 
a  convenient  screen  alone ;  for  the 
Council  of  State,  so  constituted,  was,  to 
all  intents  and  purposes,  a  military 
council.  It  will  scarcely  be  believed 
that  a  desperate  attempt  was  made  to 
secure,  in  the  position  of  one  of  the 
civilians,  the  name  and  authority  of 
Sir  Henry  Vane  ;  for  none  knew  better 
than  CromwCil,  that  any  damage  to 
such  a  character  must  be  self- 
inflicted,  and  none  more  certain  than 
he  that  such  co-operation,  by  any 
argument  secured,  would  altogether 
avert  the  possibility  of  a  popular 
outbreak  before  his  plans  were  ripe. 
No  argument  was  therefore  forgotten, 
no  inducement  omitted,  to  achieve  the 
services  of  the  'juggling'  Vane.  But 
the  manner  of  their  reception  became 
his  character.  As  he  had  treated  the 
insult,  he  treated  the  mean  submis- 
sion. From  Belleau,  his  house  in  Lin- 
colnshire,  to  which  he   had   at  once 


retired  after  the  20th  of  April,  1653,  he 
wrote  a  brief  answer  to  the  application 
from  the  Council,  that  '  though  the 
reign  of  saints  was  now  no  doubt 
begun,  he  was  willing,  for  his  part,  to 
defer  his  share  in  it  till  he  should  go 
to  heaven.'" — Forster's  Life  of  Oliver 
Cromaell  (vol.  ii.  p.  129,  London, 
1839)  cites  an  intercepted  letter  of 
Mr.  T.  Robinson  to  Mr.  Stoneham,  at 
the  Hague,  in  Thurloe's  State  Papers, 
vol.  i.  p.  265. 

"^  On  the  day  before  his  execution 
some  of  Vane's  friends  having  at- 
tempted to  persuade  him  to  make  his 
submission  to  the  King,  and  by  that 
means  endeavour  to  save  his  life,  he 
said,  "  If  the  King  did  not  think  him- 
self more  concerned  for  his  honour  and 
word  than  he  did  for  his  life,  he  was 
very  willing  they  should  take  it."  And 
when  others  spoke  to  him  of  giving 
some  thousands  of  pounds  for  his  life, 
he  said,  "  If  a  thousand  farthings  would 
gain  it,  he  would  not  give  them  ;  and 
if  any  should  attempt  to  make  such  a 
bargain,  he  would  spoil  their  market : 


; 


480 


COMMONWEALTH   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


1653.] 


CHARACTER  OF  THEIR  SUCCESSORS. 


481 


! 


disdained  escape :  ^ 

"  The  unconquerable  will, 
And  study  of  revenge,  immortal  hate, 
And  courage  never  to  submit  or  yield. 
And  what  is  else  not  to  be  overcome."  ^ 

In  the    same   essay  in  which   Lord    Macaulay  has    so 

for  I  think,"   he    added,   ''the   King  but  I  did  it  all  according  to  the  best  of 
himself  is   so  sufficiently   obliged   to  my  understanding,  desiring  to  make 
spare    my  life,   that    it  is  fitter    for  the  revealed  will  of  God  in  his  Holy 
him  to  do  it  than  myself  to  seek  it."  Scriptures  as  a  guide  to  me.    I  humbly 
— State  Trials,  vol.  vi.  pp.  189,  190.  conceive  that  what  was  done  was  done 
•  When  the  Restoration  came.  Major-  in  the  name  of  the  Parliament  of  Eng- 
General    Harrison    refused   to   with-  land,  and  that  this  Court  or  any  Court 
draw    fiww.Jiis    house    and    escape,  below  the  High  Court  of  Parliament 
deeming  that  a  desertion  of  his  cause  hath  no  jurisdiction  of  these  actions." 
and  principles.     He  was  accordingly  — State  Trials,  \ol.  r.  pp.  1024,  1025. 
seized  with  all  his  horses  and  arms,  A  more  sincere,  honest,    and   single- 
at  his    house    in    Staifordshire    and  hearted  enthusiast  than  Harrison  never 
brought   to   London.      He   was   then  existed.      There  is  in   Lincoln's  Inn 
committed  to  the  Tower,  and  his  horses  Library  a  small  4to.  which  contains, 
taken  to  the  Mews  for  the  King's  use.  besides  the  "  Trial "   and  "  Life  and 
I  have  already  described  Harrison's  Death  of  Sir  Henry  'Vane  "  before  re- 
behaviour  on  the  scaffold  (Vol.  I.  pp.  ferred  to,  •'  The  Speeches  and  Prayers 
79,  80).    There  is  a  touching  simplicity  of  Major-General  Harrison  and  others  of 
and  earnestness  in  the  few  words  that  '  the  late  King's  judges,'  with  several  oc- 
he  was  permitted  to  speak  on  his  trial,  casional  speeches  and  passages  in  their 
where   he   saw  the  faces  of  brass  of  imprisonment  and  at  their  execution, 
Monk,  ShaResba/f.^and.  3ffolles  on  the  faithfully  and  impartially  collected." 
bench,    among-  ttle  judges  "who   con-  ^  I  will  give  here  two  out  of  many 
demned    him    to    death]   ^i    would  minutes  in  the  Order  Books,  showing 
not,"  he  said,    "  offer  of  myself  the 
least    injury   to   the   poorest  man   or 
woman  that  goes  upon  the  earth.     I 
did  what  I  did,  as  out  of  conscience 
to  the  Lord ;  for  when  I  found  those 
that  were  as  the  apple  of  mine  eye  to 
turn  aside,  I  did  loathe  them,  and  suf- 
fered  imprisonment   many   years.     I 


that  Milton's  work  was  not  confined  to 
foreign  tongues  :  "  That  Mr.Jdilton  do 
go  to  the  committee  of  *TKe  army  and 
desire  them  to  send  to  the  Council  the 
book  of  examinations  taken  about  the 
risings  in  Kent  and  T^ssexT^— Order 
Book  of  tJi'e"Uoiincirof  State,  June  22, 
1650,  MS.  State  Paper  Office.  "That 
chose  rather  to  be  separated  from  wife  Mr.  Milton  do  peruse  the  examinations 
and  family  than  to  have  compliance  taken  "by  the  cofnihiltee  of  the  army 
with  them,  though  it  was  said,  *  Sit  at  concerning  the  insurrections  in  Essex, 
my  right  hand,'  and  such  kind  expres-  and  take  heals  of  the  same,  to  the  end 
sions.  Thus  I  have  given  a  little  poor  the  Council  may  judge  what  is  fit  to  be 
testimony  that  I  have  not  been  doing  taken  into  consideration." — find.  June 
things  in  a  corner,  or  from  myself.  25,  165t)r  See  also  Vol.  I.  p.  172  of 
Maybe  I  might  be  a  little  mistaken ;     this  history. 


1 


powerfully  delineated  the  character  of  Shaftesbury,  he  has 
made  an  ingenious  attempt  to  trace  the  cause  of  the 
difference  between  the  leading  politicians  of  the  Long  Par- 
liament and  the  leading  politicians  who  succeeded  them. 
The  cause  of  that  difference  he  considers  to  lie  in  the 
difference  between  the  moral  quaUties  "  which  distinguish 
the  men  who  produce  revolutions  from  the  men  whom 
revolutions  produce." 

If  this  be  true— and  if  the  moral  qualities  of  Shaftesbury, 
of  Danby,  of  Churchill,  of  Jefferies,  of  Lauderdale,  of 
Claverhouse,  were  the  natural  fruit  of  the  great  English 
Eevolution— why  then,  it  may  be  asked,  did  not  the  Ameri- 
can Eevolution  produce  an  equally  abundant  crop  of  such 
men  ?   The  answer  is,  that  it  would  have  produced  such  a 
crop,  if  Washington  had  acted  the  part  which  Cromwell 
acted ;  that  is,  if  he  had  turned  round,  and  made  use  of 
the  military  power  which  he  possessed  to  ruin  the  cause 
for  which  he  had  fought,  and  the  men  with  whom  he  had 
acted,  and  who  had  entrusted  him  with  that  mUitary  power. 
By  such  a   proceeding  he  would  have  driven  away,  or 
imprisoned,  or  destroyed  (as  CromweU  did)  all  the  men  who 
had  fought  and  acted  for  something  higher  than  self;  and 
would  have  let  loose,  as  Cromwell  did,  all  the  men  whose 
god  was,  like  his  own,  «  self  in  the  highest."     It  was  the 
gigantic  viUany  of  Cromwell  which  was  the  father  of  all 
the  villanies  of  the  next  two  generations  of  Englishmen— 
from  the  falsehoods  and  treacheries  of  Monk,  who  sold  the 
men  who  trusted  him,  and  with  them  his  country,  to  Stuart, 
who  sold  it  to  the  King  of  France ;  of  Shaftesbury,  who  just 
before  the  Restoration  declared  to  the  Eegicides  that  he 
would  be  damned,  body  and  soul,  rather  than  suffer  a  hair 
of  their  heads  to  be  hurt,  and  just  after  the  Eestoration 
was  one  of  the  judges  who  sentenced  them  to  death ;  of 

VOL.  II. 


I  1 


( 


I 

i 


482 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


II 


Lauderdale,  who  sold  his  King,  and  afterwards  turned 
round,  and  in  the  name  of  that  King's  son  tortured  his 
former  friends  with  iron  boots  and  thumbscrews, — to  "  the 
hundred  villanies  of  Marlborough."  And  yet  Cromwell 
himself,  who  did  all  this,  was  one  of  the  men  who  produced 
the  revolution,  not  one  of  the  men  whom  the  revolution 
produced. 

Such  are  some  of  the  consequences  of  a  great  crime 
committed  by  a  great  man.  The  civil  wars  of  Eome,  with- 
out the  termination  which  the  success  of  Csesar  gave  to 
them,  might  have  been  productive  of  many  bad  men,  but 
not  of  such  fiends  in  human  shape  as  Tiberius  and  Se- 
janus,  as  Caligula  and  Nero,  and  their  courtiers.  Such 
men  were  not  the  natural  production  of  a  revolution  or 
revolutions,  but  of  the  act  of  a  man  who,  being  entrusted 
with  military  power  by  his  country,  turned  that  power  suc- 
cessfully against  the  country  which  had  so  trusted  him. 
As  Thomas  Scot  said  of  Cromwell — "  Faith  was  broken, 
and  somewhat  else."  And  when  an  incarnate  lie  is  set  up 
and  enthroned  as  the  representative  of  a  nation,  that  na- 
tion cannot  be  pronounced  to  be  in  a  very  healthy  or  hope- 
ful condition. 

As  we  look  mournfully  on  the  last  page  of  these  records  ^ 
of  the  labours  of  statesmen  who,  like  the  Eoman  Senate 
of  ancient  days,  had  destroyed  empires,  and  shown  them- 
selves more  powerful  than  kings ;  and  reflect  that  their 
free  and  far-extending  thoughts  and  counsels  were  to  be 
succeeded  but  by  a  troop  of  "  creature  colonels,"  and  by 
the  statesmanship  of  the  barrack-room,  we  may  say  of 
them  and  of  their  fate — Farewell  the  free  debate,  where 
mind  meets  mind,  and  the  result  is  determined  by  the 


'  I  mean  the  last  page  of  the  Order     different  body  from  CromwelVs  Conncil 
I  Books  of  THE  Council  of  State,  a  very     of  State. 


1653.]        CONSEQUENCES  OF  CROMWELL'S   CONDUCT. 

reason  of  the  most  powerful  intellect,  not  by  the  domineer- 
ing will  of  a  man  at  the  head  of  a  band  of  soldiers  ! — Fare- 
well the  statesman-thought,  the  high  design,  which,  seeking 
something  higher  than  self,  commands  the  respect  of  free- 
born  men  even  in  its  very  errors ;  and,  far  more  than  "  the 
plumed  troop  and  the  big  wars  "  of  him  whose  god  is  "  self 
in  the  highest,"  "  makes  ambition  virtue  !  " 

The  consequences  of  CromwelPs  proceeding,  by  which  he 
had  substituted  for  the  Council  of  Statesmen  a  barrack- 
room  Council  of  "  creature  colonels,"  soon  began  to  show 
themselves.     Cromwell,  in  the  hour  of  his  extremity  at 
Dunbar,  said,  in  that  letter  he  wrote  to  Haselrig,  "  Let  H. 
Vane  know  what  I  write  ;  I  would  not  make  it  public,  lest 
danger  should  accrue  thereb3r.*^--^iiadiioti:hen  occurred 
to  him  to  pray  that  "  The  Lord  would  deliver  him  from  Sir 
Henry  Vane  !  "     It  was  indeed  in  an  evil  hour,  for  himself 
as  well  as  others,  that  he  so  prayed— in  that  fit  of  insanity, 
in  which  he  blasphemously  gave  to  the   Evil  Spirit  who 
had  taken  possession  of  him  the  name  and  attributes  of  the 
Omnipotent.    Had  the  voice  of  that  Sir  Henry  Vane,  whom 
he  loaded  with  scurrilous  reproaches,  been  heard,  as,  in  the 
days  that  could  return  no  more,  it  had  been  heard  in  the 
Council  of  State,  the  expedition  against  Hispaniola  would 
never  have  been  undertaken  ;  or  if,  by  any  chance,  it  had 
been  undertaken,  it  would  have  been  placed  under  very 
different  leaders  from  Penn  and  Venables.     The  expedition 
was,  in  itself,  a  distinct  departure  from  the  policy  of  the 
statesmen  of  the  Commonwealth,  who  in  all  their  measui^s 
had    observed    those    rules   of    "morality   and   common 
honesty,"  which  Vane  told  Cromwell  he  had  violated  in 
his  expulsion  of  the  Parliament.     It  was  a  positive  viola- 
tion of  treaty,  as  unwarrantable  as  Frederic  II. 's  attack  on 
Silesia. 

I  I  2 


/ 


/ 


/ 


/ 


484 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Chap.  XVI. 


Cromwell  had  now,   however,  taken   up   his  lot  with 
the  common  herd  of  robber-tyrants,  who,  provided  their 
villanies   are  successful,  are  hailed  as  gods  upon  earth. 
And  as  one  principal  occupation  of  those  lofty  personages 
is  to  rob  one  another,  Oliver  Cromwell  bethought  him,  after 
having  so  infamously  cheated  the  English  nation,  of  com- 
mitting a  robbery  on  a  large  scale  on  his  brother  and  ally 
the  King  of  Spain,  as  the  best  method  he  could  devise  of 
purchasingthe  freedom  of  the  high  company  into  which 
he  had  thrust  himself.     But  even  there  Cromwell  failed  in 
r  establishing  a  parallel  favourable  to  himself,    "who,"  as 
I  Cowley  says,  "  for  his  particular  share  of  it,  sat  still   at 
1  home,  and  exposed  them  "so  fi-ankly  abroad."  ^     Cowley 
i  should  have  added,  too,  that  he  exposed  them  in  a  pestilen- 
tial climate.^     Napoleon  Bonaparte  accompanied  his  army 
to  Moscow.  If  Oliver  Cromwell  wanted  the  glory  of  foreign 
conquest  to  gild  over  his  perfidy  and  villany,  he  should 
have  accompanied  his  fleet  to  the  West  Indies,  and  shown 
the  world  whether  his  genius  and  valour  were  equal  to 
the  task  of  averting  the  disgrace  which  in  that  disastrous 
expedition  fell  so  heavily  upon  the  arms  of  England. 

Even  after  that  disgraceful  failure,  the  genius  and 
valour  of  Blake  could  still  gain  many  victories  and 
triumphs  for  England,  though  Blake's  fleets  were  no 
longer  equipped  and  provisioned  as  they  had  been  by  the 
great  statesmen  of  the  Commonwealth ;  and  Blake's  own 
premature  death  may  in  great  part  be  attributed  to  the 


'  Cowley's  Discourse,  by  Way  of 
Vision,  concerning  the  Government  of 
Oliver  Cromwell. 

"^  For  a  description  of  their  sufferings 
from  the  pestilential  climate,  see  Ad- 
miral Penn's  Journal,  published  in  Mr. 
Granville  Penn's  Memorials  of  Ad- 
miral Sir  William  Penn,  vol.  ii.  p.  56 


et  5^5'.— "The  fever  and  flux  have 
been  so  general,"  writes  Admiral  Penn 
to  Cromwell,  "  that  'tis  rare  to  find  a 
man  that  hath  escaped  either  one  or 
both  of  them."— Penn  to  Cromwell, 
June  6,  1655,  in  Granville  Penn,  vol. 
ii.  p.  112. 


1653.] 


THE   GLORIOUS  CAHEER  OF   BLAKE. 


485 


culpable  neglect  of  the  usurper,  who  was  too  much  occu- 
pied with  the  intrigues  for  his  own  further  personal 
aggrandisement  to  pay  due  attention  to  the  naval  afi*airs 
of  the  State.  For  Blake's  death  was  certainly  owing 
to  his  health's  being  thoroughly  broken,  by  his  being 
kept  at  sea  so  long  without  intermission ;  and  his  ships 
were  rendered  so  foul  that,  under  any  commander  but 
himself,  they  would  have  been  quite  unserviceable. 

As  I  have  said,  none  of  the  great  spirits  of  the  English 
Commonwealth  ever  more  acted  with  Cromwell — except 
Blake,  whose  strong  and  noble  passion  for  the  honour  of 
his  country  still  led  him  to  fight  that  country's  foreign 
enemies,  and  whose  resistless  energy,  directed  by  the  in- 
stinct of  genius,  was  such  that,  wherever  he  led,  victory  was 
still  his  companion,  till  he  "  who  would  never  strike  to  any 
other  enemy,  struck  his  topmast  to  Death."  From  Cadiz  to 
Leghorn,  from  Leghorn  to  Tunis,  from  Tunis  to  Santa  Cruz, 
his  fleet  held  on  its  victorious  course.  To  him,  as  to  his 
antitype  of  later  days,  whom  England  delights  to  honour, 
while  to  Blake  she  has  as  yet  refused  even  a  tomb : — 

To  him,  as  to  the  burning  levin 
Short,  bright,  resistless  course  was  given  ; 
Where'er  his  country's  foes  were  found, 
Was  heard  the  fated  thunder's  sound, 
Till  burst  the  bolt  on  yonder  shore, 
RoU'd,  blaz'd,  destroy'd — and  was  no  more ! 

But  the  honour  of  the  exploits  of  Blake  belongs  to  himself, 
and  to  the  great  statesmen  of  the  Commonwealth,  who  had 
first  discovered  his  genius,  and  had  created  the  powerful 
navy  which  that  genius  led  to  victory.  Very  different,  as 
we  have  seen  in  the  business  of  Hispaniola,  was  the 
result  when  the  genius  of  Cromwell  was  left  to  its  own 
resources. 

Plato  and  Tacitus  have  exhausted  the  powers  of  language 


\ 


\ 


/ 


486  COMMONWKALTH   OF  ENGLAND.  [Chap.  XVI. 

in  depicting  those  "wounds  and  lacerations  "  which  the 
minds  of  tyrants  would  disclose  if  they  were  laid  open. 
Some  traces  of  those  mentaJ  tortures  may  be  discerned 
even  on  their  outward  aspects,  and  sometimes  where  the 
inteUectual  grandeur  of  the  head  and  face  renders  the 
.  ettect  more  remarkable ;  as  in  that  immortal  marble  '  in 
that  look  of  the  great  Dictator,  which  is  so  instinct  at 
once  with  mind  and  courage,-aTira  mcTr^  ffiai  human  in- 
teUigence 'shone  through  it,  strangely  combined  with  an 
expression  about  the  mouth  of  tremulous  sensibiHty,  and 
as  if  the  mmd  within  were  so  powerful  as  to  have  preserved 
a  serenity  showing  no  tra^e  of  aJl  that  stormy  and  eventful 
past-of  years  of  war,  of  toil,  of  mental  anxiety,  of  bodUy 
suffering,  of  superhuman  success-save  something  of  an 
air,  partly  stem,  partly  anxious,  partly  melancholy,  which 
,  may  perhaps  indicate  remorse,  and  which  seems  to  forebode 
but  not  to  fear,  a  terrible  fate.  ' 

The  great  English  Protector's  face  is  a  far  less  inteUec- 
tual one  than  that  of  the  great  Roman  Dictator,  and  I 
have  never  seen  any  portrait  of  it  which  evinces  any  trace 
ot  this  look  of  anxiety  observable  in  the  bust  of  Cresar  to 
which  I  refer.     But  I  have  seen  in  the  State  Paper  Office 
signaTures  of  Cromwell's  ("  Oliver  P.")    in  1656,  which 
from  their  extremely  tremulous  character,  betray  either 
very  great  mental  anxiety  or  very-gr'St  bodQy  weakness. 
Could  this  be  the  effect  of  what  is  caUed  remorse,  or  at 
least  of  that  torture  of  the  mind  arising  from  the  uneasy 
the  rackmg  consciousness  that  he  had  committed  a  gigantic 
crime  m  vain  ?    These  signatures  are  strikingly  different 
from  his  signatures  of  earlier  days-even  from  his  signa- 
ture two  years  before,  in  1654.     As  we  look   at  these 
tremulous  signatures,  and  remember  that  the  writer  was 

'  The  bust  of  Julius  Caear  in  the  British  Museum. 


1653.] 


REMORSE. 


487 


not  sixty  years  of  age,  we  are  tempted  to  ask,  is  this  the 
man  whose  adamantine  nerves  some  ten  years  before,  after 
all  the  toil  and  excitement  of  the  day  of  Haseby,  could 
still  before  he  slept^^wrrte"  CBat  letter  to  the~S|5^aker  in 
such  firm,  bold,  and  distinct  characters  ?  But  "when  he 
penned  that  letter,  on  the  night  of  the  14th  of  June  1645, 
his  conscience  was  as  clear  as  that  which  enabled  Vane 
and  Scot,  and  Harrison  and  Sydney,  to  meet  death  with 
such  intrepid  serenity.  To  have  kept  such  a  clear  con- 
science would  have  been  far  better  for  him  while  he  lived, 
and  a  far  greater  honour  to  his  memory,  than  a  dormitory 
among  the  ashes  of  kings.  If  his  saying  on  his  deathbed, 
when  one  of  his  chaplains,  whom  he  had  asked  if  it  was 
possible  to  fall  from  grace,  answered  that  it  was  not  possible, 
"  Then  I  am  safe,  for  I  know  that  I  was  once  in  grace," 
is  accurately  reported,  it  proves  that  he  was  himself  con- 
scious that  he  had  deviated  from  the  path  of  rectitude,  of 
honesty.  In  spite  of  all  his  long-winded  and  involved 
sophistries  to  his  Parliaments,  hcT50tiM"iibt  cheat  his  own 
conscience  :  for  his  was  one  of  those  minds  of  which  Walter 
Scott  says  that,  while  Fear  is  the  scourge  of  cowards. 
Remorse  is  the  torturer  of  the  brave— ^Eglnorse,  which  the 
Greeks  personified  under  the  name  of  the  Erinyes,  or  the 
Avenging  Deities,  and  which,  in  the'  case  of  powerful 
criminals,  whom  no  other  punishment  can  reach,  half 
avenges  the  wrongs  of  mankind  f 


/' 


j 


\ ,  H 


^[6 


/^ 


INDEX. 


f\ 


0^ 


I 


\1 


\) 


-J^' 

^ 


>-^v> 


ABE 

ABERDEEN,   cruelties  of  Montrose 
at,  i.  293-295 

Admiralty,  the  Committee  for  carrying 
on  the  affairs  of,  ii.  268,  269.  See 
Navy 

"  Agreement,  an,  of  the  People  of  Eng- 
]and,"  the  writing  drawn  up  by  Ireton 
and  the  officers  of  the  army,  so  called, 
i.  27-30.  Treatment  of,  by  the  Parlia- 
ment, 31,  32.  John  Lilburne's  andthe 
Levellers'  "  Agreement  of  the  People," 
90-94.  Question  how  far  Ireton  ac- 
quiesced in  the  putting  aside  the 
Agreement  of  the  People  which  he  had 
drawn  up,  211-213 

Algiers,  English  captives  at,  ii.  385 

Ambassador,  Spanish,  conducted  to  an 
audience  by  the  Parliament  through 
streets  lined  with  the  Ironside  cavalry, 
ii.  287,  288 

Ambassadors,     Danish,     diet    allowed  - 
them,  ii.  359.    Permitted  to  killveni^ 
son  in  Hyde  Park  and  in  Hampton 
Court  Park,  360 

Ambassadors,  Dutch,  diet  allowed  them, 
ii.  359.     See  Dutch  Ambassadors        >' 

Ambassadors,  manner  of  giving  audienc^ 
to,  ii.  278 

Amboyna,  the  affair  called  "  The  An^ 
boyna  Massacre,"  ii.  285,  286      J^ 

Antinomians,  i,  77-80  ^ 

Antrim,  the  Earl  of,  a  commission 
granted  to,  by  Charles  I.,  to  raise  an 
Irish  army  to  be  employed  against 
Scotland,  i.  131,  132 

Arg}'le,  Marquis  of,  i.  280  and  note 

Army,  Parliamentary,  the,  i.  60.   New 
regiments  raised  for  the   service   of^ 
Ireland,    63,   64.     Composition   an^ 
state  of,  72-77.    Influence  of  pam^  I 


BAI 

lets  on  the  soldiers  of,  83,  84.  Com- 
ponent parts  of,  95,  96.  Representa- 
tion of,  to  Parliament,  in  1647,  drawn 
up  by  Ireton  with  the  assistance  of 
Cromwell  and  Lambert,  ii.  247-250. 
Pay  of,  412-414.  Clarendon's  cha- 
racter of,  141 

Army,  Scottish,  how  raised  and  how 
composed,  i.  319-323.  Strong  posi- 
tion of,  under  David  Leslie,  i.  343, 
350,  351 ;  ii.  143,  144.  Moves  south- 
ward by  rapid  marches,  145.  In- 
vades England,  155.  Totally  defeated 
at  Dunbar,  i.  360,  369  ;  at  Worces- 
ter, ii.  195 

Ascham,  assassination  of,  i.  311,  312. 
The  Parliament  insist  upon  justice 
being  done  on  the  murderers  of,  ii. 
288,  289 

Aubrey,   his   account  of    Dr.  William 
"  Harvey,  the  discoverer  of  the  circula- 
tion of  the  blood,  ii.  12,  note.     His 
character  of  Thomas  Challoner,  79, 
9iote 

4von,  the  River,  important  battles 
fought  on,  ii.  187,  189 

Ayscue,  Sir  George,  ii.  103,  105.  Cla- 
rendon's character  of,  272.  Never 
employed  again  after  his  engagement 
with  Ruyter,  346,  347 


BACON,  Francis,  his  peerage  conferred 
not  for  his  merits,  but  for  his  de- 
merits, i.  3.  His  account  of  Empson 
and  Dudley,  ii.  15,  note 
Baillie,  Robert,  Letters  and  Journals  of, 
compared  with  Strafford's  Letters  and 
Despatches,  as  furnishing  an  accurate 
knowledge  of  those  times,  i.  271 


f 


1 


490 


INDEX. 


BAT 


INDEX. 


491 


y* 


Bates,  Dr.  George,  physician  and  pane- 
gyrist of  Charles  II.,  gross  misstate- 
ments of,  i.  345,  note  ;  ii.  198-200 

Baxter,  Kichard,  chaplain  for  two  years 
to  the  principal  Ironside  regiment,  i. 
95.  His  account  of  Cromwell  and 
the  Parliamentary  army,  72-84 

Bell,  John,  a  Scotch  Presbyterian 
minister  of  the  Gospel,  "inclined 
to  think  the  murder  of  Sir  James 
Standsfield  by  his  son  was  a  violent 
murder  committed  by  wicked  spirits," 
i.  276,  note 

Berry,  James,  Major-General,  i.  72,  75, 
76 

Black,   David,   a   Scotch    Presbyterian 
churchman,  says  that  God  has  given 
the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to 
the  Church,  and  that  the  clergy  "  are 
empowered    to   deliver  unto   Satan, 
and  to  lock  out  from  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,"  i.  267 
Blake,  Robert,  Admiral  and  Colonel,  i. 
y      50,  175;  ii.  57,  58.     Incident  in  his 
last  action,  showing   the  height  to 
which  he  raised  the  naval  power  of 
England,  ii.  30,  31.    His  birth  and 
early  life,  32-36.     His  character,  39. 
His  defence  of  Lyme  and  Taunton,,-' 
40,  41,     Opposed  to  the  King's  ex^ 
cution,  49,   50.      Appointed   one   of 
the  Generals  of  the  Fleet,  i.  50  ;  ii. 
57,    58.       Letter    from,    to    Crom- 
well,  67,   68.      Sent  in   pursuit   of 
Prince  Rupert,  69,  70.     Instructions 
to,  73,    74.     Additional  instructions 
to,  81,  82.     Attacks  the  Portuguese 
Brazil  fleet,  88.     Destroys  Rupert's 
fleet,  90-92.     Captures  four  French 
ships  ;  the   Scilly  Isles   surrendered  J^ 
to,  103,  104.     Exertions  of,  to  obtairf^ 
prompt    payment    of   the    seamen's 
wages,  229.  Commission  of,  for  1652, 
as  Admiral  and  General  of  the  fleets 
of  the  Commonwealth   of  England, 
296,  297.     Resemblance  of  the  cha- 
racter of,   to  that   of  Nelson,   313. 
First  meeting  of,  with  Tromp,  315. 
Thanked    by    the    Parliament    and 
Council    of    State    for    his   victory 
off  Dover,  321,   322.     His  northern 
expedition,     337-339.       Blake    and 
Tromp,   -when   preparing  for  action 
among  the  Shetland  Isles,  separated 
by  a  sudden  tempest,  340-343.  Blake 
returns  from  the  North,  344.  Defeats 


CMS 


a  French  fleet  under  the  Duke  of  Ven- 
dome,  347,  348.     Defeats  the  Dutch 
admirals,  De  Witt  and  De  Ruyter,  off 
the  North  Foreland,  349-356.    Is  de- 
feated in  the  Battle  of  Dungeness,  in 
which  he  had  only  37  ships,  against 
95  commanded  by  Tromp,  374-377. 
Defeats  the  Dutch  fleet  in  the  Battle* 
of  Portland,  396-407.     Exploits  of, 
in  the  last  ten  months,  408.     Effect 
of,  on  Cromwell,  437.    Neglect  of  his 
fleet  by  Cromwell,  compared  with  the 
care  of  it  by  Vane,  a  complete  proof 
of  the  utter  falsehood  of  Cromwell's 
charges    against   the   Parliament   of 
"  delay  of  business,"  441,  442.    Glori- 
ous cai-eer  of,  485.     His  dead  body 
dragged  from  its  grave  at  the  Restora- 
tion, by  command  of  Charles  II.,  303 
Bond,  Dennis,  nominated  a  member  of 
the  first  Council  of  State,  i.  37.    One 
of  the  tellers  for  the  Noes,  on  the 
question  of  a  New  Parliament,  ii.  233 
Boyd,    Zachary,    rails    at    Cromwell's 
soldiers  to  their  faces  in  the  High 
Church  at  Glasgow,  ii.  141,  note 
Bradshaw,   John,    serjeant-at-law,   ap- 
pointed   at    first   President    of   the 
Council  of  State,  i.  38  ;  though  after- 
wards a  new  President  was  elected 
every  month,  ii.  235.     His  answer  to 
Cromwell,  when  the  latter  came   to 
expel  the  Council  of  State,  after  hav- 
ing expelled  the  Parliament,  ii.  467 
Bradshaw,  Richard,  resident  from  the     ■ 
Commonwealth  of  England  with  the 
Senate  of  Hamburg,  ii.  24,  note 
Broghill,  Lord,  story  told  by,  respecting 
the  commission  under  the  Great  Seal 
produced  by  those   engaged  in   the 
Irish  massacre,  ii.  5,  note.    His  ac- 
count of  Cromwell's  will,  by  which 
he  had  made  Fleetwood  his  heir,  252, 
note 

Broxburn,  i.  354,  355 
Burghley,  or  Burleigh,  Lord,  character 
of,  ii.  13,  55 


CAL 


CON 


CiESAR,  Julius,  the  evil  in  him  more 
easy  to  imitate  than  the  good,  i. 
127.  His  own  opinion  of  the  conse- 
quences of  his  proceeding — enume- 
rated the  evils  which  would  ensue  to 
all  mankind  from  his  passage  of  the 
Rubicon,  ii.  453.   He  and  Frederic  II. 


/ 


of  Prussia  were  not  deceived  by  the 
shallow  sophistries  by  which  some 
have  sought  to  defend  their  actions, 
ii.  453,  note 

Calamy,  Cromwell  endeavours  to  obtain 
the  concurrence  of,  and  of  others  of 
the  clergy,  in  his  plot  against  the  Par- 
liament, ii.  443, 444.  See  Smectymkus 

Cambridge,  University  of,  men  dis- 
tinguished in  the  Civil  War  of  the 
17th  century,  educated  at,  ii.  241, 
242.  A  letter  ordered  by  the  Council 
of  State  to  be  written  to  the  Master 
of  Trinity  College,  respecting  "  such 
students  of  that  society  as  are  willing 
to  go  to  sea  in  this  summer's  fleet," 
i.  59 

Challoner,  Thomas,  a  member  of  the 
Council  of  State  and  of  the  Commit- 
tee of  the  Navy,  ii.  79.  Aubrey's 
character  of,  ibid.  note.  One  of  the 
commissioners  sent  to  the  fleet  after 
the  Battle  of  Dungeness,  ii.  378 

Charles  I.,  the  French  ambassador's 
opinion  of  his  mental  constitution,  i. 
17.  Political  effects  of  his  trial  and 
execution,  34,  35 ;  ii.  7.  Contrast  b^'^ 
tween  him  and  Cromwell,  i.  J^. 
Charged  by  the  English  House  of 
Commons  with  remissness  in  taking 
steps  to  punish  the  perpetrators  of 
the  Irish  massacre,  i.  132.  Plans  of, 
for  punishing  his  rebellious  English 
subjects,  ii.  2 

Charles  IL,  proclaimed  King  by  the 
Scottish  Parliament,  i.  283,  284.  Ar- 
rival of,  in  Scotland,  310.  Meaning 
of  the  words  "  the  King's  exerting 
himself  in  an  action,"  343-344  and 
note.  His  "  spirit  and  vivacity,"  345. 
Character  of,  by  Buckingham,  ii.  143. 
Conduct  of,  in  the  Battle  of  Worcester, 
ii.  195-198.  False  panegyric  on,  198 
-200.  Escape  of,  to  France,  202, 
203 

"Cheater"  and  *'  Cheat,"  words  derived 
from  the  perversion  of  the  office  of  the 
King's  escheator  by  Empson  and  Dud- 
ley, ii.  16 

Christina,  Queen  of  Sweden,  why  she 
said  toWhitelock,  "These Hollanders 
are  lying  fellows,"  ii.  388,  note 

Clarendon,  Edward  Hyde,  Earl  of,  mis- 
statements of,  as  to  Sir  Henry  Vane,  i. 
83  notCy  ii.  168  ;  as  to  John  Lilburne, 
i.  144 ;  as  to  the  Battle  of  Dunbar, 


(where,  and  in  his  History  generally, 
he  charges  the  whole  Scottish  nation 
with  cowardice),  i.  368,  note  \  as  to  the 
Battle  of  Worcester  (where  he  under- 
takes to  prove  that  King  Charles  was 
a  brave  man,  and  his  army  an  army 
of  cowards),  ii.  197,  198  ;  as  to  the 
character  of  Sir  George  Ayscue,  272. 
His  remarks  on  the  Battle  of  Portland, 
and  on  the  Battle  of  Dungeness,  ii. 
406,  407.  His  character  of  the  Par- 
liamentary armv,  141 

Clerk,  John,  of  Eldin,  his  book  on  the 
subject  of  breaking  the  enemy's  line 
in  a  naval  engagemient,  ii.  306,  307 
and  note  (and  see  Rodney,  Lobd) 

Cockburn's  Path,  the  pass  so  called, 
mistakes  respecting  it  and  Cromwell's 
march,  i.  330-338 

Commissions  to  the  Vice-Admirals  of 
Essex,  Norfolk,  Suffolk,  Kent,  Sussex, 
and  Hants,  to  press  seamen,  i.  58,59  ; 
ii.  325.  See  Wabrants  to  Peess  Sea- 
men and  Pbess-"waebants 

Commonwealth,  the  name  given  by  the 
English  Parliament  to  the  Govern- 
ment after  the  death  of  King  Charles, 
i.  25.  The  Government  not  a  Com- 
monwealth in  the  sense  of  republic, 
33  ;  nor  strictly  Parliamentary  gov- 
ernmentjbeing  without  the  essentials  of 
Parliamentar}'^  government,  a  second 
chamber,  and  a  Parliamentary  opposi- 
tion, 106,  107.  That  the  style  or  title 
should  be,  "  The  Parliament  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  England,"  178. 
Foreign  enemies  of,  ii.  19,  20.  Vigi- 
lance of,  23,  24.  Alone  against  the 
world,  25,  26.  Work  which  it  had 
before  it,  27,  28.  The  Commonwealth 
flag,  59.  Contrast  between  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  Commonwealth  and  Queen 
Elizabeth's  Government,  55,  56,  185, 
186,  280-282.  A  treaty  of  peace 
between  the  King  of  Portugal  and  the 
Commonwealth  of  England,  88,  89. 
Contrast  between  the  Government  of 
the  Commonwealth  and  the  Govern- 
ment of  Charles  II.,  303,  304.  End 
of  the  Commonwealth,  473,  474. 
Character  of  the  Commonwealth-men, 
477,  478.  Character  of  their  suc- 
cessors, 479,  480 

Contrast  between  the  Council  of  State 
of  the  Commonwealth  and  Queen 
Elizabeth's  Council,  ii.   55,  56 ;  be- 


V 


492 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


493 


coo 

tween    the    Governments     of    1658 
and  1651,  ii.  184-186;  between  1585 
and    1652,    ii.     280-282;    between 
165i^  and    1853,   ii.    295,  296;    be- 
tween the  Government  of  the  Com- 
monwealth   and  the  Government  of 
Charles    II.,    ii.    303,  304  ;  between 
Cromwell  in  1647  and  Cromwell  in 
1652,  ii.  430 
Cooper,  Sir  A.  A.  (afterwards  Earl  of 
Shaftesbury),  a  member  of  Cromwell's 
Council  of  State,  ii.  477.     Character 
of,  477,  478,  481 
Council  of  State,  the,  formation  of,   i. 
^.^  24.  Persons  constituting,  37.  Powers 
of,   36.      First    meeting  of,    40,  41. 
Errors  in   political  economy  of,  62. 
Conduct  of,  inregardtofree  quarter  and 
billeting,  compared  with  the  conduct 
of  preceding  and  subsequent  Govern- 
ments, 64-66.      Tyranny  of,   69,  70, 
150  and  note.     Business  and  secre- 
taries and  clerks  of,  116,117.     The 
history  of,  furnishes  a  new  fact  to- 
wards the  formation  of  a  science 
government,  118-122.  Howitdi 

from  the  English  and  American 

net  Council,  ibid.      Numbers  present 
at  the  meetings  of,  123.     Business  of, 
1 63-172.      Election  of,  for  1650,178, 
179.      Went  about  its  work  in  a  dif- 
ferent fashion  from  Queen  Elizabeth 
and  her  Council,  ii.  55,56.    Orders  for 
regulating  the  proceedings  of,   77,  78. 
Example   of   the   tact   of,    105,106. 
Instructions  of,  to  their  ambassadors 
in  Holland,  117,  118.      Vigilance  of, 
against  the  invasion  of  England  by 
the  King  of  Scots  from  Scotland,  and 
by  the  Duke  of  Lorraine  from  Dun- 
kirk and  Ostend,  119-122.     Election 
of,  for  1651,  146,  147.     Energy,  cou- 
rage, and  prudence  of,  on  the  invasion 
of  the  Scots,  and  a  threatened  invasion 
from  the  Continent,  149-151.     Great 
exertions  of,  153-167.     Disband  the 
militia  immediately  after  the  Battle 
of  Worcester,  217.     Election  of,  for 
1652,  234,  235.     Orders  of,  for  the 
management    of    treaties,  283,  284. 
Work  of,   in   1652,  287,288.      Ad- 
vantages arising  from  the  composition 
of,  293.    Orders  (not  given  before)  for 
regulating  proceeding  of,  294.     Great 
energy  and  vigilance  of,  at  this  time, 
(1652),  297,  298.    Great  exertions  of, 


CRO 


to  strengthen  Blake's  fleet,  322-324. 
Care  of,  to  seek  for  fit  men,  and  never 
to  prefer  any  for  favour,  or  by  impor- 
tunity,  358.     Prompt  and  energetic 
proceeding  of,  in  the  case  of  Captain 
Warren,  366,  367.  Commit  a  blunder 
in  sending  twenty  ships  to  the  Medi- 
terranean, 368,  371, 372.     New  Coun- 
cil   of     State    for    165f,  369,  370. 
Great  exertions  of,  to  reinforce  Blake's 
fleet,  377-382.  Their  mode  of  dealing 
with  foreign  Powers,  384.     Labours 
of,  386.     Eelations  of,  with  foreign 
Powers,  387-389.   Orders  of,  relating 
to  the  fleet,  390.     End  of,  467,  468 
"  Covenant,  Solemn  League  and,"  how 
viewed  by  the  Scottish  oligarchy  and 
people,  i.  276.    Words  inserted  in,  by 
Sir  H.  Vane,  ibid,  note 
Crime,  consequences  of  a  great,  success- 
fully committed  by  a  great  man,  ii. 
418,419 
Cromwell,  Oliver,  nominated  a  member 
of  the   first  Council  of  State,  i.  37. 
Appointed    Commander-in-Chief     in 
Ireland,      44.        Kichard      Baxter's 
character  of,  81.     His  strange  fanati- 
cism, 82,  83  and  note.   His  departure 
for  Ireland,   113.     Allowance  to,  as 
General    in    Ireland,    114.       Takes 
Drogheda  and  Wexford    by    storm, 
135-139.     John  Lilburne's  character 
of,  156-159.    Difference  between  the 
amount  of  ability  requisite  to  destroy 
armed  enemies,  and  that  requisite  to 
overreach  and  destroy  friends  who  are 
off  their  guard,  161, 162.    ^2,500  per 
annum  in  land  given  to  him,  176.  Cha- 
racteristic anecdote  respecting,   189, 
190,  313.    Appointed  Commander-in- 
Chief  in  England,  315.   Invades  Scot- 
land,  318-328,  330.      Finds  Leslie's 
position  about  Edinburgh  "  not  to  be 
attempted,"  343.   Having  in  vain  at- 
tempted to  bring  Leslie  to  an  engage- 
ment, retreats  to  Dunbar,  343-350. 
Character  of  Cromwell    as   a  gene- 
ral,   352,   353,    357.     His   taste  for 
practical  jokes,  ii.  37,  38.     His  illness 
in   Scotland,    139,  140.     His  arrival 
before  Worcester,  190.     Defeats  the 
King's  army,  194, 195.  Inconsistencies 
of  his  character,  and  consequent  diffi- 
culty of  analysing  it,  218-220.      His 
alleged  designs,  221.      £4,000  a  year 
settled  on  him,  in  addition  to  £2,500 


CRO 


DUT 


formerly  granted,  222.   His  reception 
by  Parliament,  223.   Why  Ireton  was 
a  check  on  his  ambition,  252-254.  His 
children,  257-259.  Calls  a  meeting  at 
the  Speaker's  house,  and  reopens  the 
question  of  monarchy  or  a  republic, 
which  had  been  settled  by  Parlianaept, 
263-267.     Proof  that  till  within  inew 
weeks  of  his  turning  round  upon  them, 
he  was  keeping  up  the  appearance  of 
being  the  sincere  friend  of  Vane,  Scot, 
and  Sydney,  393,  394.     Effects  of  the 
apotheosis  of,  419.     Displeased  and 
alarmed  by  the  Parliament's  military 
retrenchments,  421, 422.  Conversation 
of,  with  Whitelock,  in  which  he  says, 
"What  if  a  man  should  take  upon  him 
to  be  King  ?  "  427-429.    Contrast  be- 
tween,   in   1652    and  in  1647,    430. 
Answer  to  the  worshippers  of,  431. 
Answer  to  the  defenders  of,  432-434. 
Effect  of  Blake's  victories   on,  437. 
Secures  the  cooperation  of  Lambert 
and  Harrison,  437,  438.    Calumniates 
the  Parliament,  440,  441.     Proof  of 
the  falsehood  of  his  charges,  441,442. 
Endeavours  to  obtain  the  concurrence 
of  Calamy  and  others  of  the  clergy, 
443,  444.     Alteration  in  his  plans, 
447, 448.     Meeting  at  his  lodgings  on 
the    19th  of  April     1653,    449-451. 
Illegal  and  treasonable  character   of 
those  meetings,  452,  455.     Inconsis- 
tency  of    a   statement  of  his,  451. 
First  gets  into  a  rage  with  the  Par- 
liament for  not   putting  an  end  to 
their  sitting,  and  then  gets   into   a 
new  rage  when  he  finds  them  putting 
the  question  for  passing  the  Bill  for 
their  dissolution,  459.       Insults  and 
expels  the  Parliament,  461-464.  His 
madness  was  madness  with  method 
in  it,  465.     His  unproved  assertions, 
469-471  ;    which    he     could     have 
proved,  if  they  had  been  true,  by  print- 
ing and  publishing   the  Parliament's 
Bill  for  their  dissolution,    472,  473: 
His  Council  of  State,  476,  477.     Evil 
consequences  to  England  of  his  con- 
duct, 483,  484 
Cromwell,   Bridget,   Oliver  Cromwell  s 

eldest  daughter,  character  of,  ii.  257 
Cromwell,  Frances,  ii.  258,  259 
Cromwell,   Henry,   a  conversation    of, 

with  Ludlow,  ii.  394 
Cromwell,  Richard,  character  of,  ii.  257 


DANVERS,  Sir  John,  nominated  a 
member  of  the  first  Council  of 
State,  i.  37  ;  but  not  re-elected  in 
February  16|f,  178 

Deane,  Richard,  Admiral  and  Major- 
General,  i.  50,  175;  ii.  57,  58,  192. 
Appointed  one  of  the  Generals  of  the 
Fleet,  i.  50;  ii.  58,  381 

Denbigh,  Basil,  Earl  of,  nominated  a 
member  of  the  first  Council  of  State, 
i.  37.  Signs,  as  President  of  the 
Council  of  State  for  the  time,  the 
commission  to  Popham,  Blake,  and 
Deane,  to  command  the  fleet,  ii.  58 

Denmark,  King  of,  the,  arrival  of  am- 
bassadors from,  ii.  359.  Seizes  a 
fleet  of  English  merchantmen,  la- 
den with  naval  stores,  in  the  harbour 
of  Copenhagen,  360-362 

Derby,  the  Earl  of,  defeated  by  Colonel 
Robert  Lilbume,  ii.  181.  Went 
wounded  into  Worcester,  192.  Be- 
headed, 213 

Despotism,  progress  of,  in  Europe,  ii. 
21,  22.  Effect  on  the  Romans  of  the 
despotism  of  Julius  Caesar,  416.  A 
good  despotism  is  a  false  ideal,  417 

Divine  Right  of  Kings,  the,  ii.  7-14 

Divine  Right  Nobility,  i.  2,  3,  13;  ii. 

17,  18 
Divine   Right   Tyranny,  i.   16-18;    ii. 

11,  15,  16 

Dorislaus,  Dr.,  resident  in  Holland  for 
the  Parliament,  assassination  of,  i. 
97,  98.     Funeral  of,  104 

Down  Hill,  i.  353-355 

Dragoons,  difference  between  "Horse" 
and  "  Dragoons,"  i.  44-46.  Numerical 
proportion  of  dragoons  to  horse  about 
1  to  6,  i.  44  and  ii.  154 

Drogheda,  storm  of,  i.  135-139 

Dudley,  Robert,  Earl  of  Leicester,  cha- 
racter of,  ii.  14—18 

Dunbar,  Battle  of,  i.  357  et  seq.  The 
only  land  battle  in  these  wars  (except 
the  battles  fought  by  Montrose)  in 
which  any  great  degree  of  generalship 
was  shown,  372,  373.  Explanation 
of  the  great  disproportion  between 
the  loss  of  the  conquered  and  that  of 
the  conquerors  at,  389-392.  Treat- 
ment of  prisoners  taken  at  the,  378- 
384 

Dundee  taken  by  storm,  ii.214,  215 

Dungeness,  Battle  of,  ii.  374-376 
.    Dutch  Ambassadors  Extraordinary,  the, 


494 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


495 


DUT 


/ 


received  by  the  English  Parliament 
and  Council  of  State  with  punctilious 
courtesy,  ii.  274-277.  Audience 
given  to  them  by  the  Parliament, 
278,  279,  283.  Depart  from  London 
and  act  the  part  of  spies,  335,  336 

Dutch  Government,  the,  character  of,  in 
1651,  ii.  114-116.  Advantages  of, 
291,  292.  Keal  cause  of  the  war 
with  England  on  the  part  of,  308. 
While  they  profess  to  desire  peace, 
prepare  for  and  mean  war,  310.  The 
Parliament  charge,  with  attempting 
to  destroy  their  fleet  hy  surprise 
during  a  treaty,  329-334 

Dutch    merchants,   the,   great    loss   of' 
ships  and  goods  by,  ii  327,  328        ^ 

Dutch  prisoners  in  England,  good  treat- 
ment of,  ii.  363,  364 

Dutch  prize-goods,  disposal  of,  by  the 
Council  of  State,  ii.  365,  366 

Dutch  war,  the,  beginning  of,  ii.  317- 
320.  Dishonourable  end  of,  made 
by  Cromwell  f»p  his  KFfttstl  purposes, 
ii.  232       —       —        r    i'       , 


EDINBURGH    CASTLE,    surrender 
of,  i.  385,  386 

Eglinton,  the  Earl  of,  considered  the 
Stool  of  Eepentance  "  the  best  seat  in 
the  Kirk,"  and  therefore  said  he 
should  "  always  sit  there  for  the  fu- 
ture, as  he  did  not  see  a  better  man 
to  take  it  from  him,"  i.  269 

Empson  and  Dudley,  the  escheators  of 
Heniy  VIL,  ii.  15,  16.  Origin  of  the 
word  «'  cheat"  or  "  cheater,"  16.  Es- 
teemed by  the  people  as  the  King's 
"horseleeches  and  shearers,"  15,  note 

England,  alone  against  the  world  in 
165L  ii.  25,  26.  England's  claim  to 
the  honour  of  the  flag,  309 

Evanson,  a  captain  of  Whalley's  regi- 
ment, orthodox  according  to  Baxter, 
i.  74 

Excise,  amount  of,  for  three  years  from 
the  Oi-der  Book,  showing  the  great 
exaggeration  in  Sir  John  Sinclair's, 
and  the  much  greater  in  Clement 
"Walker's  account,  i.  173 


GRE 


/ 


FAIRFAX,  Thomas,  Lord,  nominated 
a  member  of  the   first  Council  of 
State,  i.  37.   Resigns  his  commission. 


as  Commander-in-Chief,  i.  314.  Buck- 
ingham's character  of,  ii.  416 
Fanatics,   honest,    are   not  necessarily 
honest  men,  i.   274,  275.     Language 
of  the  Presbyterians  and  Independ- 
ents to  each  other,  324,  325 
Fifth  Monarchy  men,  i.  77-80 
Flag  of  the  Commonwealth,  ii.  59 
Fleet,  estimate  of  the  charge   of  the, 
for  1650,  i.  175.     Revolt  of  a  part  of 
the,  from  the  Parliament,  ii.  51,  52. 
See  Blake,  Robert,  and  Navy 
Fleetwood,  Charles,  Lieutenant-General, 
commands  a  brigade  at  the  Battle  of 
^      Worcester,  ii.  193.     One  of  the  Inns 
of  Court  Life  Guard,  ii.  243  and  7iote. 
Appointed  Ireton's  successor  in  Ire- 
land, 261.   Lord  Broghill's  story  that 
Cromwell  had   made   him   his  heir, 
253,  note 
Fleming,  Sir  Oliver,  Master  of  the  Ce- 
remonies to  the  Parliament,  petition 
of,  ii.  357 
Flintlocks,  proportion  of,  to  matchlocks, 

i.  68 
Fortescue,   Sir  John,   Lord  Chancellor 
under  Henry  VI,,  in  his  work  on  the 
"  DiiFerence  between  an  Absolute  and 
Limited  Monarchy,"  deals   honestly 
with  the  passage  of  Scripture,  with 
which  James   I.    and   Hobbes   have 
dealt  so  dishonestly,  for  the  purpose 
of  establishing  the  doctrine   of  the 
Divine  Right   of  Kings,   ii.    9,    10, 
note 
Frederic  II.  of  Prussia's  own  opinion  of 

some  of  his  actions,  ii.  453  7iofe 
Frost,  Walter,  appointed  Secretary  to 
the  Council  of  State,  i.  39.  Salary  of, 
i.  117.  Death  of,  ii.  299 
Frost,  Walter,  the  younger,  son  of  the 
preceding.  Assistant  Secretary  to  the 
Council  of  State,  i.  116;  ii.  119.  Sa- 
lary of,  i.  117.  Continued  in  his 
place  on  the  death  of  his  father,  ii. 
299 


GRE 


HEV 


GARRISONS,  reduction  of,  i.  113. 
Retrenchment  of,  ii.  421 
Grey,  Thomas,  Lord,  of  Groby,  nomi- 
nated a  member  of  the  first  Council 
of  State,  i.  37.  A  commission  granted 
to,  "  to  command  the  forces  of  Leices- 
ter, Northampton,  and  Rutland,"  on 


the  invasion  of  the  Scots,  ii.  163-165, 
and  163  note 

Grey,  William,  Lord,  of  Werke,  nomi- 
nated a  member  of  the  first  Council 
of  State,  i.  37 ;  but  not  re-elected  in 
February  16f?,  i.  178 

Guise,  Dukes  of,  a  branch  of  the  House 
of  Lorraine,  their  affinity  to  the 
Stuarts,  ii.  4.  Henrj,  Duke  of,  his 
concern  in  the  massacre  of  St.  Bar- 
tholomew, ibid. 

Gustavus  Adolphus,  King  of  Sweden, 
was  the  first  who  introduced  the  use 
of  the  cartridge,  i.  167.  None  of  the 
Scots'  regiments  which  had  been  in 
the  service  of,  were  engaged  in  these 
wars,  though  some  officers  that  had 
served  under  him  were  in  the  service 
of  the  Scots'  Parliament,  i.  322, 
323 


H 


AMILTON,  James  Hamilton,  Mar- 
quis of  (commonly  called  Duke  of), 
/Q^  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  party  of  the 
i^W  "Engagement,"  i.  258  ;  all  of  whom 
were  brought  to  the  Stool  of  Repen- 
tance, i.  269,  270.  His  mode  of  levy- 
ing men  for  his  expedition  into  Eng^ 
land ;  many  yeomen  in  Clydesdale 
fled  from  their  houses  to  Loudoun 
Hill  to  avoid  being  pressed,  320. 
Tried  by  a  High  Court  of  Justice  and 
beheaded,  48 

Hamilton,  William  (brother  and  heir  of 
the  preceding),  was  severely  wounded 
at  the  Battle  of  Worcester,  and  died 
of  his  wounds  four  days  after  the 
battle,  ii.  194 

Harrington,  Sir  James,  nominated  a 
member  of  the  first  Council  of  State, 
i.  37.  One  of  those  who  always  op- 
posed Cromwell's  usurpation  and  ty- 
ranny, ii.  444 

Harrison,  Thomas,  Major-General,  Roy- 
alist calumny  and  scurrility  respect- 
ing, i.  77.  His  wild  religious  enthu- 
siasm, and  his  daring  as  a  soldier,  78. 
His  fearless  demeanour  on  the  scaf- 
fold, 79.  Was  to  Cromwell  what 
Murat  was  to  Bonaparte,  ii.  94. 
Commands  the  forces  raised  by  the 
Council  of  State  to  oppose  the  Scots' 
army,  ii.  150,  151,  153,  179.  One  of 
the  members  of  the  Inns  of  Court 
who,  at  the   beginning  of  the  Civil 


/ 


/ 


War,  composed  the  Earl  of  Essex's 
life-guard,  ii.  244.  Conversation  of, 
with  Ludlow,  438-440.  The  dupe  of 
Cromwell's  strong  professions  of  ho- 
nesty and  saintship,  440.  So  that  he 
stoutly  asserted  **  he  was  assured  the 
Lord-General  sought  not  himself,  but 
that  King  Jesus  might  take  the  scep- 
tre," to  which  it  was  replied  that 
"  Christ  must  come  before  Christmas, 
or  else  He  would  come  too  late,"  445. 
Cromwell's  character  of,  '*  An  honest 
man,  and  aims  at  good  things,  yet, 
from  the  impatience  of  his  spirit,  will 
not  wait  the  Lord's  leisure,"  443. 
Refuses  to  make  his  escape  at  the 
Restoration,  480,  note 

Haselrig,  Sir  Arthur,  John  Lilburne's 
charge  against,  i.  195  and  note.  John 
Lilburne's  charge  of  rapacity  against 
Haselrig,  supported  by  a  statement 
of  Sir  Roger  Twysden,  ii.  424,  425. 
One  of  those  who  always  opposed 
Cromwell's  usurpation  and  tyranny, 
444  note,  and  452  note 

Henrietta  Maria,  Queen  of  Charles  I., 
her  name  connected  with  the  Irish 
massacre,  i.  132  ;  ii.  4  and  note.  Plans 
of,  for  punishing  her  husband's  re- 
bellious English  subjects,  ii.  2 

Henry  III.,  King  of  France,  character 
of,  ii.  8,  12 

Henry  VIL,  King  of  England,  employed 
Empson  and  Dudley  in  oppressing, 
"  cheating,"  and  pillaging  the  people 
of  England,  ii.  15,  16.  Substituted 
for  the  old  English  nobility  a  nobi- 
lity composed  of  such  persons  as 
Empson  and  Dudley,  1 7 

Henry  VIII.,  King  of  England,  gave  up 
to  the  executioner  Empson  and  Dud- 
ley, ii.  15.  But  continued  the  work 
of  his  father  in  oppressing,  plunder- 
ing, and  degrading  the  English  na- 
tion, and  in  direct  violation  of  his 
promise,  solemnly  declared  in  Parlia- 
ment, that  none  of  the  Church  pro- 
perty (which  had  become  national 
property)  should  be  converted  to  pri- 
vate use,  but  that  it  should  be  applied 
to  the  necessary  expenses  of  govern- 
ment, and  thus  save  the  people  from 
taxation,  distributed  it  among  court 
lackeys,  cooks,  and  turnspits,  ii.  239, 
240 

Heveningham,  William,    nominated    a 


i 

\ 


496 


INDEX. 


/ 


^ 


y 


/ 


■r 


HOB 
member  of  the  first  Council  of  State, 
i.  37.      John    Lilbnrne's    letter  to, 
i.  147  and  note 
Hobbes,  Thomas,  in  his  "Leviathan," 
undertakes  to  establish  the  doctrine 
of  the  Divine  Eight  of  Kings  by  the 
perversion  and  mutilation  of  the  8th 
chapter  of  the  First  Book  of  Samuel, 
ii.  9,  note.     Though  not  the  slave  of 
words,  the  slave  of  fear — a  circum- 
stance which,  notwithstanding  his  in- 
tellectual power,   coloured   and  dis- 
torted much  of  his  philosophy,  110, 
note 
Holland,  relations  of  the  English  Com- 
monwealth with,  i.  102.   Dutch  ships 
pressed    for   transporting  troops   to 
Ireland,   103.     The  English  ambas- 
sadors, St.  John  and  Strickland,  in-   \j- 
suited  in,  ii.  112,  113.     Character  oU^ 
the  Government  of,  in  1651,  114-llC 
Eapid  rise   of  the  naval   power   of, 
289,  290.     Advantages  of,  291,  292. 
Eeal  cause  of  the  war  on  the  part  of. 
308 
Holies,  Denzil,   his  description  of  the 
Parliamentary  ai-my,  i.  4,  5;  ii.  141, 
142.     Belonged  to  the  same  class  of 
renegades  as  Monk  and  Shaftesbury, 
ii.  480,  note 
Horse,  difference  between  "  Horse  "  and 
"Dragoons,"  i.  44-46.     "Horse"  to 
•'  Dragoons  "  in  the  proportion  of  6 
t^  1,  i.  44  and  ii.  154 
Howard,   Lord,  of  Escrick,   charge   of 

bribery  against,  ii.  127 
Hutchinson,  John,  Colonel,  nominated 
a  member  of  the  first  Council  of  State, 
i.  37.     Was  a  member  of  the  Council 
of  State  for  the  first  two  years,  but 
not   afterwards,  ii.   147.      Algernon 
Sydney's  character  of,  ii.  132 
Hutchinson,  Mrs.,  misstatements  of,  ii.  >'' 
145-152,   151   note,    256.      Her   ^^ 
count    of  Cromwell's   children   odn- 
sistent,  257 
Hyde,  Edward,  Earl  of  Clarendon.    See 
Clarendon 


JUG 


Parliamentary  General,  composed  of 
members  of,  ii.  243,  244 
Interest  of  money,  the  attempt  of  the 
Government  to  reduce  by  Act  of  Par- 
liament, i.  62 
Invasion  of  England  and  Ireland,  pro- 
jected, by  an  army  under  the  Duke  of 
Lorraine,  ii.  2-4,  119-122,  183,  184 
Invasion  of  England  by  the  Scots,  ii.  155 
Ireland,  preparations  for  the  expedition 
to,  i.  107-112.     The  Irish  massacre 
of  English  Protestants  in  1641,  126- 
133.      Story  told   in   Lord   Orrery's 
Memoirs  respecting  the  commission 
under  the  Great  Seal  under  which  the 
Irish  professed  to  act,  ii.  5,  note.   Ke- 
inforcements  for,  i.  185-188 
Ireton,  Henry,  appointed  Lord  Deputy  of 
''  Ireland,  i.  189.    Refuses  a  grant  from 
the  Parliament  of  2,000/.  a-year  in 
land,  ii.  221.   Death  of,  236.    Family, 
education,  and  military  career  of,  236, 
241-245.     His  "Agreement  of  the 
People,"  27-30;  his  "Representation 
of    the    Army    to    Parliament,"    ii. 
246-250.     Why  he  was  a  check  on 
Cromwell's  ambition,  252,  253 


INDEPENDENTS,  difference  between 
-L     them  and  the  Presbyterians,  as  re- 
garded military  efficiency,  i.  272-274 
Inns  of  Court,  the  officers  of  the  Parlia- 
mentary army,  members  of,  i.  6^  7. 
Life-guard  of  the  Earl  of  Essex,  the 


/ 


JAMES  L,  his  misgovernment,  i.  16. 
His  "  True  Law  of  Free  Monarchies, ' 
in  which  he  imdertakes  to  establish 
the  doctrine  of  the  Divine  Right  of 
Kings,  by  the  perversion  and  mutila- 
tion of  the  8th  chapter  of  the  First 
Book  of  Samuel,  ii.  9,  note.  His  mur- 
der of  the  Earl  of  Gowrie  and  his  bro- 
ther, which  he  called  the  "Gowrie 
Conspiracy,"  14,  note.  Revived  in 
Whitehall  the  infamies  of  the  Louvre 
in  the  time  of  Heniy  III.,  12 

Jermin,  Mr.  Justice,  may  not  give  leave 
to  have  his  conscience  to  err,  by  allow- 
ing the  jury  a  quart  of  sack  amongst 
them,  to  refresh  them,  at  Lilbnrne's 
trial,  i.  246,  247.  His  mode  of  per- 
forming the  duty  of  a  judge,  241,  242 

Jones,  Michael,  Lieutenant-General,  de- 
feats the  army  of  Ormond  before  Dub- 
lin,i.  124,125.  Death of,140.  Character 
given  him  by  Cromwell,  ibid. 

Juggler,  "the  grand  juggler  "  and  "false 
Saint  Oliver,"  names  given  to  Oliver 
Cromwell  by  John  Lilburne,  i.  156, 
158,  160.  Who  was  the  "juggler," 
Vane  or  Cromwell?  ii.  464 


INDEX. 


497 


JUS 


Justiciary,  Chief,  nature  of  the  office  of, 
i.  8,  11,  12.  Exercised  the  judicial 
functions  of  the  grand  seneschal,  or 
Senescallus  Angliae,  18.     &ee  Senes- 

CALLUS   AnGLIJE 


KEBLE,  Richard,  appointed  one  of  the 
Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Great 
Seal,  i.  25.  The  presiding  judge  at 
the  trial  of  John  Lilburne,  i42,  244, 
245,  note.  His  misstatement  of  the 
law  at  Lilbnrne's  trial,  244-246 

Keble,    Joseph,    the    reporter,    son    of 
Richard  Keble,  i.  245,  note 

King,  causes  of  the   abolition   of  the 
office  of,  in  England,  i.  16-18 

Kings,  the  divine  right  of,  ii.  7-14 

Kings  of  Europe,  the,  all  eager  to  join 
a  confederacy  against  the  Common- 


Y 


wealth  of  England,  ii.  19-27 
Kinsale  Harbour,  Rupert  escapes  from, 

y^     ii.  65 

^Kinsale,  surrendered  to  Blake,  ii.  68 

y  Knox,  John,  extract  from  a  form  of 
Church  policy  framed  by, — "the  tyyf''^ 
ranny  of  priests  is  turned  into  the 
tyranny  of  lords  and  lairds," — i.  263. 
Plan  of,  for  the  maintenance  of  a 
national  church,  and  also  of  hospi- 
tals, schools,  and  universities,  out  of 
the  property  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  pronounced  by  the  lords  who 
had  seized  that  national  property  to 
be  a  "devout  imagination,"  but  vision- 
ary and  impracticable,  266 


T  AMBERT,  Major- General,  grant  to, 
/Xi  of  £300  per  annum,  i.  1 H).  Sees 
^  the  effect  of  the  Scots  leaving  their 
position  on  Down  Hill,  i.  359.  His 
reasons  altered  the  opinion  of  the 
Council  of  War  on  the  night  before 
the  Battle  of  Dunbar,  and  Cromwell 
granted  him  the  conduct  of  the  army 
next  morning,  360,  361.  Sent  for- 
ward by  Cromwell,  with  a  large  body 
of  cavalry,  to  obstruct  the  march  of 
the  Scots'  army,  ii.  155,  179.  Ap- 
pointed Ireton's  successor  in  Ireland, 
255.  Quarrels  with  the  Parliament, 
259-261.  His  character,  261,  262. 
Contrast  between  his  behaviour  at 
and   that  of  Vane  at  his, 


his  trial 
169,  170 

VOL. 


II. 


LIS 
Land  forces,  i.  60.     See  Army 
Laud,  Archbishop,  character  of,  as  dis- 
played in  the  correspondence  between 
him  and  Strafford,  i.  271 
Lauderdale,  Earl   of,   i.  282,   283;    i:. 

195,  214.     Character  of,  481,  482 
Lawers,  Laird  of,  i.  254,  255 
Lawyers,    English,    did   not,    like    the 
French,  constitute  a  nobility  of  the 
gown  inferior  to  the  nobility  of  the 
sword,  i.  6-12 
Leicester,    Robert    Dudley,    Earl    of, 

character  of,  ii.  14-18 
Leslie,  Dand,  commander  of  the  Scot- 
tish army,  but  controlled  by  the  Com- 
mittee of  Estates,  i.  341,  342.  His 
prudent  generalship,  343-346.  Is 
defeated  at  the  Battle  of  Dunbar, 
369,  370.  Escapes  from  the  Battle 
of  Worcester,  ii.  199.  Taken  pri- 
soner, 206,  208 
Levellers,  the,  origin  of  the  term,  i.  89. 

The  Levellers'  war  crushed.  90-94 
Lilburne,  Lieutenant-Colonel  John,  com- 
mitted to  the  Tower  upon  suspicion 
of  high  treason,  i.  71,  72.    Petition  in 
his  behalf  gave  offence  to  the  Parlia- 
ment, 85-88.  His  "Agreement  of  the 
People,"  90-94.   Preparations  for  his 
trial,    141,    142.      Clarendon's   mis- 
statements as  to  Lilbnrne's  birth,  &c., 
144-146.     His  letter  to  the  Speaker] 
154,  155.    His  predictions  respecting 
Cromwell,  156,  157.    His  description 
of  the  stormy  debates  in  the  councils 
of  the  officers  of  the  army,  1 59.    Calls 
Cromwell  "the  false  Saint   Oliver," 
whose  object  is  "  self  in  the  highest," 
156,   157.     Trial  of,   191-251.     Ac- 
quittal of,  247-261.   Lilburne  showed 
a  more  accurate  knowledge  of  the  law 
than  the   Court   and   the   Attorney- 
General,   200,  note;    230,   235,  240, 
244.     Subsequent  career  of,  ii.  270, 
271. 
Lilburne,   Colonel  Robei-t,  petition  of, 
in  behalf  of  his  brother,  .John  Lil- 
burne, i.  146,  147.     Another  petition 
of,  153.     Defeats  the  Earl  of  Derbv 
ii.  181  •^' 

Lisle,  John,  appointed  one  of  the  Lords 
Commissioners  of  the  Great  Seal,  i. 
25.  Nominated  a  member  of  the 
first  Council  of  State,  i.  37 
Lisle,  Lord  Viscount,  nominated  a 
member  of  the  first  Council  of  State, 
K  K 


498 


INDEX. 


/ 


/ 


LOR 

i.  37.  Eldest  son  of  the  Earl  of 
Leicester,  and  brother  of  Algernon 
Sydney,  ii.  129.  Signs,  as  President 
of  the  Council  for  the  time,  Blake's 
commission  for  1652,  297 

Lome,  Lord,  i.  256 

Lorraine,  the  Duke  of,  projected  invasion 
of  England  and  Ireland,  by  an  array 
under  the  command  of,  ii.  2-4,  119 
-122,  183,  184 

Loudoun,  Earl  of,  i,  255,  256.  Sat  on 
the  Stool  of  Repentance  in  his  own 
parish  church,  269 

Ludlow,  Edmund,  Lieutenant-Generalf^ 
nominated    a    member  of   the   first 
Council  of  State,  i.  37.     His  incor- 
ruptible honesty  and  invincible  spirit, 
1.  317.     His  account  of  a  treaty  be- 
tween the  Duke  of  Lorraine  and  Vis- 
count Taff,  for  the  invasion  of  Ireland 
by  foreign  forces,  to  be  transported 
by  the  Dutch   fleet,  ii.    2,  3.     His 
description  of  Cromwell's  flinging  a 
cushion  at  his  head,  53.  Recommends 
Algernon  Sydney  to  Cromwell  as  a  fit 
man  to  command  the  horse  in  Ireland, 
131.     His  account  of  the  invasion  of 
England  by  the  Scots  in  August  1651, 
150.     His  erroneous  statement  that... 
Cromwell  dismissed  the  militia,  21^ 
218.    Owed  his  appointment  of  Lieu- 
tenant-General of  the  Horse  in  Ire- 
land to  Cromwell,  254,  note.       His 
account  of  the  life-guard  for  the  Earl 
of  Essex,  composed  chiefly  of  members 
of    the    Inns   of    Court,   several   of 
whom   were   afterwards   colonels   of 
the  Ironside  regiments,  243,244.  Was 
Commander-in-Chief  in  Ireland  from 
the  death  of  Ireton  till  the  appoint- 
ment of  Fleetwood,  261.     Conversa* 
tion  of,  with  Harrison,  438-440.    iis 
account    of   an    action    brought    by 
Henry  Nevill  against  the  Sheriff  of 
Berkshire,  444,  note 


MOR 


INDEX 


499 


Tl/f  ACAULAY,  Lord,  the  opinion  of, 
i-TJ.  that  there  would  be  no  chance  of 
finding  in  a  Cabinet  of  thirty  members,' 
the  qualities  which  such  a  body  ought 
to  possess — unity,  secrecy,  expedition, 
— disproved  by  the  fact  of  the  efficient 
action  of  the  Council  of  State  of  the 
Commonwealth,  i.  120-122.  His 
opinion  as  to  the  cause  of  the  dif- 


ference between  the  politicians  of  the 
Long  Parliament  and  the  politicians 
who  succeeded  them,  ii.  479 
Mar,  Earl  of,  his  mode  of  forcing  his 
tenants  into  the  Rebellion  of  1715, 
i.  320,  321 
Marshall,   Stephen,    an   eminent   Pres- 
,  byterian  preacher,  i..  181.     His  two 
daughters,  celebrated  actresses  after 
the  Restoration,  182 
Marten,  Henry,  nominated  a  member 
,    of  the  first  Council  of  State,  i.  37. 
A      Grant  to,  of  land,  of  £1,000  a  year,  i. 
110.  Moved  the  House  that  Lilburne 
should  be  liberated  on  security,  141. 
His  saying  of  John  Lilburne,   146. 
His  plea  for  the  continuance  of  the 
Long  Parliament,  ii,  231 
Massacre  of  English  Protestants  in  Ire- 
land,   in    1641,   i.    126-133.      £100 
ordered,  by  the  Council  of  State,  to  be 
paid  to  Mr.  Thomas  Waring,  "  for  a 
book  containing  several  examinations 
of  the  bloody  massacry  \dc\  in  Ire- 
land," ii.  71 
Matchlocks,  proportion  of,  to  flintlocks, 

i.  68 
Milton,  John,  appointed  Secretary  for 
Foreign  Tongues  to  the  Council  of 
State,  i.  47.     Ordered  that  he  shall 
have  lodgings  in  Whitehall,  172.     A 
warrant  issued  to  him  to  view  the 
books   and   papers   of  Mr.   Clement 
Walker,  ihid.     Ordered  to  prepare  an 
answer  to  the  book  of  Salmasius,  ii. 
72.    Thanked  by  the  Council  for  this, 
270.     Labours  of,  ii.  284,  note\  480, 
note 
Monk,  George,  General,  some  points  of 
resemblance  between  him  and  Crom- 
well, i.  326-328.     Commands  a  bri- 
gade of  foot  at  Dunbar,  364,  366,  367. 
Stirling  Castle  surrenders  to,  ii.  214. 
Takes  Dundee  by  storm,  215.     Ap- 
pointed one  of  the  Generals  of  the 
Fleet,  381.     Character  of,  275,  276, 
481 
Montrose,  Marquis  of,  i.  278-280.   Mili- 
tary genius  of,  281.     His  last  expe- 
dition, 290,  291.    Defeated  and  taken, 
292.     His  cruelties  at  Aberdeen,  293 
-295.    His  character,  295-297.     His 
house    at    Old    Montrose,    297-299. 
His  sentence  and  execution,  300-305. 
His  lenity  in  1639,  306-309 
Morley,  Colonel  Herbert,  nominated  a 


MUL 


member  of  the  second  Council  of  State, 
i.  179.  One  of  the  tellers  for  the 
Noes  on  the  question  of  a  New  Par- 
liament, ii.  233.  One  of  the  com- 
missioners sent  to  the  fleet  after  the 
Battle  of  Dungeness,  ii.  378 

Mulgrave,  Edmund,  Earl  of,  nominated 
a  member  of  the  first  Council  of  State, 
i.  37 ;  but  not  re-elected  in  Februarv 
16|§,  i.  178 

Muskerry,  Lord,  ii,  5 

Musketeers,  proportion  of,  to  pikemen, 
i.  66,  67 


lyrAVAL  abuses,  ii.  228,  229 

ll  Naval  tactics,  "  breaking  the  ene- 
my's line,"  not  a  discovery  of  the  18th 
century,  ii.  306,  307,  308,  and  notes ; 
and  see  Clerk,  Mr.,  Penn,  Sir  W. 
Pepys,  and  Rodney,  Lord 

Navigation  Act,  the,  passed  by  the  Par- 
liament, ii.  224.  Policy  of,  i.  101, 
102;  ii.  224,  note 

Navy,  the  affiiirs  of,  i.  49-52.    Increase 
^     of  the  pay  of  officers,  and  improve- 
^«    ment  of  the  seamen's  food,  50,  51; 
ii.  228,  229.     Abuses  in  the  passing 
of  accounts,  and  paying  of  seamen's 
wages,  ii.  227-229.     Distinction  be- 
tween the  Committee  of  the  Navy  and 
the  Commissionerwofthe  Navy,  i.  49, 
note,     intimate  of  the  charge  of  the 
fleet  for  1650, 175.  Committee  of  the, 
ii.  29,  79,  268.     Importance  of,    in 
1651,  46,  47.     ReconsTriictTon  of,  57, 
58.    Increase  of,  71.    Thirty  frigates 
ordered  to  be  built,  356.     1652,  the 
great  naval  epoch  of  England, -305. 
3a6 "     -      --  -> 

Netherlanders,  causes  of  the  change  in 
the  conduct  of  the,  between  1585  and 
1651,  ii.  5,  6 

Nevill,  Henry,  a  member  of  the  Long 
Parliament  and  Council  of  State,  one 
of  those  who  opposed  Cromwell's 
usurpation  and  tyranny  to  the  last, 
ii.  443,  444.  Brought  an  action 
against  the  Sheriff  of  Berkshire  (who 
had  acted  by  Cromwell's  order),  for 
foul  practices  at  the  last  return  for 
that  county,  444,  note.  Contrivance 
of  Oliver  St.  John,  the  Cliief  Justice^ 
to  render  the  verdict  of  the  jury  j£  ' 
that  case  null  and  of  no  effect,   in    | 

K    K 


OVE 


/ 


order  to  gratify  his  master  Cromwell, 
ibid. 

Nobility,  the  English,  effect  of  the  go- 
vernment of  the  Stuarts  in  degradini;, 
i.  3 ;    of  the  government  of  the  Tu- 
dors,  by  giving  the  titles  of  the  great 
historical    families   to    "horseleech" 
lawyers  and  court  minions,  ii.  17.  At 
the   beginning  of  the  17th  century, 
though  new  and  humble  in  their  ori- 
gin, they  displayed  the  insolence  of  a 
conquering  caste,  i.  13.  Great  change 
between  1603  and  1649,  14.     Some 
of,  who  had  the  best  means  of  knowing 
the  virtues  of  kingship,  were  members 
of  the  Government  called  the  Com- 
monwealth, ii.  126,  129.  The  old  Eng- 
lish nobility,  237,  238.    The  new  Eng- 
lish nobility,  239,  240 

Nobility,  the  ancient  English,  wherein 
it  differed  from  the  ancient  Scottish 
nobility,  i.  263,  264 

Nobility,  the  ancient  Scottish,  were  un- 
derstood to  hold  lands  granted  to 
their  ancestors  for  ser\iees  done 
against  foreign  invaders,  and  hence 
the  roots  of  the  titles  to  their  lands 
were  entwined  with  many  heroic  me- 
mories, i.  264,  265.  But  the  roots  of 
the  titles  of  the  Scottish  nobility  to 
the  Church  property  in  Scotland,  the 
whole  of  which  they  seized,  were  en- 
twined with  memories  of  a  very  differ- 
ent kind,  i.  265,  266,  277,  383  ;  ii.  241 


0 'CONNELLY,     Lieutenant  -  Colonel 
Owen,  i.  117,  note 

O'Neale,  Owen  Roe  MArt,  the  Council 
of  State  gave  Colonel  Monk  no  autho- 
rity to  treat  with,  i.  117,  note 

O'Neal,  Sir  Phelim,  i.  128.  His  cruel- 
ties to  the  English  in  1641,  i.  130, 
note 

Oeyras  Bay,  Blake's  fleet  anchored  in, 
ii.  86.  Called  at  that  time  by  the 
English  the  "Bay  of  Weires,"  ii.  83 
and  fwte  2 

Orrery,  Earl  of  (Lord  Broghill),  his  Me- 
moirs quoted,  ii.  5,  fiote,  and  252, 
note.     See  Broghill 

Overton,  Richard,  his  pamphlet  entitled 
"  Martin  Mar-Priest,"  and  more  of  his, 
abundantly  dispersed  among  the  sol- 
diers, i.  83,  84.    The  author,  together 

2 


500 


INDEX. 


OXF 

with  Lieutenant-Colonel  John  Lil- 
burne,  Mr.  William  Walwyn,  and  Mr. 
Tliomas  Prince,  of  an  *'  Agreement  of 
the  People,"  bearing  date  May  1 , 1 649, 
90-94  ;  and  of  "  The  Second  Part  of 
England's  New  Chains  Discovered," 
71 
OxfoKl,  University  of,  men  distinguished 
in  the  Civil  War  of  the  17th  century 
educated  at,  ii.  241,  242 


PAMPHLETS,  great  influence  of,  on 
the  soldiers  of  the  Parliamentary 
army,     i,    83,     84.       E.     Overton's 
"  Martin  Mar-Priest,"  84.     John  Lil- 
burne's  "  England's  New  Chains  Dis- 
covered," i.  70,  71.  His  "Impeachment 
of  Oliver  Cromwell  and  Henry  Ireton, 
Esquires,"  156,  157.  His  "  Legal  Fun- 
damental Liberties  of  England,"  158, 
159,    210,    211,    213.     His    "  Sulvy 
Libertate,"  214,  215.     His  "Agree- 
ment   of    the    People,"    216.      His 
"Outcry   of    the   Young    Men    and 
Apprentices    of  London,"    217-220. 
His  "  Preparative  to  a  Hue-and-Cry 
after  Sir  Arthur  Haselrig,"  220,  221, 
note 
Parliament,  the   Long,  composition  Joi 
the  English  peerage  at  the  opening 
of,    i.  2,  3.     Of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, 4,  5.     Abolishes  the  House  of 
Peers  and  the  office  of  King,  15-18. 
Causes   of   their   dislike   of  nobility 


and  kingship,    16-18.     Errors  com* 
mitted  by,  20-22.     Number  of  mem 
bers   composing,  in    1649-1653,    23. 
Call  the  government  a  commonwealth, 
25.  Their  reasons  for  not  dissolving; 
their  treatment  of  the  "Agreement 
of  the  People,"  31,  32.     Tyranny  of, 
69,  70,  150  and  note.     Their  new  law 
of  treason,  143.     Appoint  an  extra- 
ordinary   tribunal  for    the   trial   of 
John    Lilburne,    142.      Their  style 
with  foreign   Powers,  "The  Pag^- 
ment  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Sg- 
land,"  178.  Their  Puritan  legislation, 
180-182.      Pleas   for,  ii.   230,  231'. 
Policy  of,  much  sounder  than  that 'of 
Cromwell,  348,   349.     Endeavour  to 
countermine    Cromwell    by   drafting 
soldiers  into  the  fleet,  436.     Calum- 
niated by  Cromwell,  440,  441.    Proof 


rOR 

of  the  falsehood  of  Cromwells' 
charges  against,  441,  442.  Deter- 
mine on  an  immediate  dissolution, 
445,  446.  Meeting  of,  on  the  20th  of 
April  1653,  456,  457.  Violent  ex- 
pulsion of,  by  Cromwell,  461-464. 
Departure  of,  466 

Parliament,  "  A  Free,''  cry  for,  ii.  174 
175 

Parliament,  a  New,  petition  for,  i.  149- 
153.     Question  of,  ii.  232,  233 

Pay,  of  the  Parliamentarj^  army,  ii.  41 2- 
414.  Extra,  to  two  regiments  "  out  of 
the  General's  (Cromwell's)  contino-en- 
cies,"  415 

Pembroke,  Philip,  Eari  of,  nominated  a 
member  of  the  first  Council  of  State, 
i.  37.  Had  the  best  means  of  know- 
ing the  character  of  the  Court  of  the 
Stuarts,  ii.  126,  129,  130 
Penn,  Sir  William,  Admiral,  story  told 
by,  of  Prince  Kupert's  cruelty,  ii.  63, 
64.  His  unsuccessful  pursuit,  of  Ru- 
pert, 95,  96.  His  testimony  that  the 
English  fought  in  line  whenever  thev 
beat  the  Dutch,  306 

Pepys,  his  description  of  the  Cabinet 
Council  of  Charles  II.,  and  of  the 
inefficiency  of  the  Royalists  in  the 
naval  service,  ii.  304.  His  report  of 
Sir  W.  Penn's  statement  as  \.q>  jightinq 
in  line  under  the  Commonwealth,  and 
''promiscuously,  to  our  utter  and  de- 
monstrahle  ruin,"  under  Charles  II 
306 

Peters,  Hugh,  proposed  the  burning  of 
all  the  old  recoKla  of  England,  i.  39 

Petition  for  a  New  Parliament,  i.  149- 
153 

Pickering,  Sir  Gilbert,  nominated  a 
member  of  the  first  Council  of  State, 
i.  37.  Algernon  Sydney's  character 
of,  ii.  132 

Pikemen,  proportion  of,  to  musketeers,  i. 
66,  67 

Popham,  Edward,  Admiral  and  Colonel, 
i.  50,  175;  ii.  57,  58.  Instructions 
to,  ii.  83.     Death  of,  176 

Portland,  Battle  of,  ii.  396,  397.  First 
day's  battle,  398,  399.  Second  day's 
battle,  400.  Third  day's  battle,  401, 
402.  Results  of,  403-405.  Efifect 
of,  406,  407 

Portugal,  King  of,  protects  Prince  Ru- 
pert, ii.  84,  85.  A  treaty  of  peace 
concluded  with,  on  the  conditions  in- 


INDEX. 


501 


PRE 


SAI 


sisted   on  by  the  Commonwealth  of 
England,  88,  89 
Presbyterians,  diiference  between  them 
and    the   Independents,   as   regarded 
military  efficiency,  i.  272-274.     Scot- 
tish, 266-277.     Proportion  of,  to  In- 
dependents,   in    the    Parliamentary 
army  and  navy,  ii.  50.     Character  of 
the  expulsion   of  the  Presbyterians 
from  ttie  Parliament  by  the   Inde- 
pendents, as   compared   with    Crom- 
well's expulsion  of  the  Independents, 
455 
Pressing  of  seamen,  i.  53-59.    See  Com- 
missions, Pkess-Warrants 
Press-warrants,   the,  rigour  of,   shown 
by  certain  warrants  of  protection,  ii. 
79,  80,  383 
Previous  Question,  the,  meaning  of  the 

term,  i.  179 
Prideaux,  Edmund,  Attorney-General  at 
Lilburne's  trial,  his  misstatements  of 
law  and  fact,  i.  236-244 
Prisoners,    the,   disposal   of,    after  the 
Battle  of  Dunbar,  i.  378-384 ;  ii.  204. 
After  the  Battle  of  Worcester,  ii.  203- 
214.     Good  treatment  of  the  Dutch 
prisoners,  ii.  363,  364 
Eurefoy,  William,  Colonel,  nominated  a 
/^    member  of  the  first  Council  of  State, 
i.  37.    Treats  Baxter  in  an  imperious 
manner ;    the   remarkable  terms   in 
which   he  spoke  of  Cromwell,  i.  75. 
John  liilburne's  exception  to  Colonel 
Purefoy  as   a   witness  against  him 
221,  222 

Puritanism  in  the  16th  and  17th  cen- 
turies, ii.  11,  12.  The  Divine  Right 
of  Kings  party  sought  to  brand  with 
the  name  of  Puritan  all  men  who 
objected  to  "crimes  natural,  un- 
natural, and  preternatural,  committed 
by  Divine  Right,"  8,  12 
Puritan  Legislation,  i.  179-181 
Puritan  Rebellion,  twofold  character  of 
the,  i.  184 


QUE^N  CATHERINE  DE'MEMCt, 
character  of,  ii.  9,  10  ^ 

Queen  Elizabeth,  folly  of,  in  the  selec- 
tion of  a  successor,  i.  183.  Fascinated 
y  by  the  idea  of  the  divinity  of  king- 
^'     ship,  ii.  8  and  note.     Tyranny  of,  14. 
Council  of,  compared  with  the  Council 
of  State  of  the  Commonwealth,  55, 


56.  Intemperate  and  capricious  pro- 
ceedings of,  in  the  business  of  the 
Netherlands,  1 85.  Her  inefficient  and 
tardy  preparations  for  the  Spanish  in- 
vasion, ibid.  Her  inhuman  neglect 
of  her  soldiers,  ibid.  Her  government 
at  once  imperious  and  feeble,  186 

Queen  Henrietta  Maria,  i.  132;  ii.  2, 
4,  note.     See  Henkietta  Maria 

Queen  of  Navarre,  Margaret  de  Valois, 
character  of,  ii.  10 

Question  of  a  New  Parliament,  ii.  232, 
233 

Question,  the  Previous,  meaning  of  the 
term,  i.  179 


REDUCTION  of  garrisons,  i.  115 
Xt    Regiment,  ordinary  strength  of  a 
regiment   of  foot,  i.  113;    of  horse, 
ibid. 
Retrenchment  of  garrisons,  ii.  421 
Rodney,   Lord,   his    description  of  the 
manoeuvres    of    outflanking    and   of 
breaking  the  enemy's  line  in  answer 
to  those  who  claimed  for  Mr.  Clerk 
the  idea  of  breaking  the  enemy's  line 
as  a  new  discovery,  ii.  306,  307,  and 
note 
Rolle,  Henry,  Lord  Chief  Justice  of*  the 
Upper  Bench,"  nominated  a  member 
of  the  first  Council  of  State,  i.  37 
Rupert,   Prince,  ii.  60-62.     Story  told 
by  Admiral  Penn  of  his  cruelty,  63, 

64.  Escapes  from  Kinsale  Harbour, 

65.  Enters  the  Tagus,  and  is  pro- 
tected by  the  King  of  Portugal,  84, 

85.  His  device  for  destroying  Blake, 

86.  Escapes  from  the  Tagus  with 
his  ships,  88.  His  fleet  destroyed  by 
Blake,  90-92.  His  luck  in  escaping 
from  Cromwell  on  land;-*!*^-  Blake  at 
sea,  92-'94.  His  pretension  to  courage 
coflipai'ed  with  the  courage  of  Blake, 
Cromwell,  and  Harrison,  94.  Penn's 
unsuccessful  pursuit  of,  95,  96 

Ruyter,  Michael  de,  joined  with  Do 
Witt  in  the  command  of  the  Dutch 
fleet,  ii.  346.  Defeated  by  Blake  in 
the  Battle  of  the  North  Foreland,  349- 
356  ;  also  in  the  Battle  of  Portland, 
397-403 


/ 


s 


I* 


'! 


T.  JOHN,  Oliver,  Lord  Chief  Justice 
of  "the  Common  Bench,"  nominated 


502 


INDEX. 


SAI 


a  member  of  the  first  Council  of 
State,  i.  37.  Sent  ambassador  to 
Holland,  ii.  108.  Career  and  cha- 
racter of,  108-112.  Insulted  in  Hol- 
land by  the  Royalists,  1 12, 1 1^"  Re- 
called a^d  Thanked  by  Parliament, 
123-125.  His  speech  to  the  Dutch 
commissioners  at  taking  leave,  124. 
An  example  of  the  way  in  which,  as 
Chief  Justice,  he  sacrificed  the  rights 
of  the  people,  and  violated  the  laws  of 
England,  "to  gratify  his  master  Crom- 
well," 444  note.  Supported  Crom- 
well's plot  against  the  Parliament,  442 

Salisbury,  William,  Earl  of,  nominated 
a  member  of  the  first  Council  of 
State,  i.  37;  one  of  the  peers  who 
had  the  best  means  of  knowing  the 
character  of  the  Court  of  the  Stuarts, 
li.  126.  Present  at  the  last  meeting 
of  the  Council  of  State,  ii.  475 

Scilly  Isles,  the.  Royalist  pirates  in,  ii. 
98-102.     Surrendered  to  Blake,  103, 

/I  I     Scotland,  state  of  aifairs  in,  i.  252,  253. 
Falsification  of  the  history  of,   exem- 
plified in  Scott's  account  of  the  sale 
of  the  King  to  the  English  Parlia- 
ment, 253  ft  scq.     The  Laird  of  Law- 
ers,  254,  255.      The    Scottish  Par- 
liament, 256,  258,  259.     The  power 
of  the  nobility  in  Scotland  the  cause 
of  the  poverty  and  democrat ical  form 
of  the  Scottish  Presbyterian  Church, 
259-262.      Difference    between    the 
English  and  Scottish  feudal   aristo- 
cracies, 263,  264.     The  whole  of  the 
Church  property  in  Scotland  seized 
by  the  nobility,  265,  266.     Scottish 
Presbj-terians,    266,    267.      Scottish 
Presbyterian  clergy-,  268-272.     Their 
credulity   in   regard   to  witches  and 
hobgoblins,  276,  277  and  note.    Their 
pretensions    to    superhuman    power, 
267.      Their    intolerance    compared 
with  that  of  Laud,  270,  271.    Srate  of 
parties  in,  282,  283.    Charles  II.  pro- 
claimed King  in,  283,  284.    Ruptu^ 
of,  with  the  English  Parliament,  284, 
285.     The  Scots'  commissioners  sent 
liome  by  land,  286-289.     The  Scot- 
tish armies,  how  raised  and  how  com- 
posed,   319-323.       Scottish   village^'" 
339-341.     State  of  parties   in,  after 
the  Battle  of  Dunbar,  i.  387,  388 
Scott  (or  Scot)  Thomas,   reports   from 


SOV 


the  committee  appointed  to  nominate 
a  Council  of  State,  i.  36.     Called  by 
John  Lilburne  "  their   Secretary   of 
State,"  188.   Had  charge  of  the  secret 
service,  ibid,  and  ii.  23  note  ;  and  also 
performed  the  duties  of  Secretary  of 
State  for  Foreign  Affairs,   116  note. 
His  plea  for  the  continuance  of  the 
Long  Parliament,  ii.  231.     His  last 
words   in  Parliament,   474  note;    on 
the  scaffold,  411 
Seal,  the  Great,  broken  in  pieces  in  the 
face  of  the  House,    i.  25.     An  Act 
passed  for  establishing  the  new  Groat 
Seal  to  be  the  Great  Seal  of  England, 
ibid. 

Senescallus  Anglise,  in  modem  language 
the  Lord  High  Steward,  the  highest 
officer  in  the  State,  being,  as  the  King's 
representative,  chief  administrator  of 
justice,  and  leader  of  the  armies  in 
war,  i.  8,  9.  The  judicial  part  of  his 
functions  given  to  the  Chief  Justiciary, 
the  administrative  part  to  the  Lord 
Steward  of  the  King's  Household,  10. 
Confusion  arising  from  deriving  the 
Lord  High  Steward  from  the  Chief 
Justiciary,  10  note.  To  the  Carlo- 
vingians  and  Plantagenets",  this  office 
served  as  a  steppingstone  to  the 
throne,  13 

Severn,  the  River,  important  battles 
fought  on,  ii.  187-189 

Shaftesbury,  Earl  of.     See  Cooper,  Sir 

■A..  A. 

Sharpe,  Archbishop,  was  at  first  for  the 
"  Engagement,"  but,  finding  it  not  a 
politic  game,  brought  to  the  Stool  of 
Repentance  all  his  parishioners  who 
had  shown  the  least  inclination  that 
way,  i.  270 

Shetland  Isles,  the,  storm  among,  sepa- 
rates the  English  and  Dutch  fleets 
when  about  to  engage,  ii.  342,  343 

Skippon,  Philip,  Major-General,  nomi- 
nated a  member  of  the  first  Council 
of  State,  i.  37.  Letter  sent  to,  by 
the  Council  of  State,  for  keeping  the 
peace  at  Guildhall  upon  the  trial  of 
John  Lilburne,  i.  143 

Smectymnus,  formation  of  the  word, 
i.  82,  note  1 

Soldiers,  foot,  sent  to  serve  on  board 
the  fleet,  ii.  302,  391 

Sovereign,  meaning  of  the  word,  i.  7 
and  note 


INDEX. 


503 


SPA 


^ 


Spain,  relations  of  the  English  Common- 
wealth with,  i.  99,  100.  An  ambas- 
sador from  the  King  of,  declares  the 
substance  of  his  embassy  to  be  to 
express  the  King  of  Spain's  great 
desire   of  a   peace  and   good  corrcv' 

,    spondence  with  the  Common wealth/f 
England,  ii.    288.     The   Parliamfnt 
insist  upon  justice  being  done  upon 
the  murderers  of  Mr.  Ascham,  288, 
289.     /See  Ambassador,  Spanish 

Steward,  Lord  High.     See  Senescallus 
Anglic. 

Steward,  Lord,  of  the  King's  household, 

court  and  functions  of,  i.  11 
Stirling  Castle  surrendered,  ii.  214 
Stool  of  Repentance,  declared  by  the 
old  Earl  of  Eglinton  to  be  "  the  best 
seat  in  the  Kirk,"  i.  269.  Archbishop 
Sharpe  at  first  for  the  "  Engagement," 
but,   finding  it  not   a  politic  game, 
brought  all  who   had   inclined   that 
way  to  the  Stool  of  Repentance,  270 
Strafford,   Thomas  Wentworth,  Earl  oL' 
effects  of  his  government  of  IrelaniJ; 
i.   131-133.      Character  of,    as   <Ss- 
played  in  the  correspondence  between 
him  and  Archbishop  Laud,   i.    271. 
Extract  from   a  letter  of  Lord  Cot- 
tington   to,    showing  the   nature   of 
Charles  I.'s  government,  ii.  106,  note. 
Difference  between  his  character  and 
that  of  Sir  Henry  Vane,  ibid.  169 
Strickland,  Walter,  resident  in  Holland 
for  the  Commonwealth  of  England, 
recalled,  ii.  107.     Sent  to  Holland  in 
the  quality  of  ambassador,  with  Lord 
Chief  Justice  St.   John,    108.      Re- 
called and   thanked  by  Parliament. 
123-125 
Stuarts,  the  wretched  and  disgraceful 
condition   to   which  the   misgovern- 
ment  of  the  two  first,  namely,  James 
I.  and  Charles  I.,  had  reduced  Eng- 
land, i.  16,  17 
Stuart,  Charles  [Charles  IL],  proclaimed  >- 
traitor,  ii.  171,  177  'Y 

Style  and  title  of  the  Government,  "  Tl(e 
Parliament  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
England,  i.  178 
Suzerain,  effects  of  the  modem  military 
despotisms  in  destroying  the  union  of 
the  civil  with  the  military  character, 
and   in   changing   "  suzerain  "    into 
"  sovereign,"  i.  7-12 
Sweden,  Christina,  Queen  of,  why  she 


TWT 


said  to  ^Vhitelock,  "  These  Holland- 
ers are  lying  fellows,"  ii.   388  note. 
See  GusTAvus  Adolphus 
Sydney,   Algernon,  significance  of  the 
fact  that  the  Earl  of  Pembroke,  Lord 
Lisle,    and    Algernon    Sydney  were 
Commonwealth    men,   ii.    129,    130 
Character  of,  130-138.     His  opposi- 
tion   to    Cromwell,   Bradshaw,    and 
others,  in  regard  to  the  King's  trial, 
and  Cromwell's  answer  to  him,  134, 
135.     Was   present   when  Cromwell 
expeUed  the  Parliament,  460-463 


TAXATION,  pressure  of,  i.  61.  Taxes 
le\ned  by  parties  of  horse,  62.    Re- 
markable illustration  of,  104,  note 
Thomson,  Captain  William,  chief  leader 
of  the  Levellers,  i.  90,  91.      Slain, 
.  after  a  brave  defence,  94 
Thurloe,  John,  secretary  to  St.  John  and 
Strickland,  the  ambassadors  to  Hol- 
land,  ii.   108.      Appointed  secretary 
to  the  Council  of  State  on  the  death 
of  Walter  Frost  the    elder,   ii.  299. 
Salary  of,  ibid.    Account  of  the  collec- 
tion of  State  Papers  which  bears  his 
name,  ii.  314,  note 
Title  and  style  of  the  Government, "  The 
Parliament  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
England,"  i.  178 
Traditions,  local,  an  example  of  the  way 
m  which  stories  so  called  often  origi- 
nate, i.  332,  333 
Treason,  new  law  of,  a  blunder  of  the 
Parliament  and  Council  of  State,  i. 
143.     Made,  what   by  the   English 
law  was  merely  libel,  high  treason, 
155,  156 

Trial  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  John  Lil- 
burne, i.  191  et  seq.  See  Lilburne, 
John 

Tromp,  Martin  Harpertz,  ii.  311,  312. 
First  meeting  of  Blake  with,  315. 
Is  defeated  by  Blake  off  Dover,  317, 
318,  322.  Tromp  and  Blake  among 
the  Shetland  Isles,  when  preparing 
for  action,  separated  by  a  sudden 
tempest,  340-343.  Defeats  Blake  in 
the  Battle  of  Dungeness,  375.  Is 
defeated  by  Blake  in  the  Battle  of 
Portland,  397-403 

Twj'sden,  Sir  Roger,  testimony  of,  against 
the  Long  Parliament,  ii.  423,  424. 
Does  not  affect  the  integrity  of  Ireton, 


604 


INDEX. 


/ 


TYR 

Vane,  Blake,  Scot,  Sydney,  Ludlow, 
and  many  others,  425,  426 

Tyranny  of  the  Parliament  and  Council 
of  State,  i.  69,  70,  150  and  note.  Dif- 
ference between  the  tyranny  of  the 
Council  of  State  and  that  of  the  Staf 
Chamber,  163 

Tyranny  of  the  Tudors  and  Stuarts,  or 
Divine-Right  tyranny,  i.  16,  17,  18  ; 
ii.  11,  15,  16. 


WHI 


y 


UNION  flag,  the  (that  is.  Saint  G^e's 
cross  and  Saint  Andrew'r  cros/ 
joined  together),  a  proclamation  of 
Charles  I.,  in  1634,  prohibits  any  but 
King's  ships  from  carrying,  ii^  58,  note 
Union,  the,  of  England  and  Scotland, 
and  the  abolition  of  monarchy  in 
Scotland,  enacted  by  the  Parliament 
of  England,  ii.  225  / 


YANE,  Sir  Henry,  Junr.,  nominated  a 
member  of  the  first  Council  of  State, 
i.  37.  His  fanaticism,  83  and  note. 
His  genius  as  a  statesman,  and  his 
weight  in  the  Council  of  State,  99. 
His  public-spirited  conduct  as  Trea- 
surer »ft!T?r?^Ty777%rwo?e,  176  and 
note.  Tlfe  most  activie  and  able  mem- 
ber of  the  Cotmnittee  of  the  Nav}-,  ii. 
29,  73,  79,  81,  269,  389,  390,  396. 
In  regard  to  his  connection  with  the 
I  Committee  of  the  Navy,  and  with  the 
;  Committee  for  Irish  and  Scottish 
■  Affairs,  might  be  considered  as  Secre- > 
tary  of  State  for  War,  117,  noUt 
Imputed  timidity  of,  168-170.  Treat- 
ment of,  by  Cromwell,  on  the  20th  of 
April  1653,  463,  464.  Answer  of,  to 
an  application  to  him  to  join  Crom- 
well's Council  of  State,  "  that  he  would 
defer  his  share  in  the  reign  of  »aints 
till  he  should  go  to  heaven,"  478, 7iote. 
"Words  from  his  prayer  on  the  morning 
of  his  execution,  477.  His  solenin 
appeal  to  God  and  man  upon  the 
scaffold,  426.  His  answer  to  his 
friends,  who  tried  to  persuade  him  to 
endeavour  to  save  his  life  by  making 
his  submission  to  the  King,  or  giving 
some  thousands  of  pounds  for 
life,  479,  note  2 
Vane,  Charles  (brother  of  Sir  Henry 
V^ane),  resident  from  the   Common-   I 


ving 


wealth  of  England  with  the  King  of 
Portugal,  ii.  84,  87,  note 
Vend6me,the  Duke  of,  defeated  by  Blake, 
ii.  347,  348.     Minute  of  the  Council 
of  State,  jespecting  a  letter  of,  384 


WALKER,  Clement,  a  scurrilous  and 
mendacious  writer,  i.95, 172,173 

Walker,  Sir  Edward,  cited  as  an  autho- 

,'''  rity  by  Hume,  for  assertions  made 
without  any  authority,  i.  344,  7iote, 
348  and  note 

Warrants  to  press  seamen,  i.  58;  ii. 
302,  323,  324.     See  Press-warrants 

Warwick,  Earl  of,  superseded  as  Lord 
High  Admiral,  i.  49 

Wauton  (or  Walton),  Valentine,  nomi- 
nated a  member  of  the  first  Council  of 
State,  i.  37.  One  of  the  commissioners 
sent  to  the  fleet  after  the  Battle  of 
Dungeness,  ii.  378 

Weires,  Bay  of.     See  Oeyras  Bay 

Wellesley,  the  Marquess,  the  opinion  of, 
that  13  was  an  inconveniently  large 
number  for  an  executive  council,  dis- 
proved by  the  fact  of  the  efficient 
action  of  the  Council  of  State  of  the 
Commonwealth,  i.  120-122 

Welsh,  John,  one  of  the  Scotch  Presby- 
terian clergy,  who  arrogated  to  them- 
selves some  of  the  powers  of  the 
Hebrew  Prophets,  i.  277,  note 

Wexford,  storm  of,  i.  139 

Whalley,  Colonel  of  the  Trusted  Regi- 
ment, to  which  Richard  Baxter  was 
two  years  chaplain,  i.  74-76.  Baxter's 
account  of  some  of  Whalley's  troopers, 
who  were,  according  to  Baxter,  not 
orthodox,  77 

Whitehall,  the  Council  of  State  remove 
from  Derby  House,  and  hold  their 
sittings  at,  i.  101.  Lodgings  in,  for 
members  of  the  Council  of  State,  171, 
172.  "The  Broad  Place  at  White- 
hall," ii.  157,  158  ;  a  body  of  cavalry, 
"  mounted  in  their  defensive  arms,"  to 
stand  at,  when  the  Spanish  ambas- 
sador is  conducted  to  an  audience,  288 

Whitelock,  Bulstrode,  appointed  one  of 
the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Great 
Seal,  i.  25.  Nominated  a  member 
of  the  first  Council  of  State,  i.  37. 
Why  Christina,  Queen  of  Sweden, 
said  to  him  "  These  Hollanders  are 


/^ 


INDEX. 


505 


"WID 


lying  fellows,"  ii.  388,  7iote.  Inac- 
curate statement  of,  459  and  note. 
Present  at  the  meeting  at  Cromwell's 
lodgings,  449-457 

Widdrington,  Sir  Thomas,  i.  24,  25  ;  ii. 
449,  457 

Witches.  The  Council  of  State,  in  answer 
to  an  application  from  the  Sheriff  of 
Cumberland,  for  special  assistance  in 
the  matter  of  witchcraft,  reply  that 
they  can  give  him  no  directions  con- 
cerning the  discovery  or  punishment 
of  witches,  but  refer  him  to  the  usual 
course  of  law,  i.  274.  The  judges 
sent  from  England  to  administer  jus- 
tice in  Scotland,  found  so  much  malice 
and  so  little  proof  against  sixty  persons 
accused  of  witchcraft  at  the  last  cir- 
cuit, that  none  were  condemned,  ii. 
226 

Witt,  de,  substituted  for  Tromp  in  the 
command  of  the  Dutch  fleet,  ii.  345, 
346.    Defeated  by  Blake,  349-356 

Worcester,    Battle   of,   ii.    10  c^  s9c^. 


ZEA 


Scotch  students  among  the  prisoners, 
201.  Disposal  of  prisoners  taken  at 
the,  203-214 

Worshippers  of  success,  the,  ii.  410,  41 1 ; 
of  Cromwell,  answer  to,  431 

Wylde,  John,  Lord  Chief  Baron  of  the 
Exchequer,  nominated  a  member  of 
the  first  Council  of  State,  i.  37    . 


YORK,  James,  Duke  of,  insults  the 
ambassador  of  the  Commonwealth 
of  England  in  the  park  at  the  Hague, 
ii.  113.  Remarkable  for  the  hardness 
of  his  heart  and  the  softness  of  his 
brains,  ibid.  Anecdote,  illustrative 
of  the  quality  of  his  brains,  ibid,  note 

ZEAL  of  the  people  in  England  in 
favour  of  the  Parliament,  and 
against  the  King,  manifested  in  Au- 
gust 1651,  ii.  151,  172.  Contrast 
between  1651  and  1660,  173 


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